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Who here has run thier car on no oil

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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 09:20 PM
  #1  
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Who here has run thier car on no oil

Who here has run their car on no oil? And if they have what kind of problems if any have they run into.

I've done it twice, in both my birds Just for a day or so..

Mechanic didn't check the oil after the fuel pump was replaced and I was driving it after it was sitting for 5 years with little to no oil in it....I mean i did an oil change when i first got it towed to my place and when it wasn't running...so i have no idea where the oil went from the time i changed it to the time i took it in (1 week)...lol

Anyone else?
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 09:24 PM
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From: South Eastern PA
Car: 86 z28 LG4 305ci
Engine: LG4 305ci
Transmission: 700r4
Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Can I have your vin numbers so I know which two car's not to buy?
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 09:28 PM
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Originally Posted by spiderhole
Can I have your vin numbers so I know which two car's not to buy?
common it cant be that bad

No oil as in LOW oil.. i mean you can still see maybe a centimeter on the dip stick.
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 11:35 PM
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Car: 89 Camaro RS
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

not a day in my life will i run one of my cars without oil.


guess what a common side effect is...... destroying your engine

Just a bit of enigne 101.... your engine operates with a thin film (oil) between the moving parts, take away that film and you will grind straight metal on metal. Not only that but oil serves as a means to cool down those moving parts, without it you can say hello to high temps and goodbye to your engine.
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 11:51 PM
  #5  
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From: lynnwood,Washington
Car: 1992 Camaro RS
Engine: 305 TBI
Transmission: 700R4
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

r u crazy run ur car with no oil and ur lookin to have a very large expensive paper weight
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Old Apr 20, 2008 | 11:56 PM
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Whoa...guys theres reasons why they were ran with low oil...its like your responses are implying i did this on PURPOSE.

One burned a **** load of oil and leaked.,..so therefore i didnt notice it was low on oil

The other one misteryously had low oil....

jeeeezzz


Common some of you must of screwed up sometime and realized there wasen't much oil in your car and ran it for a day or so.

and if you did...if you noticed anything weird afterwards.

Thanks
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 12:00 AM
  #7  
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From: norfolk, virginia
Car: 84 camaro z28
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

yea that happened to me i didnt realize it leaked when i bought it and now the rods are knocking but yea i feel you
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 12:05 AM
  #8  
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From: Summerland, B.C
Car: 1982 Trans am
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

I ran my old 1990 turbo sunbird low on oil a few times. nothing major ever happened it knocked a little when it was cold.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 12:12 AM
  #9  
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Originally Posted by RK82
I ran my old 1990 turbo sunbird low on oil a few times. nothing major ever happened it knocked a little when it was cold.
Yeah my Firebird S/E I sold always had a knock when i first got it when you started it up ...but still had lots of power and i beat it too **** with low oil before and it's still alllll good.

Of course i haven't done any of this intentionally.

Tough engines.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 12:18 AM
  #10  
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From: lynnwood,Washington
Car: 1992 Camaro RS
Engine: 305 TBI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 2.73
Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Originally Posted by Spitzfiya
Whoa...guys theres reasons why they were ran with low oil...its like your responses are implying i did this on PURPOSE.

One burned a **** load of oil and leaked.,..so therefore i didnt notice it was low on oil

The other one misteryously had low oil....

jeeeezzz


Common some of you must of screwed up sometime and realized there wasen't much oil in your car and ran it for a day or so.

and if you did...if you noticed anything weird afterwards.

Thanks
ok i see how u could do it on the car thats not leaking but my camaro has a very very slight leak and i check theevery other day unless im not running the car that day
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 01:39 PM
  #11  
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There's a big difference between low oil and no oil. The factory figures there is no shortage of idiots out there, so they design the engines to run fine a quart below the "Add" mark - meaning about 2 quarts of oil in the pan. You won't have a problem until the oil isn't draining back to the crankcase quickly enough to keep the pump pick-up supplied, or the level is so low that the pick-up isn't submerged (basically saying the same thing).

I ran an engine that my brother had let get too low (he was driving it on the interstate with about a quart and a half in the system) for about 9 months. The tell-tale sign of damage was oil pressure would rise when you let off the throttle. It finally spewed out the rest of the #6 rod bearing when I was about 150 miles from home.

As long as the oil pressure gage showed signs of life, you're probably okay. If you weren't watching the oil pressure gage, then it's hard to say whether or not any damage occurred.

Last edited by five7kid; Apr 21, 2008 at 01:56 PM.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 03:13 PM
  #12  
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

I ran mine so low on oil it started to knock. Oil pressure dropped and then it started to knock. I towed it home and pulled the engine and replaced all the bearings. It didn't spin any, but it spooked me enough anyway.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 08:30 PM
  #13  
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From: Arab, Alabama
Car: 1988 Trans Am GTA
Engine: 350 4BBL
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.27
Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Originally Posted by master_disaster
not a day in my life will i run one of my cars without oil...
I would run the Sh** out of my engine with absolutely no oil in it at all...
...if it were taking me 5 miles to the hospital and I was bleeding to death.
Probably take out the garage door on the way.
When it comes down to whether it's going to be me or it, it will die.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 08:38 PM
  #14  
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

If your motor has problems like that you should jus get it pulled from the car add a new one or rebuild yours atleast do rings and seals. checkover for damage first. Its not that expensive unless you go to a shop to get it done then you will get robbed blind.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 10:04 PM
  #15  
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From: Louisville Kentucky
Car: 1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula
Engine: 305 TBI
Transmission: 700R4
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

I remember running my old work truck (chevy 1500 with 350) with very very little oil in it one time. It started clunking really bad on one of my routes one time so I checked the dip stick and low and behold, no oil. Filled it up with Rotella and it ran for about 20,000 more miles before it decided it only needed 7 cylinders and threw a rod out the block.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 10:37 PM
  #16  
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Car: 91 RS
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

friend of mines step bro came down to live with my friends family and they trailered his 88 z28 down and the first thing he did was show us the burnouts it could do, the second thing he did was hear alot of clunking, the third thing he did was push it in the garage and drain no more than 3 drops of oil from it, the final thing he did was take some new oil and dump it in the drain pan so when his dad came into the garage he could keep from betting grilled, but u know i had to bust his *****

once out on an offroad trail we ran into a guy with an old v8 jeep who was working on the engine and we stopped to lend a hand and what he did was he hit a rock and it tore the pan but he didnt realize and he spun a bearing then cracked a rod and he just took the pan off, jb welded it removed the rod fragments, somehow kept the piston wedged up in the cyl filled it back up with oil and nursed it back to his trailer. i had to give it to the guy i woulda just cried for someone to toe my sorry butt out.
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Old Apr 21, 2008 | 11:05 PM
  #17  
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From: Port Orchard,WA
Car: 89 Camaro RS
Engine: 355 SD TPI
Transmission: WCT5
Axle/Gears: 3.08 Posi
Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Originally Posted by Supervisor42
I would run the Sh** out of my engine with absolutely no oil in it at all...
...if it were taking me 5 miles to the hospital and I was bleeding to death.
Probably take out the garage door on the way.
When it comes down to whether it's going to be me or it, it will die.

You have fun with that one, 911 is a sweet trick too

I dont know, maybe im just weird but when i own a car thats pushing 20 years, i tend to check everything over more than usual, especially oil. Not only that but we have oil pressure gauges, not that they're accurate but they atleast let you know when your low, EX: your needle is showing low pressure. Check your oil, if its fine, blame the inaccurate gauge, even if its an extra bother it's not that herd to open the hood and check it.

As long as your engine isnt blown i say your lucky. Personally i dont have 2 grand to throw into another car or motor
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Old Apr 22, 2008 | 07:02 AM
  #18  
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Car: 1992 Formula
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Hence to why it is dangerous to buy a used 200k miles third gen that looks like it has had better days from eBay. Andrew
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Old Apr 22, 2008 | 03:58 PM
  #19  
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From: erlangen, Germany
Car: 1991 Z28 1LE
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Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: 3.42
Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

before I met my wife she didn't change the oil in her car for 2 years(seriously) she would still check it and add oil which is good, but come on. Her excuse "nobody ever told me" lol.
It still drives really good too we take it on a lot of long trips running around 5000rpm for a majority of the trips. I have since taken over vehicle maintenace for us lol.
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Old Apr 22, 2008 | 04:11 PM
  #20  
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From: Lansing Illinois
Car: 86 GTA
Engine: 402 cbb
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Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

I knew someone on the two year interval oil change, they called one day, said the engine made some loud sounds and then suddenly stopped and wouldn't crank. They thought it was the starter or battery because of the clicking...
After discovering a dry oil stick and informing them of a siezed engine... their natural response was "Can I put WD40 in the spark plug holes to free it up?"
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Old Apr 22, 2008 | 04:47 PM
  #21  
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From: Glenbeulah, WI
Car: 1988 Firbird
Engine: 406
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Axle/Gears: 4.10
Re: Who here has run thier car on no oil

Originally Posted by Spitzfiya
common it cant be that bad

No oil as in LOW oil.. i mean you can still see maybe a centimeter on the dip stick.
If you have solid oil pressure the engine will be OK, just because it is low doesn't mean much. If you have no oil pressure the engine will not last more then a few miles. At WOT with no oil pressure the engine will not last more then a 10 seconds.
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