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Should I be worried?

D

DyComet

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
526
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Today I was taking a 30 mph right hand turn and saw the oil light turn on for about 3 seconds. I immediately went home and checked the oil level to see that it was barely reading on the dipstick. There are no oil leaks on the ground and I always fill up with 6.5 quarts. I added more oil until it was back to max but has the damage already been caused that will eventually lead to a spun rod bearing?
 
DyComet said:
Today I was taking a 30 mph right hand turn and saw the oil light turn on for about 3 seconds. I immediately went home and checked the oil level to see that it was barely reading on the dipstick. There are no oil leaks on the ground and I always fill up with 6.5 quarts. I added more oil until it was back to max but has the damage already been caused that will eventually lead to a spun rod bearing?
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If your engine isn't knocking and the oil light is now off, then I wouldn't worry about it. How long has it been since your oil change. My SVT burns up about 1 to 1.5 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic every 5,000 miles, but I keep a good eye on my oil level. It is normal to burn up some oil. You got lucky this time, but be careful or next time you might spin a bearing. Then that 3L your making progess on will have to come sooner than you think! :)


But to answer your question, keep a better eye on your oil and you'll be fine. It sounds to me like your bearings are fine.



Jeff
 
DyComet said:
Today I was taking a 30 mph right hand turn and saw the oil light turn on for about 3 seconds. I immediately went home and checked the oil level to see that it was barely reading on the dipstick. There are no oil leaks on the ground and I always fill up with 6.5 quarts. I added more oil until it was back to max but has the damage already been caused that will eventually lead to a spun rod bearing?
Click to expand...
What does the engine sound like now?


Reebs said:
.... How long has it been since your oil change. ....
Click to expand...
+1. In addition, you should add to 0.5 quart above the max line.

This thread is one of the reasons why I always advocate the 3K miles/3 month oil change. You never know when the engine will start using more oil than what it did prior to the last oil change. Actually, you do if you check your oil every other gas fill up. And that could sometimes mean every other day for me.
 
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I'm only 2500 miles into this oil so far and I've only had the car running for about 2 minutes after the light came on. It sounded normal for that period of time. I've never burnt any oil before and now it took almost a quart and a half to get it back up to where I needed it. I'll be driving today so I'll keep an eye out for any weird signs.
 
Updated...It took 3 full quarts of oil to get it back to the top. The engine starts and screeches for a second right when you start it. This has never happened before. It appears to run fine when idleing but I havn't had it going for more than 5 minutes.
 
Hopefully, the screeching is just a wet belt.

Anyway, if the damage is done, it is done. Make sure the oil level is up, and start it and let it run long enough to track down the noise. Although it usually isn't a good practice, smear a little bit of grease (preferrably silicon dielectric spark plug wire grease) on the belt and see if the noise is altered. If it is, its just belt noise and not much to worry about.

To better answer your question, you may have done some damage and might not have. Only time or a tear down will tell.
 
Well the screech is still there and upon startup the oil light remains on for 2-3 seconds which it never did before but I put around 50 miles on the car today and all was well. I'll keep a close eye on the oil and track down the screeching problem and hopefully it'll last just long enough for the 3L. Thanks for the help guys.
 
With the oil full, could be the oil pump is bad. I had the oil light switch (sensor) go bad on a different car once. Then a few years later, I had the oil light again, changed sensor, still came on, got new oil pump and kept rolling..
 
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It runs ok for now and I'm not going to dump any money into this engine with the 3L sitting close to completion just feet away. If this engine does die on me, it'll just give me motivation to move my butt and get the 3L finished.
 
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