Could I have damaged my car engine?
Posted by Fragrant_Bag_8306@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 40 comments
Was advised to add oil until I get it fixed since there’s a leak.
But when I added new oil I literally checked inside and the oil looked empty in the tank? Then I checked the dipstick and it looked clear?
Now I’m freaking out hat I had been driving around without oil although my car never brought any signal or overheated. Max it got in temperature gauge was right on middle between hot and cold.
Could I have damaged my engine without knowing it all this time?
God knows how long I was driving around like this.
But my car was never shaking or anything. Only symbol I ever got was that it’s time for oil change. Nothing about oil pressure. I’m confused?
Waistland@reddit
Are you looking at the coolant tank? Oil goes in the engine usually a cap in the valve cover, and is checked via the dip stick. Coolant goes in the radiator and associated surge tank and can be many different colors usually green, red, pink, or blue.
Fragrant_Bag_8306@reddit (OP)
I put oil in the engine (it has a cap to twist and says oil on it). The dip stick is orange but before I added oil it looked clear like if there were no oil in there. I also didn’t see oil where I poured new oil unless it was just so low?
jrileyy229@reddit
You need to get the engine to like 80% oil capacity before it will even register on the dipstick... So you were very low if there was nothing at all on the dipstick.
You should read your owners manual
dalekaup@reddit
Your kind message was contradicting itself in my view. Sounds like it could be fine (80%) before it touches the dipstick.
Salton5ea@reddit
This is a fairly common misconception.
Oil capacity isn’t like fuel or something like this. You don’t begin with 100% and get down to 0% when you change it. Oil MUST remain within the “safe” range for an engine to operate properly.
There is no real “percent full” as a concept. At least not when speaking correctly. It’s either “safe” or “unsafe.” If it’s not within the hash marks or lines or however your vehicle denotes the “safe” range, either below or above, then you are running the possibility of hurting and possibly destroying your engine.
The oil percent you usually see on newer vehicles telling you when to change your oil literally just counts miles til it’s time to change. It’s not a level or condition checker. (I’m sure there’s some super fancy car that actually checks oil condition somehow but 99% of applications it’s literally just counting down the miles.)
dalekaup@reddit
An oil sump that has 80% of the intended capacity but no oil pressure light is better than the owner filling it to the tippy top of the engine.
It's a low bar but considering the person I'd emphasize that if the oil pressure light is not on then you're okay.
This person needs in-person education or to never own a car.
norgeek@reddit
It's better to run with too little oil than it is to run with even less oil. It's still bad running with too little oil, and when there's no oil registering on the dipstick at all it's already far too little. If their already broken car is also suffering from a bad OPS or fails to signals a low oil pressure event for any other reason they won't know something is wrong until it's expensive.
Yes, filling the entire engine with oil is bad. But telling people it's "fine" (your word) to run the engine with zero oil indicated on the dipstick is also bad.
dalekaup@reddit
I'm inclined to change my mind. Depending on how many quarts low this indicates - it could be 3 quarts low and perhaps it only takes 4. Not familiar with this dipstick (the actual dipstick, not the owner)
jrileyy229@reddit
No, even running at 80% is not a "it's fine" thing. It needs to be where it needs to be for a reason.
If it's not even getting oil on the bottom of the dipstick at all, then it's below 80%... Which includes 79%, 59%, 19%, and 0%
DishRelative5853@reddit
No. It's not fine.
seang86s@reddit
And maybe look at a YouTube video on how to check your oil, OP...
PhysicsDude55@reddit
Where you add oil won't fill up with oil visibly. The Oil Pan fills up with oil at the bottom of the engine, you can't see it through the oil cap.
New oil out of the bottle is very close to clear, you'll barely be able to see it on the dipstick. Used oil is black because of all the debris that gets into it from the engine.
You're good 👍
There's an oil light that will light up on your dash when the oil level is low enough for engine damage to start. If you haven't seen the oil light, you're good. If you do see the oil light, pull over IMMEDIATELY and add oil.
JCC114@reddit
The oil light is more oil pressure than oil level. Depending on engine it can keep creating pressure at the sensor while a whole lot of things are running dry. So while this is generally true if you have a car that is using oil that light should not be used as your indicator that it’s time to add as it is already way to low. Seen an engine that holds just under 6 quarts need 5 quarts to full by the time the low oil pressure light came on.
HobsHere@reddit
You would not normally see much if any oil where the cap is to add it, even when completely full. That is not a tank. It's just an opening into the engine. The oil drains down to the oil pan on the bottom of the engine. The dipstick is the only way to check oil level.
TantasStarke@reddit
You won't see the oil go up to the cap, it won't even come close. You'd pour like double the amount of oil your engine needs before getting anywhere close to that. Go off the dipstick. Most cars the 2 dots or lines on the dipstick are about 1qt, so if you don't see any on it start pouring some in. To properly check the level pull out the dipstick, wipe it with a paper towel/rag, then reinsert and check it. If you don't know how bad the leak is currently, I'd check it before every drive to get a baseline of how fast you're leaking oil. And after that every gas fill up if it's not leaking more than 1qt between gas station trips. Fill it to the top of the 2 lines/dots on the bottom of the dipstick
BS-75_actual@reddit
What are you driving? Cars can have an oil level warning; most have an oil pressure alert; some can do both.
julianAppleby5997@reddit
What tank?
hqbibb@reddit
For a minute there, I thought he might be driving a Porsche 911, which does have an oil tank. Empty on that one would be a bad day for his wallet.
Ok_Two_2604@reddit
My nephew inherited an 80s 911 and didn’t know it was dry sump. He put in like 10 quarts and then tried starting the motor and it wouldn’t turn over. Then he called me. Luckily no permanent damage.
julianAppleby5997@reddit
Really? I never knew that. Ta
EuroCanadian2@reddit
What kind of car is this? Look up how to check the oil level, in the owner's manual or on YouTube.
Generally speaking... Most gas engines take about 5 litres of oil. The add mark on the dipstick is one litre below the full line. The bottom the diptick is usually about 2 or 3 liters of oil in the engine. Which is enough to keep the oil light off, but not enough to keep the engine safe long term. But if you only have 1 litre left, or nothing at all, that is also below the bottom of the dipstick. You can tell how much was left based on how much it takes to fill it up.
When adding fluids to a car, it always best to keep track of how much you added to fill it up. It doesn't have to be super accurate, +/- a half litre or so is good enough.
BTW - we are assuming the oil light works. It should come on when the engine is not running and the key is turned on.
QuestYoshi@reddit
the oil for cars is stored in the oil pan which is on the bottom of the engine and made of metal making it not really something you can see into, unlike for example the coolant level which has an expansion tank generally located near the top of the engine and is made of semi-clear plastic. the only way to check how much oil your car has without draining it all out is to use the dipstick which goes down into the oil pan, but not all the way down to the bottom of the pan. if your dipstick did not have any oil on it when you checked it, then it is very likely that you were below the safe zone for oil level, but that doesn’t mean you had no oil at all as the dipstick doesn’t go all the way to the bottom of the pan. I think your best course of action is to either add more oil while checking the dipstick every half quart or so until you see oil start to show on the dipstick or to do a full oil change and add the recommended amount of oil and then check the dipstick to make sure the oil level is right. additionally, you should get the oil leak fixed but in the meantime get into the habit of checking your oil level regularly and topping off as needed before the oil level gets down past the safe zone shown on your dipstick
Sad-Corner-9972@reddit
Something that people forget: the car needs to be parked on level and it needs to be off and sit for a minute to get a good read.
PckMan@reddit
The hole through which you pour the oil isn't a tank, it's the top of the engine. You're not going to see much oil in there even if the level is where it should be.
The dipstick being completely clear is not good but I'm not sure you're checking right. You need to have the car on level ground, remove the dipstick, clean it, insert it again, then pull it out. At the very tip it has the level markers and it should be between the lower and higher one. If you top up only pour a little at a time, wait a little for it to settle, and then check again before pouring more.
Echterspieler@reddit
"Checked inside and the oil looked empty in the tank" what in the world do you mean by that? What "tank"?
overindulgent@reddit
That’s got nicknames start. Normally as an inside joke. Then they become a term of endearment. Get over it or leave your girl. Those are your options.
JEMColorado@reddit
If the dipstick has no oil, start with 2 quarts and check again. If you’ve ruined the engine, it will be pretty obvious.
overcatastrophe@reddit
Look up some videos on YouTube on how to check your dipstick
NurmalMan@reddit
You will not be able to see the engine full of oil from the cap, you measure how much oil there is with the dipstick. The temperature gage has nothing to with the oil (mostly, but for this case it doesn't) and if you were driving without any oil your car wouldn't start anymore.
Did you damage the car because you were driving without oil? Maybe, but probably not. Whoever told you it was leaking probably caught it before it became a problem, hence advising you to just top it off until you get it fixed.
While I don't know what car you have, how bad the leak is, or where the leak is coming from, what I would do is add engine oil until the dipstick shows the correct amount and check it every day for a week. Once you can tell how quickly it's leaking, you can take appropriate measures to deal with the problem.
DishRelative5853@reddit
Don't forget to use the 710 oil.
OofNation739@reddit
Where did you pour oil "tank" should be top of engine. You shouldnt see any oil because it all drains down.
Dipsticks arnt telling you from full to empty. The Low to Full mark is ussually 1 quart worth of oil out of 4+ quarts. If its not on the stick, you add .5 to 1qt and wait 5 mins. Then check. Then do it again till its on the dipstick.
Really, if you had no oil your engine would be locked up immediately. Youre likley really low and are doing damage but its a "add oil" and pray its not anything.
We had a 97 expedition that got run with 0 oil 5x. First 4x it was full lock up motor seized. We broke it free and got it running again. 5th time killed it fully. That was at 350k miles.
beekeeper1981@reddit
You can roughly tell how low it was by counting how much oil you have to add to get it to the proper level. Then compare to the total capacity it should have in the manual.
ohmygolgibody@reddit
What’s there to freak out about? What is done is done. Time will tell.
dalekaup@reddit
If you ran it out of oil then you'd have a low oil pressure warning which would be a red icon.
Cow_Man32@reddit
The oil fill is at the top of the crank case, the oil tank(pan) is on the bottom of the engine and you should not be able to see the oil level. The dipstick you should let the car sit for an hour after running then pull the dipstick, wipe it off, put it back in, and pull it back out to check the oil level. If the oil is in the cross hatch at the bottom of the stick that is fine but you want it to be at the top of the cross hatch pattern, usually there is a little hole at the top and bottom of the cross hatch but not always.
SpringNo1275@reddit
If you open the oil cap and looked inside, you won't see any oil. That's what the dipstick is for. Oil should be within the cross hash section. If it's above or below, it is not safe to drive
d__max@reddit
How much oil did you have to add to get it to show on the dipstick? Your engine is probably fine , if you were low enough to lose oil pressure it would have popped an alarm (although that would’ve been very bad). Keep tabs on your engines oil consumption you really should be checking it regularly between oil changes especially if it’s consuming oil.
superPlasticized@reddit
Yes
magichobo3@reddit
The level of oil where you fill it up doesn't tell you anything, you need to go off the level on the dipstick. You should look up how to check the oil level on your specific car(year/make/model), some dipsticks can be a little weird to read if youve never done it before.
One-Butterscotch4332@reddit
I've never seen a "tank" for engine oil ... where are you pouring this oil in