Ran engine out of oil, could I have damaged something?

Good morning,

Running out of oil damages the engine. The bearings are mostly damaged from this issue.

If you have a drip of oil, then we need to fill the engine with the proper amount of oil and try to locate the leak.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-is-leaking-oil

It may be running now but very soon noises will appear and the engine will have to be replaced.

So, if the bearings are damaged, we need to find that out by getting it running and then in about 100 miles, if it doesn't start knocking before then, we need to change the oil and filter and check for metal.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-change-engine-oil-and-filter

Please let us know what you find.

Roy

Thanks for the swift reply. That's a lot of different places where the leak could come from.

I've put so much money into my car lately that this may be the end.
I'll go for the oil change, ask the mechanic if he can detect any leaks, and take it from there.

You can try that, yes. But the damage is already done from running it without oil.

Roy

Hi Roy,

Thanks for the answer.

I'm still hoping that no great damage occurred because I added between 4 and 5 liters of oil as soon as the car had stopped. I checked the oil today again. There is plenty of it, although it does not exactly look clean. The drippings are small; one could even say they are getting smaller. But then I haven't driven the car now in about 5 days. Just observing.

Of course, the leaks might be more substantial when the car is being driven, i.e. with the rising temperature. If there were great damage, would there not be a lot of oil, even when the car is parked?

I am not willing to put hundreds of dollars into this car again. Recently had a new radiator installed, the brake fluid container replaced, and some other smaller repairs done. I might decide to not even get the oil change done and just drive the car to the recycling plant. But it is a hard thing to do.

M.T.

I understand but you damaged the motor from the lack of oil. It will show very soon, and you will have to make a decision on what to do. You will either rebuild or replace the engine.

Roy