ChrisC

I recently changed the oil putting in Valvoline Max Life Synthetic blend and the FRAM filter with Extra Guard. Is it a good choice?

Previously I had no-synthetic oil and standard filter from a previous change at a lube place close-by. When I checked a lot of the oil was gone and the oil remained was very dark.

To be sure that the new oil does not mix with too much of the old oil, with a warm engine after the oil was dripped out, I turned on the car a few times for 10-15 second so the oil pump could remove all the old oil.
I did this probably 5 or 6 times. I was opening and closing the oil lead on the engine between every cycle to let it drip better and avoid to splash everywhere.

When nothing else was dripping out I took out the oil filter (that was empty) and repeat the cycle. Finally I put the bolt back in, the filter and the oil.

Do you think turning on the engine for a few second to get most of the old oil out is a good idea or not?

Best,
Chris

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Probably not. I imagine running the car so low on oil could harm the piston rings etc. I can't really vouch for this, its only what I think. I would much rather drain and fill the oil twice than run my car with no oil. Slightly extra cost but I'm 100% sure it won't damage anything.

Foffie

iTrader: (3)

honestly you are lucky you arent asking the "what engine will fit in my car question?" not the brightest thing to do

HLC

you just roasted your engine. start looking for a new one. you had no oil in the engine and you started it? cmon, what made you do that?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

that just sounds like a bad idea.. like tom (tbohar) mentioned, I, too, would rather drain and fill twice than run my car with no oil..

lowlife9

i don't believe this guy for some reason nobody is that dumb come on !!!!

ChrisC

Just changing the oil twice is not going to keep more old oil in the system (more than how I did it)? Would you change the filter twice too?

Anyway, car is running better than before and it was not doing any strange noise during the operation.

If you just run it for 10-15 seconds at idle speed in neutral, what can happen? I did not go on the freeway for an hour without oil.

Why do you think it roasted the engine?
Some amount of oil should still be on the walls of the cylinders.
Overheating is highly improbable and unless there are major scratches on the cylinders, the friction on the piston rings should not be enough to ruin them..

Could you just state clearly why it may have caused (or cause in the future) major problems?


Best,
Chris

02civicsi02

They put oil in motors for a reason. Not the brightest idea of even running the motor for a couple of seconds and thats it, you still can damage something.

MindBomber

I'm surprised your engine didn't seize up. How'd it sound sound running with no oil?

I've heard a couple times that draining your oil, filling it up with transmission fluid, running it for a few minutes, then replacing that with oil is a great way to clean your engine. Whats everyones opinion on that?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

dude, even at idle speed, your crankshaft is moving at ~700rpms.. that means your pistons are still moving up and down, and doing so with no oil is a bad idea..

ChrisC

@MindBomber:
I have been told multiple times that if you use oil with different viscosity, they do not combine well. Have you ever try to put water and oil in grass and shake it? The viscosity of a 5W and 20W are a lot more similar than water and a generic oil but the effect is still the same.

I was told that if you want to change the viscosity of oil you use, you have to wash the engine with a special solution before to be sure to eliminate the old oil.

I am not sure but transmission oil is likely to be of a different viscosity.

Best,
Chris

HLC

im gonna lol when you come back in like 3 days saying guys, i need a new engine, where can i find one?

btw, the different weight oil vs the oil and water analogy doesnt work. oil mixes with oil so viscosity is a function of the two previous viscosities. oil does not mix with water.


kthxbye

MindBomber

Aside from your unbelievable decision to run your engine without oil .

Why'd you wait so long to check your dipstick and see what bad shape your oil was in!

MindBomber

1. Transmission's don't run on oil, its a synthetic lubricant.

2. Water and oil don't mix because oil is made up of non-polar molecules, while h20 molecules are polar. It has nothing to do with viscosity, and no, the effect is not the same.

3. Why didn't you just use that special solution to clean the oil out of your engine?

02civicsi02

You can run the car with the oil level under the low dot and it can still mess something up. And how is it running better but yet in your other thread your car is burning oil. And i hope you are not dumb enough to mix oil and water together and put it in the motor like you do that glass lol. Do us all and yourself a favor and stop messing with cars.

ChrisC

I turned on the engine because I think that the old oil that stays in the car can actually have some particles that may accelerate the wear-out of the engine (http://calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Filters.html) and it is a good and cheap idea turn the engine on for a few secs. Even if I did not find anywhere a recommendation to do so before, I have never found a recommendation NOT to do so. I am not a mechanical engineer but classes of thermodynamic, other things I read, some friends' opinion and my common sense told me that just a few seconds should not kill the engine.

Last time that lube shop changed the oil, I checked and the oil was already a little dark just after the change. So I decided to do it myself my way this time.

@02civicsi02: My car was burning oil before I changed the oil by myself and actually now (after 200 miles) seems doing better. I do understand that (1) 200 miles are probably not enough to start looking at major difference (2) I have switched to a synthetic oil formulated for older engines, changed the distributor, re-timing, and re-gap sparking plugs, so the reason why my car seems to burn less oil can be another.

When I changed the oil myself (even on previous cars I owned), I have always turn on the engine at least once after the oil have dripped. And I never had engine problems.

I did understand it may be dangerous but I would like a good rational explanation of why, instead of "You are stupid, that is not how is supposed to be done".

I thank who gave a good answer of why they think starting the engine even for a few seconds with no oil may be dangerous.

It would be also nice that somebody could give an estimate and technical explanation of the maximum time a civic engine can run without oil without causing major problems with the engine.

MindBomber

I think we've made it clear, dude. Never run a engine without oil in it.
Whether it be for 10 seconds at idle or just 5 minutes, its terrible for your engine.

02civicsi02

He is lucky that we are not a bunch of dicks and flamed the hell out of him already like other forums.

lowlife9

wouldn't the particles be trapped in the oil filter but i still don't believe this guy.

ChrisC

I am happy I am not in the other forums then :-P

Thanks for the answer about mixing oil with different viscosity. I did not find anything around that say that can be a problem but I found this on potential problems flushing old engines with thin oil and switching from synthetic to mineral, etc.


For what I understood I should be able to switch from a 5W to 15W at the next oil change without flushing and that should actually help to reduce the oil that the car is burning and since I live in California that should not be a problem. Correct?

dutchmetal

Running the engine without oil is seriously dangerous. Life expectancy goes down to a few minutes. Normally the engine will probably not be destroyed in those 10sec but everytime you start up again, the engine gets a bit warmer and there is a bit less oil and a bit more friction. And imagine there was already maybe a small weak spot somewhere in the engine ...

When it comes to the mixing of oil, please read our oil myths:
http://www.valvoline.com/car-care/motor-oil-myths/

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

reminds me of the old thread on the srt4 forums lol

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Is that the one where the guy wanted to get all the oil out of his car by running the car without the oil filter and drain plug in?

Silver02EX

iTrader: (3)

By starting the car with no oil, you have done a lot more damage to the engine than having the new oil mix with the old one. By mixing brand or grade isn't not going to do anything. Maybe it might change the add pack to the new oil a little but still won't cause any harm.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

You guys have it all wrong. I run my car without oil all the time. It hardens the steel and makes the vtekk even faster.

Kobraa

In the past I have used a motor flush. You put the quart of flush in the engine and let it run for whatever is recommended. I then drain the oil and remove old oil filter. I let it drain pretty good then I dump a quart of clean new 5W-20 oil in the engine while the pan bolt is still removed and filter is off. I see some more blackness coming out into the pan after i put the clean quart in. I feel like it flushes any lingering dirt and dirty oil still in there. I NEVER turn my engine on during this though. Afterwards I put the new filter on and new oil in. What do you guys think of this?