rick10

So i was just coming back from work and i see my oil light come up and then go away. I drove the car home ( about 10 minutes) , lift up the hood and i see there is no oil in the dipstick . First time i took the dipstick out there was some oil , then i cleaned it put it back it and took it out and there is none. So i went to my condo brought about 1/2 i had and put it in , still shows no oil in my dipstick ( maybe a little line)

The engine starts fine and there is not over heating. Did i damage my engine in any way?? I always use synthetic oil , i did however went over 2000k of the 5000 k

I m actually suprise the light just came out , shoudlnt come up before its on empty (like low)

I read in other forums that my engine should be fine , any opinions?

JDMej1

i believe it should be fine, but one thing people don't realise is if your running full synthetic oil, you can go 10k without a change (what most shops recommend anyways)

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

My friend knows somebdoy who tracked his turbo d16, with no oil, and dd'd it until it blew up a wk or two afterwards (still with no oil). It wasnt low on oil. My friend said the piston, was bone-dry. You still have a bit of oil, so hopefully ur ok, but just look out in the future for any problems. Also, synthetic usually lasts more than 5k between oil changes, you should be fine on that part as well. My friend changes his oil 12k (then again, he uses motul haha)

MPR

Your engine should be fine. The light will usually come on before it gets low enough to do any serious damage. However, it should be addressed (topped up) asap. Which you did.

One thing to remember is the dip stick only shows the top liter of oil. So if you have an engine that takes 4L and the oil is right at the bottom of the dip stick, that means you've still got 3L of oil in the engine. It's not empty.

Also, unless you beat the living snot out of your engine everyday, you can go 10,000kms + on full synthetic. So don't worry about going 7k without changing it.

This also raises the question; is your motor burning oil? How many km's on it?

Since I've switched back to regular non-synthetic oil in my car, it hasn't lost or burned a drop in over a month. With full synthetic it would be down 0.5-1L by now...

Just a few things to think about.

rick10

thanks guys !!

I ll be able to sleep tonight

Yes my engine does burn a little oil 240 000 km still going strong .. I do beat up my engine a little bit sometimes 4-5 000 rpm once in a while , but normally i dont go past 3500 rpm

I m glad to know the dipstick only shows the top liter

MPR

Mine just past 240k as well...hehe don't worry, that's just broken-in for a honda motor!

subsonic-civic

iTrader: (2)

Especially a D. My friend turbo'd his d hoping to blow it and do a b18c swap.... the car got sold off before it even came close to dying on him. It was putting down 220-240 whp. hahaha

Mugenn.civic.09

iTrader: (1)

hey, how did u change it back? i dunno if it was just a myth or something but i heard after u go snyth. u can't go back conventional?

Sumol15

This has been covered a million times. Its a myth. Switch to your heart's desire. Although I just do regular oil, cheaper and does the same thing. Its all about regular change intervals.

D.T.P

The light goes on when you have about 1L left. As long as you didn't beat on it when that happened, you shouldn't worry.

My old Integra, I used to beat the living crap out of it. Oil changes...when I felt like it (5k to 12k) revving 5-6k all day long. Driving around with oil light and still beating it. Did that for about last 2-3months before getting rid of it.

Also to answer your question about switching oils, the procedures are the same like any oil change EXCEPT you fill with regular non-synthetic oil.

MPR

You can even mix them... Basically, it makes no difference as long as there is some kind of oil in there...

I have no idea where people have heard this. But it comes up every time...

Time to make another sticky!

rick10

I think so

As far as I know the ony thing oil does is serve as a lubricant therefore as long as you have some kind of lubricant there if should be fine.

Problem is when you ran out of oil and there is not lubricant

But I do think synthetic is better than regular oil , but thats a whole new discussion

MPR

^ Indeed.

Bottom line, make sure it's topped up and changed on a regular basis.

I won't sticky this thread, but I'll make another with the basic info in black and white...

MPR

new engine oil sticky is up!

rick10

great !!! ...I m heading over to get the oil change !!

bengali548

strange i always thought oil was a lubricant and only degraded through time not vanish if you only went 2k clicks over when you SHOULD have got the oil change your oild should just be more black should it not?

MPR

^^I understand what you are saying, but it doesn't quite work that way.

There is no 'set time' or mileage as to when it should be changed. It's not like expiring milk...lol

bengali548

so if i drive my car like an old lady going to church i should be good for awhile than eh

MPR

http://www.torontocivics.com/f54/eng...-truth-170327/

Give that a read. Should help give you a better understanding.

If you still have any questions, feel free to ask.