air blowing out of oil cap?

I had an oil change done nearby along with other work. They stupidly forgot to put oil back in the engine. I drove it for about 1 mile till i noticed the oil light and checked and saw no oil. Drove it a mile back and had em finish the job.

 

I asked my friend and he checked and said i had "blowback" from the oil cap which means piston seals could be gone now.

 

Can anyone comment on this?

 

Go start your car and see if you can feel air coming from oil fill tube with the cap off.

If the oil light came on, your motor is probably toast.

 

Your friend is wrong. If you remove the oil cap, air blows out. Completely normal. That's why we have PCV systems.

There is air coming out, normally. What you should be worried is if smoke came out.

Ok.. so i drove off with no oil, saw the red oil can light blinking on my dash, pulled over, they told me to drive back so i did.. Is it highly probable that the engine is toast? how can i know for sure?

If the oil light came on, your motor is probably toast.

 

Your friend is wrong. If you remove the oil cap, air blows out. Completely normal. That's why we have PCV systems.

 

This is correct, some vapor or smoke is normal also. It's also why you should not ignore your PCV system. Not so much the PCV valve but the hoses that attach to the valve covers tend to gunk up with the white residue from condensation.......mostly where the hose's connect behind the intake.

Ok.. so i drove off with no oil, saw the red oil can light blinking on my dash, pulled over, they told me to drive back so i did.. Is it highly probable that the engine is toast? how can i know for sure?

 

It is highly probable that the engine is toast.

I just got off the phone with the service shop (top reputation in my area) and they said probably n othing happened, they didnt hear any tapping or notice any over heating issues, but if anythign does happen to the car in the next few months that they would cover repairs.

 

What should i be on the lookout for?

 

What are common signs of problem?

 

Should i have my Subaru step in on this situation?

Get every thing on paper that they say would be there resp.

If you drove 2 miles without oil your engine was damaged.

 

Excessive oil consumption, tapping/rattling noises from the engine, smoke or poor engine performance would be the first signs.

 

Get it on paper at the very least that they will cover any engine problems for the next 12 months or more.

Do a compression test of the engine too.

 

And since you have been running the engine under load it's a high risk that you have damages to bearings that can lead to spun bearings and all kinds of crap later on - at the worst possible moment.

I would fully expect to start hearing noises very shortly. Definitely get in writing that they'll cover it.

Well, I took the car back to them after they offered to re-drain my oil and check for debris or anything. Everythign is clean there. I will try to get it in writing monday.

 

Also, day two of ordeal, and no noises. I drove the car harder than usual to try and force an imminant falure, but nothing happened, no new noises.

 

While the car was "empty" it didnt even sound bad, so hopefully there was just enough lube still in there by chance to cover me.

Get everything documented incase the engine goes on you in the next few weeks/months.

The engine is at least somewhat damaged and has possibly had it's life shortened because of this. What you do is your decision but I would look into selling it before anything worse happens and you get stuck with the bill.

That thought is running through my mind right now! selling the car...

Yeah great sell it to the next guy and do not tell him anything..................I hope the next guy you sell it to comes on the forums and his engine blows. I will be sure to tell him why.....

 

Don't pawn off your crap onto someone else

You added the "do not tell anything" part yourself.

Your cams might be wiped out by now as they ride on very thin layer of oil. Chances are you will need to pull heads and check to see if cams are damaged.

You added the "do not tell anything" part yourself.

 

Hahaha so true!!! More often than not this is how it happens, I would commend your honesty!

air definitely comes out of the oil cap. I found this out the hard way after changing the oil (and after a few beers), tried to add a bit of oil with the car running and instantly had it on my eyes/face, and all over the motor/grill

The place that changed the oil already admitted fault. Anyone who knows anything about cars will tell you that running the engine more than a second or 2 WILL CAUSE DAMAGE, even if it does not cause an immediate failure. As a professional mechanic, I can tell you there is absolutely 0 doubt in my mind that running even a mile with no oil in the engine has caused significant damage.

 

My opinion is this...1) they failed to refill the engine with oil and informed you it was OK to leave. 2) After you recognized a problem, they told you to drive the car back with no oil in it , which is absolutely the stupidest thing they could have told you. I believe they owe you an engine...complete long block, regardless of whether the engine fails, because they have significantly reduced the life of the engine.

This^^^^^^

The place that changed the oil already admitted fault. Anyone who knows anything about cars will tell you that running the engine more than a second or 2 WILL CAUSE DAMAGE, even if it does not cause an immediate failure. As a professional mechanic, I can tell you there is absolutely 0 doubt in my mind that running even a mile with no oil in the engine has caused significant damage.

 

My opinion is this...1) they failed to refill the engine with oil and informed you it was OK to leave. 2) After you recognized a problem, they told you to drive the car back with no oil in it , which is absolutely the stupidest thing they could have told you. I believe they owe you an engine...complete long block, regardless of whether the engine fails, because they have significantly reduced the life of the engine.

 

I have to agree. I once knew a place close to me that forgot to tighten the filter down on a 6.5 Chevy diesel, they had to buy that guy a new $7000 motor. It will be a tough fight to convince them to buy you a motor if it's not knocking right now. I would make them pay for a dealer or ASE certified master tech to do some checks, maybe pull the oil pan and/or heads and a oil analysis after a thousand miles. Of course the manager and any upper management need to be made fully aware of the situation and your unhappiness about this.

What about al those additives that you drain the oil and dump sand and water on it and it'll keep running?

 

 

Air does NOT come out of the oil cap, if it does, you have excessive blow-by. Put a piece of paper over the oil cap and see.

^^ That depends on the design of the PCV system. Some styles will create air pulses when you remove the oil cap, some draw a very very slight vacuum on the crankcase and will suck air in when you remove the cap, others keep it completely neutral. I'm not sure what style Subaru uses, but I would not consider it to be abnormal to get some air out the oil fill neck with the engine running as long as you do not have any other symptoms of excess blow-by (low compression on 1 cyl, misfires, high oil consumption, blue smoke from exhaust, etc)