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Loud engine and low oil - Simple cause and effect?
Javen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Title just about says it all, with a few caveats.
I was on my way to work, but didn't get very far before my engine suddenly went up a few decibels. It happened when I was idle, and is definitely coming from the front end, so it's not a muffler issue. I checked my oil to find it really low, though the oil light never turned on, and the check engine light hasn't come up either. I've read that low engine oil can lead to loud engine sounds, but my question is mainly, if I get the oil flushed and replaced, should the sound go away, or is it already indicative of a larger problem? As far as I can tell, other than the sound, the car runs fine. Accelerates at a normal pace, though I didn't dare try taking it over 20-25 or so, RPMs seem normal and all the other gauges on the dash read fine. I'm taking it in tomorrow, I just want to get a feel or the possible scenarios beforehand.
I was on my way to work, but didn't get very far before my engine suddenly went up a few decibels. It happened when I was idle, and is definitely coming from the front end, so it's not a muffler issue. I checked my oil to find it really low, though the oil light never turned on, and the check engine light hasn't come up either. I've read that low engine oil can lead to loud engine sounds, but my question is mainly, if I get the oil flushed and replaced, should the sound go away, or is it already indicative of a larger problem? As far as I can tell, other than the sound, the car runs fine. Accelerates at a normal pace, though I didn't dare try taking it over 20-25 or so, RPMs seem normal and all the other gauges on the dash read fine. I'm taking it in tomorrow, I just want to get a feel or the possible scenarios beforehand.
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How recently have you changed your oil (miles or time)? Without more information it's tough to say what this could be.
Also, I'm pretty certain oil changes are supposed to be much more frequent than yours. For synthetic oil I think they recommend 4months/5000 miles.
It's quite possible that a car that age with that many miles on it is burning (a little) oil - which means that you could run out at a bad time. I would check it every three months or so just to make sure it's at least at half full.
EDIT: What BlazeFire said. It really should be changed at least twice a year (many mechanics will state 3 months/3000 miles for non-synthetic motor oil).
It's very much a direct correlation between the engine noise and oil level in my car.
Woah! That's both too much time and miles. Get an oil change every 3-4 months or 4000 miles, whichever comes first.
As far as your engine sound, it can be nothing or it can be bad. Can't really tell unless we hear it, so good luck at the mechanic!
There's no car made recently that needs oil changes that often. Check your owner's manual, but 7,500-10,000 miles is more in line with reality.
3,000 miles is outdated, but the oil change places still go by it because that's more money you're giving to them. The owners manual is what you should follow.
Exactly. And changing the oil once a year isn't so bad either, as long as you're not operating in a really harsh environment. I'm glad most folks err on the cautious side of the oil-changing frequency, but it can be a bit overkill.
As for the OP, just try adding some oil and see if it goes away. It's not going to do any harm at this point. My initial thought is that your engine has hydraulic tappets that are going to make noise once your engine oil level is excessively low. Topping it up should fix it with no lasting harm.
It did turn out to be an exhaust issue. A small piece had rusted off that allowed air to get in, thus causing the noise. They wanted to place the whole thing, 500 bucks all told. I said fuck that, and took it to a 2 man muffler shop down the road. They cut off the rusted bit, welded a new piece on, took about an hour, 50 bucks and the noise disappeared. Made me wish I'd went to them for my oil/tire rotation too, since I'm sure I could have got it cheaper there. On the plus side, I found a new great mechanic. On the downside, I didn't find out about them sooner.
But you really shouldn't run your car so low on oil. It takes a couple minutes to check your fluids, air filter and tire pressure. Try to do it once a week at least
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
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Engine seized up. Car dead. Had to buy a new one.
Car was sort of a POS anyway. Lights on the dash went out so Im not sure if the oil light ever came up. But apprarently I was pretty much out of oil.
Dont let this happen to you. Get your oil changed frequently!
I'm with Six. The old rules of thumb no longer apply. Even at 10k miles, odds are that your filter needs replacing more than the oil itself does (though you might as well do both at the same time).
It very much depends on the vehicle. I say follow whatever the manufacturer recommends, be it 3k, 5k, 10k.
There are still vehicles that require a minimum of an oil top off every 3k miles, the RX-8 for instance.
I'm not exactly sure how much the oil I got put in last time claimed to be good for, probably closer to 7k miles, so either way I was still overdue, but when I mentioned to the guy how long it'd been since my last oil change, he didn't see any sludge or warning signs of a damaged engine. So I guess under the circumstances of what it could have been, I ended up pretty lucky.
The main problem is what to do with the oil after you've changed it. Oil changes are infrequent enough that the expense is worth the hassle.
I change mine outside of autozone or pep boys - wherever I buy the oil. They'll dispose of it for free for you. I also use an extractor so the old oil's in a nice container ready to go. The whole process takes 15 minutes and costs me the price of an oem filter kit ($12) and oil (about $40).
Wow. I pay like $35 to have a shop do everything.
What kind of oil and filter are you getting for that price?
Edit: $35 for just the oil I'm using (Mobil 1 0w-40) would be a pretty great deal, let alone filter and labor.
There are also some cities and counties that also do that. Where I live, there are two places in the city that the city takes care of to dump old, used oil. There's also a county site, and like four or 5 auto stores that will do it.
I don't know what kind of setup anyone has overseas, but in the US I'd say it's a non-issue.
You should know how to do these things yourself. Not only does it help you understand your vehicle(s) more, but (until we lose dependence on dinosaurs) you learn a valuable life skill
PSN - MicroChrist
I'm too fuckin' poor to play
WordsWFriends - zeewoot