Everyone is allowed one BIG f-up, right?

[waterbabyblue]

At least, that's MY story, lol....ANYway. I bought this truck new. Have always done all my work. Only ever let one guy do one major tune-up, one time. Ok, so things have gone peachy keen. Until my one big one, last week. Oil change. What can go wrong, right? Uh huh.




So I'm working away, getting happy, dirty and greasy, taking my time. I have to TELL myself to slow down. A lot. So I was doing this thing step by step that I've done a bazillion times before over 9 years. I get done, clean up my tools, put everything away, throw away the trash, close the hood. Niiiice, I thought. I'm a good girl today, lol....put my tools back in my big red tool box, go back in the house, take off my coveralls, wash up. I'm feeling pretty good about myself for having clean oil in my truck. Or so I thought. Get in the truck the next day, starts right up. Still feeling good about having gotten it done. Go tooling down the road, get about a mile, it dies. Whaaaa???? Oh great. Pull over on the side of the interstate, put my emergency light on, pop the hood. Oh great. Busted battery post connector. No big deal, I just happen to have extras. Fix the problem, still won't start. Now what the heck?? Ok, this calls for an underside inspection. Maybe I have a loose fuel line or something. Mind you, I'm on my way to an appointment, and I have a white shirt on. Nope. No loose fuel line. Hmmm. Then I happen to look over at my socket set. F........there's my oil pan plug in with my sockets, right where I put it.





Well, by then I pretty much knew this was no minor mistake, and I call a tow truck. Everyone's telling me I pretty much am going to have to swap out the engine, but I want to give it a little effort to see if I haven't totally killed it, and maybe I can at least get it to crank over, but if not, they know me at the junk yard, lol....

 

[cybergasm]

ummmm so how did you not noticed the big slick under the truck if the drain plug was with your sockets???

or did ya forget to the oil in too?

 

[waterbabyblue]

Ok smart-ass, you're assuming you have ALL the details, but you do not. It was sitting in GRASS. Move along now, bubba.

 

[cybergasm]

yup was assuming you were doing it on a concrete driveway

/rant on/
and no i was not being a smart ass as you put it. just trying to clarify a couple things here.

well since you want to the know it all ***** then u best get in the garage and fix it and quit looking for sympathies in here

/rant off/

 

[celly]

Ok smart-ass, you're assuming you have ALL the details, but you do not. It was sitting in GRASS. Move along now, bubba.

Your comments are completely uncalled for.

I was thinking the exact same thing that cybergasm was. My question in addition to that was....aren't you supposed to check your level once you fill it with new oil? Assuming the oil was draining out as fast as you were pouring new oil in, the level would read pretty low, would it not? Grass or otherwise.

Sorry, but for someone that prides themself on being so experienced, sounds to me like you're not as good at it as you think. Biting off the head of an experienced forum member because you made a major boneheaded mistake isn't cool. :thumbdwn:

 

[tom_mcmullen006]

Its ok, Everyone makes mistakes, were all human. guys, shes stressed and annoyed and i cant blame her. she was either late or didnt make her appointment, she is stuck with out her vehicle. come on cut her some slack.

 

[Blee1099]

I've had more than one so your fine

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

you ran it without oil, missed the low pressure light and drove till it seized.

everyone you're hearing from is right, you need to pull and replace the motor, at this point it probably wouldn't be worth finding the extent of the damage.
put a used on in and take your chances or go with a new short block

and when doing an oil change you should always re check the dip stick after you start the motor to ensure the proper level has been reached

 

[danielrorozco]

Its ok, Everyone makes mistakes, were all human. guys, shes stressed and annoyed and i cant blame her. she was either late or didnt make her appointment, she is stuck with out her vehicle. come on cut her some slack.

i agree. we should all get along

 

[gijoecam]

OK, again, not trying to pile on here, but seriously?? How can one NOT notice the godawful clattering the entire engine makes at start-up when there's no oil pressure, not to mention the beautiful 'check gauge' light that comes on when there's a lack of oil pressure???? Heck, that three seconds of clattering on first-start when I forget to pre-fill the oil filter makes me cringe, but starting it, not seeing the signs, not HEARING the engine making a godawful racket, then driving it a mile!??! Honestly??

And for the record, I had the same two thoughts Cybergasm did, hence the reason for the (perfectly legitimate) questions. So, the questions stand: Did you miss the oil slick from refilling the engine because you were on the grass? (and if so, did you do anything to attempt to clean up the 5 quarts of oil you just dumped out on the grass?) or, did you forget to refill the engine oil all together? Either? Or? Both?

 

[Lacky01]

so this one time, I was changing my oil. I got all finished and happy as a clam, I started it up to take it off the ramps. I had it running not 3 second when I shut it off as quick as I could. I heard oil spilling at start-up.

I peek under, and theres at least 2 quarts of oil on the ground.

I assumed it had something to do with the oil filter since it was completely coated. I pulled it off, and come to find out the gasket from the old filter was still there and refused to let the new gasket seal! but at least I know my oil pump works


and to the OP: if you post your mistake for all to see, people are going to say "what the heck was she thinking!??!"
no need to take it personal. learn from the mistake and move on

 

[eXcali]

Stuff happens.... I've gotten to the point now were I check all my tools when I do engine work. Nothing like a socket shooting a dent into the underside of the hood because it fell into the belt.

As for the engine, you might get lucky. I had an old dodge 318 that hit some debris and slashed the oil filter. I started getting some godawful noise followed by a stall. After I towed it home I replaced the filter and filled the oil with synthetic hoping it might help. A day later it cranked and started, I ran it about 5 mins, then shut it down. Continued this course of action for about a week and things turned out ok.

 

[techieman33]

You should always start the engine after an oil change and look around for a bit to make sure it's not leaking any oil from anywhere. Thats a lesson my dad made sure to drill into my head after he missed the old oil filter gaskets not coming off with the filter once and almost lost a motor.

I would dump some oil in it, fill the filter up with oil, and try to start it. You don't have much to lose at this point.

 

[Brett F.]

You should always start the engine after an oil change and look around for a bit to make sure it's not leaking any oil from anywhere. Thats a lesson my dad made sure to drill into my head after he missed the old oil filter gaskets not coming off with the filter once and almost lost a motor.

Same exact thing happened to me on my 75 Mustang II.

 

[DeRocha]

Just a friendly reminder of the PG nature of this site (no flaming or derogatory comments).

Everyone has these moments at one point or anther. Hopefully you luck out and catch it before it becomes a major problem, but if/when it does it can be VERY frustrating.

 

[zerodevil]

lol dont feel to bad blue, i ALMOST did this last year, i wasted a quart of oil because i didnt put the drain plug back in, caught it and was good to go though. hope things go well for you. that engine is more than likely fragged, just picked up a slightly used one at a junk yard and take the weekend to do it with some friends. sorry about your luck, hope your more carefull next time.

 

[RKH58]

And everybody wonders why I keep the drain plug in my hand until it all comes out.

 

[waterbabyblue]

Geez RK, that's funny, lol....na, I know I messed up. When I posted, I was laughing at MYself. And no, I'm not sensitive. But I do recognize hostility. You may feel free to laugh at me. I laughed at myself, lol....what I will not tolerate, and I don't care how "senior" a member is, is any attempt at a flame. I'm female. Not delicate. Nor stupid. I am, however, human. I didn't post for advice, not needed nor desired for this specific post - there is no cure for a major f'up other than trying not to do it again - but advice appreciated from those who kindly offered. The engine made no noise when it started, for the person who mentioned the noise it SHOULD have made. For advice regarding what to do to remedy aforementioned, I will be making a separate post. Possibly. My brother in law wants me to call him tonight. But I'm done in this post. Drama can be better had on craigslist or something.

 

[Lacky01]

I have a friend that ran a 22-R bone dry, TWICE and it still started up

hoping for the best!

 

[Scotty J.]

Nothing like a socket shooting a dent into the underside of the hood because it fell into the belt.

That almost happened to me this weekend! I got lucky and it hung up on the cowling. That's probably why my collection of tools keeps shrinking LOL.

Good luck, I hope it's not as bad as it can be.