OK, for the last week or so I've had the oil pressure light flickering when I come to a hard stop. I figured that it was a low oil level, so I didn't drive it except when I needed to and I took it really easy on the engine. I had the oil changed today and there was maybe half a quart of oil, maybe less, left in the oil pan. I found out today that I need to be changing my oil every 2500 miles.

Anyways, now the flickering oil light problem is gone and I'm paranoid that the engine is going to blow up now. My mechanic says that if it sounds OK now (which it does to both of us) that chances are that I'm OK. But I'm still worried. The engine pulls fine just like it did before all of this, VTEC still pulls hard, but I'm hoping that I didn't spin a bearing. Or that one doesn't get spun in the near future.

So can someone enlighten me as to what the chances are of the damage happening in the near future even though there is plenty of oil in the engine now? Or am I in the clear since no damage has been done so far? Also, what are some of the signs of a spun bearing besides noise that can indicate if my engine is going downhill.

 

ouch... half a quart..

well if your motor sounds ok , then your probably fine. if you were beating the **** out of your motor while you had the low oil you may have caused some premature wear on the bearings and camshaft journals mostly but if it sounds ok, your probably fine. you should have checked your oil as sooon as you say the oil light flicker!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

Scary man. The oil light doesn't start flickering until you're down to a quart typically. The instant my light flipped on, bam, I lost a bearing as I was driving through Nevada not knowing my head was warped. That was an expensive tow.
Considering your motor seems to be okay, you should be alright, but count your blessings. If you had thrown a rod you would be hearing it.

I should add that letting the oil get that low has definitely worn some parts and bearing surfaces (don't just think about the block, but also all those moving parts in your head). To what extent things have been damaged, only time will tell.

 

Your engine is fine. If the tech said it sounded good, than most probably you are fine.

Even if you did some damage, can't do much about it right now. Forget about it and ride.

fs

 

If it's still running and not making funny noises, you should be alright for a good while.

You probably did wear your bearings a good bit, but apparently not enough to spin'em.

If you're really paranoid, spend a few hours one afternoon and drop the oil pan and girdle and pull the bearings out to see their condition. It would be a good time to replace them if they're worn, anyways. It's not too hard.

 

What kind of noises would the motor be making if you were to have spun a bearing? And how long does it take to change the bearings? And can it be done with the motor in.?

 

If you would spin a bearing it would make a fairly loud ticking noise, a lot louder than a valve tick. Its not really that hard to change the bearings if you have to and yes you could do it with the motor in the car, but I promise unless you have a pretty good bit of machanical experience you dont want to do it. Its you if you want to take um down but like they said if the tech says its OK it should be OK.

 

You should be ok for now as stated before

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by staticrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What kind of noises would the motor be making if you were to have spun a bearing? And how long does it take to change the bearings? And can it be done with the motor in.?</TD></TR></TABLE>
CHK4TIX changed the main bearings in your car before he sold it to you, if you spun a bearing you would hear this god aweful KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK that increased with intesity when rpms were raised

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by prelittlelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
CHK4TIX changed the main bearings in your car before he sold it to you, if you spun a bearing you would hear this god aweful KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK that increased with intesity when rpms were raised</TD></TR></TABLE>


I'm not saying anything about my car, I was just wondering in general. I am not hopeing for any kind of trouble, checking that oil level is a daily habit I have gotten into. Maybe over cautious but hey it can't hurt.