I was changing the oil the other day, car up on all four jacks - been sitting that way for a while.

Anyway changed all the oil like normal, and after I put about 4 qts in, I decided to crank the motor to let it go through the lines a little. Anyway instead of cranking, I just turned on the car - and I was treated to a very harsh noise and an idle at around 1800 before it settled back to its usual cold idle of about 1500 -

my question is - when I started the car without cranking like that, did I just force the engine to run with no oil in it? That's how it sounded anyway... very very harsh metal-y sound at the beginning, for about a second until the oil was flowing I guess?

 

It takes some time for the oil to reach your engine's camshafts on a dry startup. first the oil in the pan has to fill the dry filter before being pumped up to the head.

During an oil change, I personally like prefilling the new oil filter with a half quart of engine oil before screwing it on. This way the pump doesn't have to fill the filter before flowing up into the cylinderhead.

Also, I short click the ignition key until the oil pressure light goes out. Furthermore, I like using 0W/40 motor oil for improved cold start lubricity. They say that most engine wear occurs upon cold starts don't they?

 

yep, most wear on cold starts - I guess I was just wondering if this was somehow different from a normal cold start - hopefully didn't do anything to wear the motor too much.

i'm gonna crank on cold starts every time from now on lol

 

Yes, the initial start after an oil change is different than a normal cold start. For a normal coldstart the oil filter is already full of oil. Whereas, if you install the filter dry during an oil change then the pump has to fill the filter before pumping up to the camshaft bearing surfaces. So, prefill the oil filter before you screw it on.

 

thanks good tip - what's the verdict tho, you think i did any damage? never heard that noise before starting up after an oil change

 

i doubt there was any severe damage. If that is done each time, it will all add up and damage may become prone.

I also suggest filling your new oil filter with oil before installing it.

 

+1 on pre-filling the filter. It is amazing how much that filter will suck up too, just pour slowly.

I'd venture to guess you didn't do any permanent damage, but if any damage were to be done it would have been right then. Good luck.

 

If you are worried about it, you should throw some BG oil additive in there, that stuff is magic...

 

nooooo lol

but how is it differnet from a cold start?

 

This is how
always prefill the oil filter, like the others have said.

 

damnn... so i basically ran the motor with no oil in it... hope she's ok, i haven't turned on the car since i let it idle for a while like that

 

I agree with everything that was said here. I use 20W50 Brad Penn semi-synthetic, though. It is highly unlikely there was much damage done though, unless it was really squealing when it started up.

 

it wasnt too bad, just a moment of harsh metallic noise. I'm sure it's fine. Thanks for all the inputs, I'll definitely put some oil in the filter from now on.. or at least crank the motor a few times

 

nobody else has done this huh? I think part of the problem was the car was drained of oil for ab three days before i started it again without cranking or prefilling the filter

 

completely normal if ya didn't fill the oil filter, don't worry about it. if you spend any time around a shop you'll hear this kind of noise all the time. some cars you can't fill the filter so they sound pretty bad on startup, and cranking the engine (ign disabled and all) doesn't always work. the oil pump can't start a siphon unless it sees higher rpms, ford modulars are that way and sound terrible after oil changes