300 miles with no oil...

[mansfa]

You advice please!

If somebody had driven say 300+ miles at pace with low oil levels in the engine and the motor had subsequently develloped a loud ticking sound that increases with revs, what would you think the possible outcome would be?

No oil was visible on the dipstick at the end of the trip, ticking noise reduced but still noticible after adding 2.5 litres of oil to engine. Car is BMW 328i.

[kevinday]

Possibly a cam follower or similar. Listen to the top end of the engine through some sort of tube so that you can identify the exact location of the noise source.

[gentlefoot]

Bound to be the top end!

[Mr Whippy]

Yup, oil starvation, leading to friction and heat especially at the top end.

However, I *think* the cam followers are hydraulic on those engines, so they "inflate" with oil pressure, and make the gap between the cam and the follower correct in normal operation.
If the oil pressure drops then they can not be adjusted correctly, so they tap alot more than they should.

Considering filling it up again has made it quieter might mean it's that...


Still, being 2.5 litres down ain't good

Could have literally worn maybe a mm off the cam lobes without decent oil flow in that amount of time at high engine speeds

Dave

[Incorrigible]

How loud's the "tick" could be knackered big ends, although it does sound like top end

If it's got hydraulic tappets, it's might be the cam bearings

[peanutjb]

Just out of interest, but at what point should the oil level light come on in my golf 1.4.

During it's recent midlife crisis, it developed a taste for oil, without telling me (no leaks, no clouds of blue smoke). It was running fine (and it still is, life begins at 40!), when I checked the oil it was quite a way below the minimum, and I was shocked that the oil level light hadn't come on. Engine temperature remained normal, but I think there's a lose connection, cus it keeps going to zero after sitting at 90, then shooting back up, so is it possible that theres a lose connection on the oul level as well??

Also, does anyone know why, for the first time ever the other day, it decided it would idle at 1200 rather than 800 for a while before it went back down. It hadn't run in a couple of days, but it's never done that before.

Cheers
Peter

[grahambell]

peanutjb said:

Just out of interest, but at what point should the oil level light come on in my golf 1.4.

Unless Golf's are different to most cars, then it's not an oil level light, it's an oil PRESSURE light.

If so then it should come on with the ignition warning light and go off when you start the engine and it gets oil pressure up.

If it doesn't come on then you could have a dead bulb, and duff sender or a wiring problem.

[eliot]

grahambell said:

peanutjb said: Just out of interest, but at what point should the oil level light come on in my golf 1.4. Unless Golf's are different to most cars, then it's not an oil level light, it's an oil PRESSURE light. If so then it should come on with the ignition warning light and go off when you start the engine and it gets oil pressure up. If it doesn't come on then you could have a dead bulb, and duff sender or a wiring problem.

[Incorrigible]

My old MR2 had a pressure light (red) and a level light (orange, I pressume so the hard of thinking could tell the difference)

No idea about the golf though, sorry

[hugoagogo]

if it's a newish golf it could have an oil level light, newer passats certainly do

edit: not really a light, a worded warning on the middle display thing in the dash

>> Edited by hugoagogo on Tuesday 18th October 09:45

[mansfa]

The ticking noise on the BMW wasnt that loud, it did however increase with rpm. What does a top end refurb involve?

[MR2Mike]

grahambell said:

If so then it should come on with the ignition warning light and go off when you start the engine and it gets oil pressure up. If it doesn't come on then you could have a dead bulb, and duff sender or a wiring problem.

More to the point, if it DOES come on then it means "STOP NOW or risk serious engine damage" rather than "put some oil in when you get around to it"

[peanutjb]

grahambell said:

peanutjb said: Just out of interest, but at what point should the oil level light come on in my golf 1.4. Unless Golf's are different to most cars, then it's not an oil level light, it's an oil PRESSURE light. If so then it should come on with the ignition warning light and go off when you start the engine and it gets oil pressure up. If it doesn't come on then you could have a dead bulb, and duff sender or a wiring problem.

It definately has oil pressure warnings, as well as oil level.

Peter