I had not checked my oil for two months…shame on me. “check gages” light comes on, i check my oil and there is none on the dipstick. i had heard no knocking or strange noises coming from the engine. it was running fine. i put in 1 quart…let it sit for a few minutes, nothing. Another quart, started it up, let it sit, nothing. 3 quarts, same process and bam! oil level was to the operating range. i let it run for about 10 minutes, still no strange noises and it had consistant oil pressure. drove down the road, seemed to be fine. Is there anything i could have damaged that i would not notice right away?
What car and year and mileage? How many miles since the last change? If the recommended oil level is 5 quarts or more, you probably don’t need to worry. If it’s 3.5 quarts or less, You may have long term damage. Nothing you can do about it at this point, except change oil and filter.
The fact that a warning light came on probably means that oil pressure dropped too low for a period of time. If you didn’t continue to drive with this on, then you might be okay.
However, it’s also possible that accelerated wear did take place. It might show up real soon, or it might not show up for a few years yet. No real way to know. All you can do is get the oil up to its proper range and keep it there. Get into the habit of checking the oil at least every other fill-up.
This was probably a free lesson; don’t push it and let it turn into a very expensive one.
94 chevy suburban with 224,236 miles. 600 miles since last change. it is recommeneded at 5 quarts, so basically i was running with two. i really hope this was just a close call. thanks!
the light came on twice very briefly in the course of about an hour, only lasting about 4 seconds each and i only drove about 4 miles after noticing it. thanks for the input!