# Started car without oil

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/started-car-without-oil/109560>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** accord, honda\
**Created:** [November 21, 2017, 9:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/started-car-without-oil/109560 "2017-11-21T09:29:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2017, 4:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/started-car-without-oil/109560/21 "2017-11-24T04:53:59Z")

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> [@B.L.E](#):
>
> My manual transmission car starts just fine without having my foot on the accelerator. Any car with a carburetor where the driver sometimes needed to pump the gas pedal to get an engine to start was likely built before they had starter interlocks tied to the clutch pedal.

The owner’s manual for my '87 Toyota pickup instructs drivers to pump the accelerator 3 times before trying a cold start. If I drive every few days, it starts up without my foot on the gas. I drive only every few months anymore. It often takes a few tens of seconds to start (old starter?) and I want to make sure I don’t miss the short window between the engine catching and the battery discharging so I have my foot on the gas.

I’ve replaced the fuel pump and re-built the carburetor, but only after they performed so poorly I couldn’t put it off any longer. While I was putting off repairs until they were obvious, starting could be challenging.

I used to drive up mountain roads to remote trailheads, go hiking for a few days or weeks. It would have been a huge drag to have it not start when I got back.

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