Hi all! It's my first time posting but I've lurked on the page for a long time and was able to fix a lot of stuff on my S2K because of it. I thought I'd ask here about the issue I have come across on my S2K. I will preface by saying I definitely screwed up for not checking the oil levels so if you don't have anything helpful to say just keep it to yourself and move along. No need to beat a dead horse.

So, I made the mistake of not checking my oil levels and it is my fault for not thinking about it. I had been strung out these past several months and normally I'm conscious about basic maintenance. I changed the oil and I hate to admit that the level was very low. So, before I changed it, My S.O. was telling me that when he was driving it, it wasn't as responsive to start up and it was very slow. He had his friend look at it and he said there was a metal, possibly grinding, sound. When I drained the oil, I didn't see any metal shavings. So, new oil has been put in and I waited about 5 to 10 minutes to start the car and let it idle for a bit. After that, it's still very sluggish and slow to move reaching about 4k RPM and just barely starting to take off. I haven't tried driving it since Saturday or Sunday after the oil change because I'm nervous something could go terribly wrong if I do and the only time I will move it is to get it into the garage. Could anyone give me any info on what to check and if the part is broken, what to do to fix it, as well as what I'll need tool wise? I will say that my knowledge on fixing the S2K is kind of limited so if the directions you give are detailed and have steps to them, I'd really appreciate it. Let me know if you need more information as well. Thanks in advance.

 

How low did the oil get?

Are there any check engine lights on?

Is there evidence of metal in the oil now?

 

I'm not good at guessing quantities but I would say it got very low considering it drained out pretty quickly.

I didn't see any check engine lights and considering that the dash didn't light up when it got low, I may have to look at that as well.

I don't know for sure, would I be checking the oil that I drained initially (I haven't gotten rid of it yet) or the oil actively sitting in the motor? I'm sorry if my question is dumb, I just want to make sure I do everything right.

 

Not sure what you mean by "low oil" level. Anywhere between the marks on the dipstick is good. Toward the bottom of that range is still good. It's a range of goodness not a single point.

Low oil pressure will activate the Low Oil Pressure Indicator, the bright Yellow oil can symbol on the instrument panel. Are you saying you (and your SO!) ignored that?

Strongly recommend you send a sample of the oil you drained to Blackstone Labs. Kit is free -- order it today! Test is $35. Results come back by email in less than a week after they receive the sample. The results will either be reassuring or terrifying.

-- Chuck

 

You dont really know if it got low. Sounds like you are just judging by how quickly it drained which is not telling you much of anything really. Too hard to judge that. The oil light comes on when it is already pretty low pressure but if it never came on then at least it was not seeing super low pressure constantly.

Not really enough info to tell you anything here. If making sounds then better to try to record them (best in front of the car, hood closed and engine running) and post that. A running issue bad enough to make it barely pull should be setting a CEL at some point most times.

When you turn the key on, but do not start the car, what lights do you see on the dash? The check engine light, oil light and others should come on at first, that will tell you if those indicators are indeed working at least.

 

When I say "low", I mean I drained it and not long after I took the drain plug out, it stopped draining because there was nothing left. I did forget to check the dipstick before I changed the oil so I can't tell you where it was sitting prior. I know I said my knowledge was limited but it's not so limited to where I wouldn't know that there is an acceptable range for the oil to be on the dipstick. I do appreciate the explanation regardless.

If you read my earlier reply to someone else, you'd see that I said the light never came on and that I probably have to look into why it didn't light up. So no, neither my SO nor I ignored the indicator light because there was no light to begin with.

I appreciate the recommendation to send in the oil though. I'll get it done ASAP

 

I would tell you how low it was if I knew but I was concerned with not having the oil changed in a little while and didn't check the dipstick before I did and I know now I should have. The only way for me to judge how much was left is from how little oil drained out but I still have the empty bottles from the new oil and I can dump the old oil into them to gauge how much was actually in there.

I personally don't hear anything grinding or metallic when it's on but that's when I'm in the car. I'll check it out later today and get back to you on theamount of oil, the video and the lights. I appreciate it.

~Standby~

 

It may be best to run an oil analysis. So don't toss that old oil!

 

You can't run an oil analysis on a sample that's been drained into an old drain pan. That's gonna come up with a million false positives.

OP...if you're going to do an oil analysis, you need to do it on your new oil.

In the short term..check the dipstick now. Is the oil grayish silver with glitter looking metal particles?

I doubt it will be since you're saying your oil warning light (red light with an oil lamp symbol) has never turned on.

The oil has to be massively low for it to cause issues on a typical, street driven S2000. If even 2 quarts are left in the pan, you would probably be fine in most cases.

From your 1st post, it doesn't sound like anything is wrong with the engine. Your SO stated the car feels sluggish and his friend stated he hears a rattling. Do you hear a rattling? Under what conditions?

Step 1...
For clarity sake...what are your current issues with the car? Just post a bone dry issues list with no unnecessary words in between. That will give everyone a crystal clear description to help you sort out.

 

Understood. I'll check the oil when I get back home for the day. I did check it the day after changing the oil and it looks normal. Thanks for helping me figure out what to troubleshoot.

Issues/symptoms:
High revving, slow acceleration.
Engine shakes like it's about to stall out while actually driving.