Dolemike

On my way home tonight I heard a pop noise as if something came off under the car, I was immediately concerned but not that far from my house, i start smelling oil burning and see smoke coming out the back. The oil light came on and then went back off... i keep the car going (not fast and at low rpms) and coast as much as I can b/c im well less than half a mile from my apartment. I ONLY CUT the car on to get it to coasting speed and immediately cut it off... i noticed the oil light stayed on during that time... and started hearing the clanking noise from the engine, it was starting to get really noticable, not REAL loud. There is a trail of oil all the way from the highway to my car, and about half a qt. sitting under the car. I already have all the necessities to add the oil, filter and the plug. What are my chances that I have done some serious damage? Im sure the only way to find out is to fill it up and cut it on. Is there anything i can do to prevent damage (if it would cause any) when i start it back up???

xviper

Not much you can do about it now anyway. Just fill 'er up and keep your fingers crossed. If there's damage, it's already done. It won't get any worse now. You can hope that you were using good oil and the oil's film strength and additives help up.

Dolemike

Well, fortunately I guess as far as that is concerned I JUST topped it off to full last night with some more Mobil 1 synthetic, so it should have been good and slippery. I really wanted to just pull over but I was too close to the apartment and it wasnt a good stretch of highway to even consider leaving it.

xviper

Now, the big question is: "How and why did the plug fall out?" Don't want a repeat of this again.

Dolemike

Ok, so I just filled it up with some Mobil 1 synthetic... and started it up. At first the engine sounded "chattery" for a second then I suppose after the oil worked in, it quieted it down. Then I heard another noise once the rpms started dropping but then it went away and all seemed normal. Maybe it sounds more "chattery" than usual but that could be just me as I am on the verge of a break down and I did not hear anything that would be obvious to me so I suspect I would be more paranoid than usual. Unfortunately I didnt get a chance to drive it around the block as I have NO gas and the closest gas station to me is closed at the moment. If anything major occured to the engine during this terrible episode would there be a dead give away on it?

As far as why and how it came off thats a good question and I am very concerned. I tried 2 weekends ago to loosen that plug and it would not budge, maybe I DID in fact loosen it but I seriously didnt think I did or else it would have been changed.

xviper

This can be tough to say for sure. I'm guessing that if you had immediate and severe damage, that the noise would not go away after the oil circulated. However, you will never know for sure without an engine tear down. You may as well drive it till it does make noise.

On the topic of you trying to take the plug out before and having a hard time. Can you be sure you didn't turn it the wrong way and stretched the threads too much? The engine vibration then could have popped the damaged threads loose. If this were the case, your plug may come out again.

Dolemike

Yea, im pretty sure I was loosening it, the wrench was still set that way when I used it tonight. I really wish I had enough gas in it to run it around real quick tonight, I really want to wash that oil off so noone would see the smoke coming out from under it. *sigh* guess itll have to be tomorrow and everyone can get a good stare at it, best believe im taking the backroads to where I wash it.... assuming all is well. But I did let the car nearly warm all the way up (almost to 3rd bar, im sure it would have gotten there in 10 secs or so), the CEL did not come on and I didnt hear anything. Im sure once I push the car one time will be the make it or break it scenario.... either ill be clear or in the dog house. I can tell you one thing, I do NOT want to go thru this again EVER. The whole underside of my car is caked in oil, this is one big mess. Im buying the Fumoto plug this weekend so hopefully I wont have to go thru this again. I suppose ill TRY to go to sleep for now and hope for the best in the morning.

T S2K H

wow... hope everything is ok... i once had the oil cap fall off. that was a quest to clean!

RACER

Did you have a spare drain plug at your house?

heffergm

This is why I safety wire everything critical... oil drain bolt, oil filter and (depending on the setup for the particular car) the tranny drain/fill plugs.

My racing days taught me well...