Forgot to replace oil drain plug....problems?

Hi guys,

This is only my second post here on the forums. So I got my jeep a few years ago but have spent the last few months doing a partial re-build on the top end after having major overheating trouble....all new valves, head gasket, water pump, radiator.

Anyways my brother in law who's a real shade tree mechanic came over today and we buttoned it all up. I drained the old oil and

 

and...?

 

:toetap:

 

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Sorry guys! I was writing this on my phone and put it down for a few minutes it must have sent it thru on its own. anyways.......

Its a F head-134 By the way

So I drained the oil and got distracted, forgot to put the drain plug back in.....came back then put 5 fresh quarts in and remarkably it showed up full ish on the dipstick even though it must have been draining back out, into the pan that was still down there, just as fast.

Came back 20 min later after filling the radiator. Did my mental checklist...(all but the drain plug apparently)
Tried to start it up with no success. Cranked 3 times probly 30 seconds each. I went back and checked found my plug wire set up for the wrong firing order. Fixed that.

Cranked it again and without a miliseconds hesitation it fired. Smoked like crazy...most likely from the squart of oil i put in each spark plug hole before installing the plugs. It sounded great, and after about a minute and a half I went to check gauges and noticed 0 oil pressure!!!! I shut it down immiedietly. My brother in law says, "probly just didnt have time to build pressure, fire it again!" Now I was hesitant but I did start it up again this time watching the pressure gauge to spike when I reved it up a few times. I ran it probobly another 30-45 seconds before I shut it back down.

Thats when I checked the dipstick and found it bone dry and made the realization that I forgot the drain plug. My mind panicked thinking I just ran the motor completely dry!!!!!!! My brother in law and Father in law both said "dont worry about it" because we didnt run it long.

I filled it back up this time with drain plug secure. Fired right up and ran absolutely great after adjusting the idle.....I ran it for about 15 minutes with no trouble. Everything seems fine.....but,

Im a terrible worry wort and all I can think about all night is did I possibly damage the bottom end???? Its probly fine like everyone said but they dont know these engines like you all do. What do you guys think? Am I ok no worrys? or should I have cause for concern? Total running time dry was less than 3 minutes or so....

Thanks guys!

 

What kind of oil pressure is it showing when it is running ?

 

Rusty,

Im getting upwards of 50 lbs. So thats pretty good right?

 

50 lbs is fine............but here is the deal. Lets hope whoever assembled the motor did so using assembly lube......which normally is red in color and sticks to parts like molasses...........even if you just had oil on the bearings that short of period it should be fine.............the metal to metal parts like the camshaft and lifters and rockers would be more prone to wear and damage running dry.................again if who ever assembled it was generous on the lube you should be fine.

 

tarry,

I did the tear down and re-assembly of only the top end myself. Took the head off, replaced exhaust valves, new head gasket and put it all back together. I was VERY generous using my lucas assembly lube on all lifters and push rods.....I hope that saved those parts.

HOWEVER,,,,I did not touch the bottom end. Cam, and Crank. They had more than enough time to dry out completely after 6 months of sitting. What ever oil was on there was left over from whatever old oil was in the pan and what ever new oil managed to rise up and stick as it was pouring right out the bottom!

Again though. plenty of assembly lube on everything I replaced, so the question is, did I affect the crank bearings/journals??? or the cam?

 

Well I would guess the top end is fine ...........was this synthetic oil that was in there before? synthetic will hold up a little better when you run out......oil will cling to parts for a while.......just really no way of telling ...its your call if you want to pull the pan or just run it.

 

If it were my motor, I think I would go ahead and run it. Keep an eye on it for the way it runs and change the oil again in a day or two. For what it's worth, had an old Ford that leaked oil very badly years ago and ran it out of oil often. That thing was still running great at 250,000 miles on it when I sold it. Good luck.

 

a friend of mine ran his slant six in an old volarie bone dry where it slowed to a stop and not able to crank it over. we let it sit for a few hours put oil in it and drove it for the next two years until the body fell off the frame literally.

 

I would guess and hope it is okay. 50psi is a lot.
You could pull the pan and connecting rod caps, visually check the bearing shells. If they show any galling/scoring etc, throw a new set in before the crank gets damaged.

But if it were me I'd probably just keep my fingers crossed.

 

Going to also guess you are ok. Oil will stay on journal bearings for years if it is never opened up. The fact that you do still have excellent oil pressure suggests to me that there probably wasn't any damage or very little damage. I too would run it as is. If the oil pressure starts to decrease dramatically over a short time when you get some miles on it, then you will need to deal with replacing the bearings. But chances are better than even that will not happen.

 

i agree with the above. there should have been a tad of oil on the bearings even after a long while.
you said you didnt run it long, and the fact that it did NOT seize up means alot. if you had worn the bearings much, oil pressure would have dropped. but 50 psi? that engine still have a lot of life in it. my step son has a 300 i6 in an 85 step side. he boought if from a jy in hopes of fixing it up. it leaks a quart a minute. he drives it until the engine start clanking, then puts oil in it. the 6 smoothes out and keep on going. personally, i would say thats due to it wearing a blue oval, but we all know its metal just like bow tie or any of the other engine companies.
drive it close to the house with a chaser car. put about 20-30 miles on it JUST to lay your mind at ease. when u put the oil back in, you stopped the damage, so you might have shaved like 10 miles off the 200k you MIGHT have gone over the engines life. youll never notice it.
gl and glad to hear theres another jeep back on the road!

 

My bro-in-law once attended an event where they ran an old Ford Flathead V8 without oil - and a brick on the accelerator pedal. He claims it took "hours" to die.

 

Hey All,

THANK YOU! I ran it again today and it started right up and runs like a top, so that said and having all of you confirm that its probobly fine my confidence is bolstered and its on to the next problem before I take it down the road.

I did all the work due an overheating problem. I have replaced every possible cause of overheating and it seems to be heating up and at normal operating temp but for some reason the temp gauge wasnt working at first, then when I found the bad ground to the gauge cluster everything worked but the temp gauge spiked to above Hot just as it was before when it was overheating.

I know for sure its not that hot so Im thinking first things first change out the temp sender right? Hopefully if that fixes it Im on to rear brake lines, wheel cylinders and putting on my new alloy usa 1.25" wheel spacers and on down the road I go!

Thanks again!

 

To quote Maxwell Smart -----

"It's the old f-134 overheating after disassembly problem.....again".

One cause can be the upper hose from the rad to the block. The top of that hose does NOT want to be level. Or even worse it doesn't want to go uphill from the rad to the bend that takes it down to the block.

It wants to slant downwards from the rad towards the block. Always heading downwards -- similar to a gutter, sewer line or air compressor plumbing, but perhaps at a slightly greater angle.

I have been known to drill a small (small) hole in the thermostat -- I'm not sure that helps, but it makes me feel better about getting at least some water flow across a closed thermostat.

You also want to do everything you can to get any air out of the block / hoses. But I've found that the top hose is the thing that is most likely to cause a problem.

 

Like others have said, you probably didn't do any damage. If you had damaged the rod bearings then the oil pressure will drop on acceleration. The Willys engines are tough.

 

Make sure you have the cooling system full. It may need to be "burped."

Kamel's suggestion of a small hole in the therrmostat is one I agree with.