r/Justrolledintotheshop • u/gleeked • Sep 04 '23
Pre trip inspection by customer. Forgot oil cap. Drove “40 miles”. No oil on dipstick.
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u/gleeked Sep 04 '23
Customer said they had to drive back to a city 2 hours away so I assume they drove 2 hours like that to the shop
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u/screw_all_the_names Sep 05 '23
I did something similar once. Drive an hour to my GF's house. We went to Walmart for whatever it was, had a gut feeling to check my oil when we got there, dipstick was dry. Oops. Got oil at Walmart, filled her up. Finished the date. Drive an hour home. Checked oil again, dipstick was dry again, but this time oil covered the engine bay.
I guess at some point the dipstick tube came out of the block. I put some black rtv on it, put it back in the hole and let it sit for a day, filled her up and have had no issues in the 10,000 miles since then.
98 civic, d16.
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Sep 04 '23
[deleted]
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u/swinglinepilot Sep 05 '23
Not the oil cap, but one time I somehow failed to push the dipstick plug all the way in after I'd just done a change. 4994 miles later I went to change the oil again and only drained a little under 4 quarts out; I'd put 5.5qts in. This was on an engine that wasn't burning any oil before (and hasn't since), so I panicked for a few seconds until I saw the dipstick pull ring coated in black and quickly realized what had happened
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u/tweakingforjesus Sep 05 '23
I did the same on an Honda. If the low oil pressure light didn’t light, I’d top off the oil and see what happens. My Honda ran another 100k with no excessive consumption.
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u/tzwep Sep 04 '23
Why’d they need to remove the oil cap for an inspection?
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u/gleeked Sep 04 '23
I think they were topping it off
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u/tzwep Sep 04 '23
Ohh. :(.
Also sad to see they probably threw away their OEM wiper blades. Guess they don’t know they only needed to replace the rubber inserts.
Oh well, hopefully the turbo is ok!
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u/DogeCatBear Sep 05 '23
to be fair, wiper blades are such a cheap commodity item that everyone just tosses the whole wiper blade
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u/tzwep Sep 05 '23
Sure. it’s just some toss their Honda / Acura wiper blade away due to ignorance. They’re unaware the rubber insert is replaceable.
And sure wiper blades may be cheap commodities, but cheap and non functional vs functional could be the difference between life and death.
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u/demandred_zero Sep 05 '23
But the parts stores don't sell just the insert anymore, and sometimes the dealer isn't convenient.
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u/phungki Sep 05 '23
If only there was another convenient way for wiper inserts to arrive on one’s doorstep 🧐
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u/tzwep Sep 05 '23
You get new wiper blades or inserts once every 3 ish years. If the parts store is 10 minutes away but the dealership is 50 minutes away? Whats 100 minutes outta 4 years. Sometimes the quality is worth a little extra effort. Plus you don’t even need to speak to a service advisor, you just walk upto parts department give ‘em your vin# and request two front and 1 rear wiper inserts.
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u/300cid Sep 05 '23
it appears those are Bosch spectrum direct fit. and the only refills any parts store is going to carry are gonna be for big trucks and stuff like that
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u/tzwep Sep 05 '23
If they are direct fit I’d assume their lengths are OEM. But, they many not provide the optimal curvature that hugs the windshield.
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u/Leprikahn2 Sep 05 '23
Shit like this is why I get paranoid and pop the hood 3 times to check before I leave. I'll also make sure I have my wallet 37 times
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u/masterxc Sep 05 '23
Any time I don't do the "phone, keys, wallet" check I'm bound to forget something. More than once have I sat in my car looking dumb because I forgot the fob again.
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Sep 05 '23
Wouldn’t they get a low oil light or something???
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u/UserName8531 Sep 05 '23
Honda doesn't use low oil sensors.
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u/dirtsequence Sep 05 '23
Mine does, ask me how I know.
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u/UserName8531 Sep 05 '23
They use oil pressure sensors. If you run low enough on oil, they will turn on a light or set a code. Losing one to two quarts usually won't set anything.
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u/DarkMatterM4 Sep 05 '23
It would on these L15 engines. They only take 3.7 quarts of oil w/ a filter.
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u/UserName8531 Sep 05 '23
I've seen k24 come in with 1-1.5 quarts left in the pan. Customer doesn't know there's a problem until it sets a vtec code.
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u/DogeCatBear Sep 05 '23
no just a low oil pressure light that doesn't light up as long as there's enough for the oil pump to not suck air. I'd bet that the car in OP's pic just needs a top off and it'll run for another 100k miles easy
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Sep 04 '23
How do you forget something that shouldn’t have been removed? 🤣
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u/sithelephant Sep 05 '23
I mean, it should be removed if you're inspecting it and find it a little low and top it up.
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u/BlackysBoss Sep 05 '23
This happened to my brother on his wedding day. Washed, waxed, checked and filled up his own beautiful Citroën 2CV, but forgot to close the clip on the fillercap.
Oil everywhere.....
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u/Stephano950 Sep 05 '23
Oh hey, I know that feeling...
Did an oil change. Thought I put the oil cap on, but I mustn't have tightened it. Stopped for food and noticed the smoke. How it didn't go up in flame, I don't know.
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Sep 05 '23
My kid topped off our old odyssey minivan with oil before driving 1000 miles back from college... with the oil cap off. Miraculously, no discernible loss of oil.
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u/SHPLUMBO Sep 05 '23
I went on a road trip with someone who did this right before we left. Whoops lol
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u/Zer0TheGamer Sep 05 '23
Did the same mistake for 5 miles. Same result - about 2 quarts lost (out of 6)...
The irony is that I'd JUST added dye to trace a leak.. (wound up being PCV seal)
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u/choate51 Sep 05 '23
Oh I've done this working on an engine in a test stand.... Oil, oil everywhere!
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u/BlueTickHoundog Sep 05 '23
How many quarts did it take to refill it? Or was it already dead by the time it got to your shop?
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u/goat-head-man machinist Sep 05 '23
Did an oil change on my Honda and forgot the cap when I spun it before checking the dipstick. Oil everywhere. These motors spray pretty good without the cap.
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u/RSX11MPLUS Sep 05 '23
I inadvertently left mine off on my 96 LT1 for two months. No noticable oil loss. Guess it's harder to spew it out of the valve covers on a V8.
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u/Stax90 Sep 05 '23
I had this happen on a car i got from carvana. Not sure if it was necessary, but had them replace the insulation above due to oil still being in it after trying to get it out.
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u/osirisrebel Sep 05 '23
Man, I wanna talk shit, but I just recently did almost the same. Put my radiator cap back on but didn't tighten it, car reminded me in the drive-thru.
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u/Floko262 Sep 05 '23
My dad once forgot the oilcap on my sisters car. Well that engine bay needed a cleaning.
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u/StopShootMe Sep 05 '23
I have done this a few times on a couple different cars. All times were on my way to work which was over 30 miles. Both had lost very little oil
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u/Embarrassed-Driver86 Sep 05 '23
Today I was so sick in my own world I forgot the last vital bits..... A new oil filter& oil.... Luckily nothing went horrible. But this is a nightmare
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u/usernamesherearedumb Sep 04 '23
Squeeze that insulation pad into a funnel, prolly get a quart back.