Technical Car was run with oil light on and is now noisy Cinquecento s 899

[cairnsie13]

Hi my girlfriend stupidly did not regularly check the oil in her car and then drove her car somehow not realising the oil light was on. She could have drove it approximately 2 mile with the oil light on. When i checked the oil there was little on the dipstick. Unfortunatly the way i noticed there was no oil in the car is due to fact that the tappets were extremely noisy when she pulled up outside my house and started to investigate the engine. I filled the car back up with 10w/40 halfway up the dipstick max and min however the oil light would not go off when run again and the tappets were nearly as noisy. We drove the car down the road in the hope oil pressure would build however the car would not excede 20mph and the tappets were noisy however after a minute or so the oil light went off and the tappets went quiet and the engine regained power. I thought she may have been very lucky as the car was fine for a few days on short runs however on a 30mile trip on fast roads the tappets are getting noisy again. Basically curious as to if there is gonna be terminal damage to the engine. I have a set of hydrolic tappets off a car early stripped for parts so replacing should not be a problem however is the anything else that is likely to have been damaged.

 

[fingers99]

Well, there's a fair chance that the bearings have been damaged.

Not really a lot you can do except pray they're OK. An oil and filter change might put off the bad day a little longer, but I suspect any damage -- if any -- has already been done.

A case of suck it and see, I think.

Rebuilding those engines is probably not worth the hastle -- easier to pick up another.

 

[cairnsie13]

Thanks for replying quickly i hope it hasent if they are damaged its going to the scrapyard anyway the engine will not be rebuilt or replace the engine it is cheaper to buy new car.

 

[fingers99]

Disagree with the last point, but only if you put in the work.

They're tough old engines! Hope for the best!