In the middle of a timing belt change RIGHT NOW!

Bush · May 13, 2016

I guess it will be a matter of how hot the bearings, cylinder walls, piston rings, etc all got without any cooling oil on them and how that may have changed the metal's qualities in those various load areas.

BUT - the most important question not yet asked is . . . . What was the brand and grade of oil just drained??

dwalby · May 13, 2016

Bush said:
BUT - the most important question not yet asked is . . . . What was the brand and grade of oil just drained??

I didn't want to go there given the mood of the OP, but if all turns out well then during the next oil thread he can claim good results from "none".

Jim Van · May 14, 2016

Wow !!! Now I don't feel too bad over a few of my blunders over the years. Never ran an engine w/o oil, though.

Did the low Oil Pressure Light come on ??

MaxPete · May 14, 2016

Yup - I concur. Get the oil in there and give it a whirl. As others have said, there will be a thin film of oil everywhere in an engine, even after draining it, so you're likely ok given that you were only idling and not running down a road hard. These ST engines appear to be as tough as nails.

BTW - if the oil light did NOT come on then you need to change the pressure sender and/or the oil light indicator bulb. Either way, I would nail down that issue chop-chop.

In most maintenance shops it is a practice to put a large yellow or red sign on anything that has been drained but is supposed have oil in it. The sign is placed over top of the start switch and says "NO OIL". Not helpful now I realise - but good practice for next time.

I guess a key point is that it runs after your timing belt job!

Pete

Paul · May 14, 2016

Dirt Road said:
Okay, so I just realized I seriously ****ed up. I'd drained the oil, and when I started it up I forgot to refill it first. it ran for maybe two minutes tops.

I learned along time ago to finish the job before you start the next. As a teen working in a service station, I was performing the first oil change on a customers brand new conversion van. I drained the oil while the van was on the lift, and then lowered it down. I proceeded to start the engine for a leak check, forgetting about the oil, and did a walk around to check lights and such. I made a complete round of the car before I noticed the oil light on. OH ***P. Put oil in and it was fine. Never heard another word about it.

Dirt Road · May 15, 2016

Bush said:
BUT - the most important question not yet asked is . . . . What was the brand and grade of oil just drained??

I know better than to open that can of worms! It really wasn't run for long before I realized. So far it's fine. The bike runs great! That high-pitched tone that I've always attributed to the belt and pulleys is slightly different, which I imagine is just the effect of a new belt. She's pretty happy overall, and so am I!

Dirt Road · May 15, 2016

MaxPete said:
Yup - I concur. Get the oil in there and give it a whirl. As others have said, there will be a thin film of oil everywhere in an engine, even after draining it, so you're likely ok given that you were only idling and not running down a road hard. These ST engines appear to be as tough as nails.

BTW - if the oil light did NOT come on then you need to change the pressure sender and/or the oil light indicator bulb. Either way, I would nail down that issue chop-chop.

In most maintenance shops it is a practice to put a large yellow or red sign on anything that has been drained but is supposed have oil in it. The sign is placed over top of the start switch and says "NO OIL". Not helpful now I realise - but good practice for next time.

I guess a key point is that it runs after your timing belt job!

Pete

I'm going to do that sign thing always from now on.

Bush · May 15, 2016

Dirt Road said:
Originally Posted by Bush
BUT - the most important question not yet asked is . . . . What was the brand and grade of oil just drained??
I know better than to open that can of worms!

Rather than a can of worms - this is empirical data you are withholding. Who gets to test their oil's merits by this method normally? I'm sure many here would like to know.

Jim Van · May 15, 2016

I have a friend who took his VW Golf Diesel in for an oil change. Long story short - somehow the oil filter gasket got pinched ( or something ) and all the oil leaked out after he left the dealer. The oil light came on, but he thought " Nothing could be wrong, I just had the oil changed". About 3 miles later when he stopped he checked his oil level and it was empty. He called the dealer and they towed the car back to the dealer, installed ( properly ) a new oil filter and added oil. He had no apparent problems after that !!! Frankly, I couldn't believe the engine didn't seize !! I would have demanded a new engine.

MaxPete · May 15, 2016

Dirt Road said:
I'm going to do that sign thing always from now on.

Good practice Isaac. Anyhow, this all has a good ending as your bike is now back together and all seems to be well. Enjoy riding and go forward with new confidence that you have the right stuff to take on a complex task and get 'er done!

Congrats!

Peter

Gerhard · May 15, 2016

Jim Van said:
He called the dealer and they towed the car back to the dealer, installed ( properly ) a new oil filter and added oil. He had no apparent problems after that !!! Frankly, I couldn't believe the engine didn't seize !! I would have demanded a new engine.

I was at a VW air-cooled event 20 years ago and for a fundraiser they had a liquid cooled car with all fluids drained and sold tickets with how long the engine would run. It idled well past the 3 or 4 minute maximum they had set so finally someone got in it and stepped on the accelerator and revved it and it took another minute or so of that and then the engine started to slow down and all of a sudden it revved up again and then died with a thud and some smoke, nothing too dramatic. I was really impressed by the amount of abuse this thing took, it was a Dodge Omni.

Having said that I think it would have been a good idea to have the dealer document this event in case this resulted in a warranty claim.

Gerhard

Dirt Road · May 16, 2016

Those are all very reassuring stories. As predicted, I have been hearing phantom noises, but I'm also quite confident that they are no more than phantoms. In the interest of science, the oil was Castrol GTX 10w-40. She has continued running smoothly in the days since. I even got on an empty freeway and took her up to about 115 (120 on the speedo) and she seemed to be pretty happy up there.

Bush · May 17, 2016

Thanks for divulging the oil info. Very interesting. Ol' GTX has been around for decades. Used it in all my bikes and cars for decades too. Only left it when I switched to synthetics.

In the middle of a timing belt change RIGHT NOW!

Happy Saturday!