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I'm relieved to find that this company has been honest and willing to take care of the issue. They found the threads to be bad and said they should've caught that when they did the oil change last week. They're going to pay for new tray and any damage to engine as well as reimburse me for a rental. They'll even let Ford do the work. Good to find that there are some good honest companies out there willing to do the right thing.
Now supposing it was the oil cap that came off, not the plug, how far can a car go before it loses all the oil and the engine seizes?
Not the same in any way..........drain plug is on the bottom and the oil cap is on top. Not much if any will be lost by a missing cap, but if you lose the drain plug, different scenario !!!!!
I was really nervous for you, especially when you said they towed it to their oil change place. I was thinking they were going to dump oil in it , tighten the new drain plug, and call it good. They evidently saw that the damage was VERY severe and couldn't cover it up. Them taking it to a Ford dealership sounds fine, but make sure you personally stay completely involved. Call the service manager there and get some relationship going with him. Make sure he gets the full story and knows the motor needs torn down all the way to repair any internal damage the right way.
Here is what happens when an engine is deprived of oil:
1) The rod and main bearings start to weld themselves to the crankshaft.
2) The camshaft bearings will start doing the same to the camshaft and the lobes on the camshaft will be scored by the lifters (even if they are roller lifters)
3) The oil pump gears will begin to wear out.
4) Depending on the severity of the oil starvation, the insides of the engine will become contaminated with metal particles.
5) And every component that depends on oil for lubrication will experience premature wear and scuffing.
There are only two ways to properly repair your engine at this point. One is to completely tear it down, remachine the block and internal components, clean it completely to remove trash inside it, and then reassemble it using all new bearings, rings, seals, etc. The second way is to put an brand new or low mileage replacement engine in place of the damaged one.
I am speculating on the extent of the damage based on what you have described. Your actual damage may not be that extensive, but there is only one way to know, and that is for the dealership to tear it down and inspect it. By calling the service manager you will be attempting to make sure they are not going to simply put a bandaid on it to help out the oil change people. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION and if not done properly you might get a few months out of it, maybe a year, but eventually it will come back to bite you.
You also want a written report from the dealership, showing what work was performed, and a copy of the invoice, showing all parts replaced and labor performed. That will be your documentation should this problem resurface down the road.
Good luck, and don't let up on this one, you need to really follow it all the way through. It looks like you are doing that so far, good job.
I'm surprised the OP never noticed any oil spots on his driveway prior to the incident. Even though I know my vehicle doesn't drip anything I still always take a look at my driveway to see if I notice any drips of any kind. You would think if the oil plug wasn't on correctly that it would drip oil unless of course the car has always had a leak therefore it was difficult to tell.
I had this happen to me one time, but I was the moron who forgot to tighten the drain plug all the way so I only had myself to blame. I hand tightened it, but forgot to torque it down. The plug worked itself loose over the course of a few days until it fell out when I was driving it. I got the oil warning light and a loud buzzer that I had never heard before. I pulled over almost immediately and figured out pretty quickly what was going on (oil was still dripping from the underside of the car and I could see the drain plug was missing). I retraced my route and found the plug). It took about 1/2 a mile for the oil to completely drain. I found the plug, walked back and put it back in, and walked to the closest gas station to buy oil so I could get home. My car was ticking pretty loudly when I turned it off.
I'm going to guess that you were fine for most of your trip. Most of the time, oil doesn't start draining much until the plug is almost all the way out (maybe a few drops at a time before then). The warning light is different for each car, so it's hard to say what that means for you. Like others have said, you wouldn't make it very far with no oil - a mile or so at the most. No doubt the quickie lube guys should be on the hook for this.
In my case, I filled up the car with oil, drove it very gingerly home (about 15 miles) and changed the oil again a few days later. I suffered no long term effects. I drove it 60000 more miles after that and the car made it to 205K miles before I sold it. This was a VW with the VR6 motor.
As a general rule you never stop half way finished when putting the oil drain plug back in. Why would anyone other that someone with severe ADD stop and not finish it once they start. It is too simple of a task to have to STOP before you finish for any reason...WHY? no excuses.
I'm surprised the OP never noticed any oil spots on his driveway prior to the incident. Even though I know my vehicle doesn't drip anything I still always take a look at my driveway to see if I notice any drips of any kind. You would think if the oil plug wasn't on correctly that it would drip oil unless of course the car has always had a leak therefore it was difficult to tell.
It mustve loosened over time. Remember, I drove it about 1000 miles during a weekend trip after the oil change. After that, didnt drive it much that week, a few short trips to run errands. On the last one, is when it all happened. But THEN I seen a little oil path into the driveway.
I got my Escape back and amazingly enough, Ford says its good to go. No issues noted from their tests. I will of course keep a close eye on it, but im glad there's no major issues. While a small part of me wouldnt of minded a new engine (currently 64k miles), its better that everything is okay and no problems.
What tests ?????? How do you see inside an engine without tearing it down ? Have you asked them what all they did to "test it?" I would make damn sure you have Ford's written guarantee that there is no scoring or wear from the lack of oil, and if you ever have a problem I would hold their feet to the fire.
Personally, I think you are letting them off WAY too easy, I would be on their doorstep jumping up and down.
Last Thursday, took my Escape for oil change. Took car on 450 mile trip to Niagra Falls for the weekend. Today, I went out to go somewhere. Started up the car, noticed it sounded funny. Then notice oil light was on. Sound got worse, car died.
I got out, saw oil coming out underneath. Noticed the oil cap was gone. Also saw a small trail of oil into my drive way.
I called the oil change place, they will be bringing me a cap tomorrow and oil. Some how, they didnt tighten it enough. So it has been loosening for a week and mustve completely fell out yesterday when I was running errands. And perhaps I made it home just in time. Whatever oil came out today, mustve been just residual stuff from the engine. Because its not close to the amount of oil from full tank.
Obviously, if the car sounds awful or doesnt start, Ill know there is damage. But what if it starts and seems okay. Is there anything else I should check for? Maybe just take a drive on the parkway and see how it goes?
I imagine this place has insurance, and in the event there is a major problem, hopefully they wouldnt fight taking care of it.
No way to know what damage from the information given. Simple enough though, you fill it back up with oil, and either it's OK or its' knocking. Although that's an oversimplification.
I would want to test oil pressure, to see if that's down, although you would need some reference to know how high is high enough. Don't just check it cold, you need to get the engine good and hot, then check it. Given that the grease monkeys admit damage, it might make more sense to just have them spring for a Jasper or similar rebuilt "crate" engine. Don makes a good point that the excess wear particles generated while running way low on oil go everywhere and wear every part that is lubricated by oil.
That you did not notice the smell of the oil getting on your exhaust, which it must have done, amazes me. Uncle Rickover would not have been amused.
Final thought - see why I do my own oil changes?!
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