Ran engine with very little oil...

[hgray14]

So, I had my oil changed on my 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo and the place double-gasketed the oil filter.  They did the oil change two days ago, and I drove the car for about two or three miles total, and then parked it for a day.  Today, I got in the car and drove it about 15 miles before the oil light came on.  I then had to drove it about a mile farther because of where I was on the highway.  (...ya, I know I should pull over immediately, but I had my reasons.)  I pulled in to a gas station and oil was dripping from everywhere down the passenger side of the car, including coming out of the front passenger wheel, and actually dripping off the license plate. I ended up putting five (5) quarts of oil into it before anything showed on the dipstick, so I'm figuring it was down to about 1 quart of oil.  (If I recall correctly, this car has an oil cooler as part of the radiator, and I see that puts its oil capacity at 6.5 liters.)

My question...

Is there anything my mechanic can easily check in order to see if any major damage has been done?  (My regular mechanic is not the one who did the oil change.)  The oil change place is standing by their work and has promised to pay for any damage done so I need to know how to go about figuring out if any damage has in fact been done.  I know these engines are pretty hearty, but at the same time, running it on 1 quart of oil can't have been good for it.  I should note that it was freeway driving, the temp was cool (around 50F), and the engine temp was normal at the time I pulled over.

If running without oil caused damage, would that show up as lower compression in the cylinders?  (I can run a compression test myself and have pretty good records of past compression tests on this car.)

I also get a regular oil analysis done every time I change the oil and still have the last oil sample ready to ship off for analysis.  If I took another sample, would that analysis help to tell if any damage had been done, assuming they didn't remove all the oil I just put in there prior to them fixing the oil filter gasket?  (I wish I could rely on a comparison between the two, but I'm concerned about comparing these two oil samples because the first oil sample is of oil that was in the car while it sat for the past 9 months.)

The car clearly isn't high-value, but I've had it forever, have put a lot of after-market equipment on it (that would be a pain to remove and a pain to re-sell), and it is my super reliable back-up car to my current XC70 which has started having transmission issues.  I'd hate to spend a ton of money on getting it checked out, when the car doesn't blue book for much, so am hoping there are some easy ways to check for damage.

Any suggestions/insight are greatly appreciated. 

[hgray14]

I just looked in my driveway where the car was parked prior to the most recent drive and only see one small drip, even though parked there for a whole day.

[Fudge_Brownie]

You can use a borescope (camera) to inspect the cylinder walls. And listen to the engine for new lifter tick, or anything that sounds like rod bearing knocking. Pop the oil cap and inspect what you can see. You could send out the oil analysis, though that's tricky because you 'removed' most of the oil already. Maybe the filter itself can be analyzed? Cut it open? Visual inspection for metal, and maybe run a little oil through it backwards to collect? I'd call the lab first, because they may have advice on that, or might tell you they wouldn't know what numbers are typical so the data would be of little value. Ask if maybe if they'd suggest a sample of the final amount of oil that slowly drains out as it slides down the walls, which might have the most residue?

You may have to really defend that it was absolutely necessary to drive a mile with the light on. I'm trying to imagine a situation that would require it. Oil still has a degree of adherence and my gut tells me that if the RPM's and throttle stayed low, everything is probably still decent for a brief amount of time. I don't know how long that can be. A mile at highways speeds is still a full minute minimum....That isn't brief to me. Did it immediately come on steadily lit? Or did it flicker for a bit, then become steady? Flickering at least means some oil was getting sucked up as it sloshed around in the pan.

[hgray14]

Ya, I knew I was pushing it, but also know these cars are pretty solid.  It wasn't a safe spot to be pulled over, and I've lost two friends who pulled over where they shouldn't have (to help others), so I figured it was worth risking blowing the engine in order to get to a safe spot.  Plus, I know this particular car really well, so I turned off the stereo, as listening closely, and was feeling for any changes in engine noise and performance.  (I've been known to know when a water pump or belt was about to go because I've driven this car so long that I know pretty quickly when something is "off.") 

The light came on solid, all at once, from what I can remember.  (I say this because I have a lot of dash lights going, so I might not have noticed if it blinked while I wasn't watching.  (My ABS, Trax, radiator, and bulb out, and service lights have been coming on and off for a while.))

Great idea on the oil analysis.  I'll call and talk with them.  They actually have a good amount of data for this engine as a lot of Volvo 850 folks use their service.  (They have about 10 samples from my car from over the years.)

Thanks for the advice.  I'm guessing it's fine, but if there is an easy way to tell, I'd like to do it because the shop will pay for it.

[Fudge_Brownie]

FYI for next time, by the time you heard or felt anything, the engine would likely be seriously damaged. Like if a bearing spun, you'll probably only hear it after it wears enough to be knocking around. Stop immediately, ideally shutting the engine off before you even stop. Put the car in neutral and coast. Walk away from the highway, or stay belted in if you're concerned about being there. Call for a tow truck, and request a police car to block.

If the leak is slow, usually the light will flicker a bit, before progressively becoming solid. Once you notice the flicker, you are probably still good to head for somewhere safer if it's close. Since you didn't notice anything obvious, that suggests that the leak was more likely very quick. The double-seal probably held for a bit before finally just letting go, and oil went as fast as it could pump it. IMO, if the oil light suddenly comes on steady, that means big leak or big failure and you need to act quick.

I hope it works out for you. Take notes, or record conversations when legal, with the shop if you feel they are responsible. At the least, just so you don't doubt your own memory if this drags on.

[TryingBe]

Bearing surfaces is what I would be concern about, not the cylinder wall. I'd have the mechanic test oil pressure and see if it is up to spec. Then I'd have the oil change place sign a printed document admitting fault and warranty the engine AND turbo for 6 months to a a year or however long they agree, if anything happens to your engine and turbo, they will paid to replace it. Turbo uses the same oil as the engine.

 

PS, I've been to SF, and there are just some section of that freeway system you DO NOT want to stop.

[BlackBrick]

With oil that low,  I would be concerned with the top of the engine -  valves and camshaft. 

[bill d cat]

Several years ago, I had something similar happen. One of the oil cooler fittings corroded through and let loose, dumping all the oil. I could tell exactly where the failure occurred. There was a trail of oil beginning at my driveway going on for about 4 blocks to where I noticed the light and stopped the car. There was a big puddle there. (It took more than a year for the stains on the street to disperse. Embarrassing, because it lead right to my driveway.)

I had the car towed to my Volvo indy and expressed my concern that I had finally killed the engine. He just laughed and said that they had purposely tried to kill Volvo engines by running them without oil and it took much more of an effort than that. Sure enough, he replaced the radiator/oil cooler (now #3). It's been 2 1/2 years and the car has been fine since. (Or as "fine" as any 19 year old car with 210K that KBB says could be worth as little as $47 as a trade-in could possibly be.)

The oil analysis sounds like a good idea, as does a signed document from the oil change place admitting that they screwed up.