What damage hath I wrought? Please help...

I don't know where to start.

I would guess the catalytic converter is toast, but that's probably the good news here.

I guess changing the oil blind isn't a good time-saving idea.

 

Logan

Of course, it would be better if this had not happened, but it may not be such a big deal. I have heard of this mistake happening a number of times, so don't feel too bad. I have been involved with a car that underwent the same trauma. I won't repeat the whole saga here. Go the "Hawaii" section and look for an old post that is titled "My favorite rental car story". This car was driven much further than yours with no oil in the gearbox and it continued in service for quite some time without anything other than a fill and a flush and a re-fill of the gearbox oil.

Keep smiling!!

 

I don't think three blocks is gonna hurt the drivetrain???

Refill it, get your engine level back down to normal..

Sell the car......



j/k.....

 

At the very least get a new air-filter, clean everything up (including the crankcase vent, take it off and clean), bring the oild levels to normal and see what you have.

If the car has a cat, you can put a straight pipe now

She'll smoke for a bit untill the oil in the exhaust has burnt off.

When in doubt, do a compression test after running it.

Hopefuly you didn't blow any seals.

 

You might want to tow it to a shop that has a lift then drain both engine and gear oil as they have a large capacity used oil bin. You now have around 20qts. of oil so I would drain it for at least overnight just to make sure. And as mentioned above check your cat.

 

I agree, 3 blocks wasn't bad especially if you started out slowly, I would fill the tranny up, drive around couple blocks, drain it, then refill it again.

And also drain the engine looks for leaks and give it another oil change.


OK, did you post your serial number so we can keep track these kinds of thing?.....J/K

 

If the cam belts got all oiled up, you need to stop everything and replace them before starting the car again.

However, despite their so called reputation, these motors are resilient. Clean it up and put the right fluids, quantities and new filters where they belong, and then start out slow and go for a drive.

I agree with Bullfighter, if the cat isn't bad now, it will be once the car warms up again and cooks the oil in it.

Phil

 

Better than draining all the oil out & filling with antifreeze

Bummer, 328 tough lil cars, I agree on the transaxle... 3 blocks, it should have had enough residual oil on the splines to be ok..

Drain all the oil out, & try to get the exhaust clear...

Keep fire extingusher near by after warm up ....

 

Wouldn't that be the ENZO Valdez??? (been there, join the club - leaky Ferraris that is)

A local did the same thing about 3 years ago and drove 4 miles that way. The trans is noisy cuz it was not bathed in oil but most of the new oils are very "clingy" and will do wonders for short periods. As long as you didn't push oil into the cylinders and hydraulic the heads and bend the rods, you should be fine.

With Tom's car, we drained it for two days, occasionally cranking the motor by hand using the nut on the front of the crank. We took off the cats and muffler and after refilling the motor and trans to proper levels, ran the car with no mufflers for about half an hour. Smoked like a chimney the first 15 minutes then cleared up. We changed the plugs after this run-in. He stood the muffler up and let it drain for a couple of days, flushed it with gas then water and let it drain and dry some more. Convenient, as it took a couple of weeks to have the cats sent out for rebuild. When the cats came back, we put it all together and he's still driving the car today - 4 years later. He no longer does blind oil drains...

Rick

 

If it makes you feel any better, I did the same thing once. It was actually the night before a track day too. I even let it drip all night (the transmission). The next morning I just filled it up with oil and drove to the track which is about 5 miles from my house.

On the first lap I blew a cloud of smoke that is probably still hanging around there. I immediately pulled off and checked the oil level which was obviously too high. I still had not realized what I did when I decided to go back to the house and drain the excess. Even the transmission whine that I only first noticed on the exit ramp on the way home didn't tip me off. It was only when I crawled under it and reached for the plug did it finally dawn on me. It was probably my 20th oil change too. I never ever made that mistake before and I thought it would never happen to me...

What could I do at that point? I just refilled the transmission and emptied half the oil and returned to the track. There was nothing else I could do. If I were going to pay to rebuild something I wasn't going to until it actually broke.

Here is the amazing part: That happened in Mar 2004 and about 25,000 miles ago. I have even been back on the track about a dozen times since then. No problems in 5 years and I have no earthly idea why.

 

I always wondered why on some older Porsches they used different size fasteners in 'blind' areas. If you had the right tool size and it didn't fit, you would stop before you did something wrong.

 

The gearbox oil plug on a 308 is a different size allen than the oil plug.

 

Congratulations, I think the group has decided "no harm no foul" Clean her up and enjoy your car. Let us know. Although I do like the idea of making sure no oil on the timing belts.

 

Those germans are pretty smart hah?

3 blocks are not bad. Clean up the mess and see ...

My smoke in the engine compartment story was scarier. It involved flames. Luckily I had a Fire Extinguisher with me. Driving a 30+ years old car, with 4 webbers, a fire ext is mandatory and it saved the day that one time.

 

I did the same thing 2 year ago. didnt have oil bleeding all over the place, and in fact you couldnt tell anything was different. engine was a little sluggish, but that is all.

drained the oil overnight, refilled everything was ok.

 

Your transmission will be fine - just fill 'er up to the proper level.

Sounds like you realized what was wrong before hydrolocking the engine - that's the good news! As suggested, take off the exhaust system and flush and drain. I'd take off the plenum and filter and clean that up. Various parts of the emission system are going to be fouled but might clear without going to too much effort. I'd check out the cam belts to make sure oil didn't squeeze out somewhere and foul those - some oil could encourage skipping a few teeth and accelerate deterioration of the rubber part of the belt.

You shouldn't have to take apart the whole engine/heads if you're careful. Good luck!

 

No suggestions, just sorry to hear this. Some sage wisdom here follow and you will be ok

 

Sorry Logan. Not sure on this one.

Transaxle is a must first, and then a buttload of Margarita's.

From reading the other posts, this is not pretty.

Good luck bro,
Dwight

 

Good advice from your Ferrari brethren, clean up the mess, and get on with it...no permanent damage.

 

+1
I'd be surprised if you hurt anything. Get the levels right with the proper fluids. Cleaning the cat is a good point. The cam belts should be dry?? I can't see how the oil could get on them. Don't be too hard on yourself, so many stories like this. Hopefully you'll fix her, shake it off and enjoy the car.

 

I did this but realized before I started the car. Can I expect a big cloud of smoke or am I going to be OK since I did not start it?

 

big cloud,, keep extinguisher handy.

Should be ok,,
Engine Oil is made not to Burn, with additive antioxidants, but, it will if you get it hot enough.

Edwardo

 

Whoa... its probably toast. I'll give you $10K for what's left. (Just kidding; glad to hear you caught it so soon.)