Sooo I went a really long time without changing my oil, like er I'm 9,000 miles overdue. Before you throw me to the hounds, the reason is my dad told me he took it for an oil change and it wasn't actually in need of replacement when it turns out his memory is going bad and the oil change he was remembering was quite some time ago.
I realized all this tonight when I went to add some oil and upon opening the cap noticed it was smoking. I am getting my oil changed before work tomorrow morning.
Have I done irreparable damage to my engine by allowing this to happen? And besides changing my oil is there anything I can do to help my car? My car has a turbo engine if that matters but I typically drive it in green mode.
The Devil2019-08-10T21:02:08Z
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That was oil vapor, not smoke, and that is normal in a hot engine, but especially if the level is down a quart or two or more. Engine oil helps absorb some heat out of the engine to the sump. If you're really worried, use engine flush before changing the oil, to remove varnish and sludge that may have built up. The car will likely not have been damaged, unless it ran low enough onoil to make the warning light come on.
9000 miles over is over. Nothing you can do about it now. The damage is done. The car still runs so that is good for you. It will not heal itself. You just aged the engine faster than one who changes his oil when he is recommended to - but again hardly measurable by you. It is what it is now. It won't get worse...faster because now you changed the oil which is dirty.
I have seen some vehicles go 50,000 miles and they never changed the oil, they just made sure it had sufficient oil everytime they took the vehicle out,by pulling the dipstick and adding when it was low...as now it is slowly burning the oil. All engines do, this one is burning more sooner. . Everything is repairable. But it is not severe enough to warrant worrying about it now. Maybe the next owner will. Having a turbo means parts are spinning around even faster at high speed so high speed means it should spin in clean oil....not in a grinding solution.
I would not worry about it. I have possible pregnant girls to worry about because I fork around alot....and my beer is getting warm.
It's not so much of an issue if you've been easy on the car, though turbochargers do like clean, plentiful oil. In any case, it's not going to be worth unbolting anything to look for damage. Carry on, lesson learned.
9000 miles over what? the manufacturers recommended interval as stated in your owners manual? Stop relying on others. Read the manual. learn how to check the fluid levels and pay attention to when they need attention