Running without oil

[Rick R]

I used to have an older 1500 with the small V8. We embarked on a trip out west from western Pa, towing a 22ft travel trailer. The truck had some high miles, but ran well and used very little oil. I treated the motor well before leaving, changing oil and filter, buying Pennzoil synthetic of the proper, recommendation viscosity. We headed out, stopping in Wisconsin, then on to South Dakota, making a stop to see the corn Palace. Coming off the interstate the check engine light came on, so at the next opportunity I stopped to check the oil. I pulled the dipstick and was amazed. It was dry! The motor still ran well with no noise and I desperately looked for somewhere to buy oil. I pulled in to an Auto Zone and bought a full load of oil and dumped it in along with an additive that was supposed to cure oil consumption. There was no sign of leakage and no evidence of oily residue in the exhaust, no smoke and no residue on the trailer.
It was just the start of a long tour of National Parks and we contemplated having to trade it in for another truck. Over the rest of two weeks of touring multiple parks and interstate driving I used just a quart or two of oil, but it ran well, never rapped, never missed. Pennzoil was puzzled and offered no explanation. I ran the truck a few more months, now using oil and bought a 2015 Hemi Tradesman.

 

[tap4154]

The dipstick doesn't go all the way down. You likely still had oil, but were 2-3 quarts low. Usually you'd get a bad knocking on acceleration.

 

[Toddbigboytruck]

Could the rear seal have gone and the oil went into the bell housing?

 

[Livinalittle]

I don't know what your mechanical experience is so please don't be offended: But when you change your oil, do you fill up the oil filter before you screw it on? Also, once you add oil to the fill line, do you run the engine for a few seconds, turn it off and then recheck the oil level?

 

[TheEnder]

I don't know what your mechanical experience is so please don't be offended: But when you change your oil, do you fill up the oil filter before you screw it on? Also, once you add oil to the fill line, do you run the engine for a few seconds, turn it off and then recheck the oil level?

The 4.7L V8 has a sort of side mounted oil filter, if that is what you’re referring to.


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[Livinalittle]

The 4.7L V8 has a sort of side mounted oil filter, if that is what you’re referring to.


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I didn't realize it was a side mount. I've gotten similar questions from guys I work with who don't have a lot of mechanical experience and it was an easy explanation.
The problem was, they were putting the new filter on empty (no big deal), topping up the oil within the fill lines and then calling it a job well done. After driving for a few weeks they notice their oil level dropped and couldn't figure out why. Once they understood that you have to let it run for a few seconds to prime the filter and then check the level they were good to go.

It's not much oil but if you fill up to just within the safe zone and then prime the filter, you could end up below the line.

Again, i'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence, but could that be what caused the oil level to drop?

 

[TheEnder]

I didn't realize it was a side mount. I've gotten similar questions from guys I work with who don't have a lot of mechanical experience and it was an easy explanation.
The problem was, they were putting the new filter on empty (no big deal), topping up the oil within the fill lines and then calling it a job well done. After driving for a few weeks they notice their oil level dropped and couldn't figure out why. Once they understood that you have to let it run for a few seconds to prime the filter and then check the level they were good to go.

It's not much oil but if you fill up to just within the safe zone and then prime the filter, you could end up below the line.

Again, i'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence, but could that be what caused the oil level to drop?

No, it couldn’t of been. I have the 4.7L V8 (4th gen) and putting in 6 quarts of 5W-20, letting the truck run for a few minutes until it builds oil pressure, and then turning the engine off and checking the oil level always results in the same kind of issue. I don’t know what kind of massive issue the OP is having, but it sounds like a major oil leak if it’s not registering on the dipstick.


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