2002 Nissan Sentra running car without sufficient oil

Tiny
SNSANDERS
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 NISSAN SENTRA
  • 2.0L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 222,000 MILES
For about 5 days ran the car without sufficient oil in it. The dip stick broke off. I see the car smoking now after putting oil in the motor. The smoking is not consistent though. It smokes only when I start the car off.
What potential problem do I have.
Tuesday, October 14th, 2014 AT 12:37 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 108,262 POSTS
I assume that the smoke is via the exhaust system. Correct? If so, there is a hundred things that may have happened:

Damage to the cylinder walls
Damage to the piston rings
damage to valve stem or guides

and the list goes on. If there is no knocking or ticking from the engine, the smoke may be all that happens. Since there are so many miles on the engine already, just make sure to keep the engine oil clean and full and run it. If damage was done, that can't be changed.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Tuesday, October 14th, 2014 AT 4:41 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 108,262 POSTS
I forgot to ask. Does it only happen on start up and is the smoke blue? Also, if it is blue and only happens at start up, you may have damaged valve seals or stems / guides as I mentioned. That would allow oil to get past the valve seals and go into the engine at start up.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Tuesday, October 14th, 2014 AT 4:42 PM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links