Oil Change Gone Bad

[Nooge]

Oil Change Gone Bad

RE : MY Pristine 2016 Expedition Eco Boost with 54000 miles

Got call from Goodyear shop that they did not put washer on filter during an oil change and needed to clean up the oil under the car before I picked it up
When I picked it up I noticed and took pictures of kitty litter over a lot of oil on the bay exit and in front of the shop
The owner assures me that there was no damage to the engine .I dont know extent of running before they noticed I am not sure

What should I do ? I worry about the life of the engine even though it runs

Can it be checked for damage?

Appreciate any thoughts or advice

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Oil Change Gone Bad

RE : MY Pristine 2016 Expedition Eco Boost with 54000 miles

Got call from Goodyear shop that they did not put washer on filter during an oil change and needed to clean up the oil under the car before I picked it up
When I picked it up I noticed and took pictures of kitty litter over a lot of oil on the bay exit and in front of the shop
The owner assures me that there was no damage to the engine .I dont know extent of running before they noticed I am not sure

What should I do ? I worry about the life of the engine even though it runs

Can it be checked for damage?

Appreciate any thoughts or advice

I would ask them to document in writing what happened.

You have taken pictures - good.

Begin a log and write everything down - with the time, date, and who you talked to or what was done (don’t assume you will accurately remember what happened).

Request the shop’s insurance company information.

I would contact their insurance company and file a claim.

 

[Trainmaster]

I like 99White's recommendations above, because you really don't know what happened or if/how long the truck was operated without oil in it.

That being said, most likely they put the oil in, lowered the car and started it up and pulled it out. When they saw oil running out all over the floor they turned the car off, fixed the problem and cleaned it up. If that's what happened, you have no problem and no damage and maybe a little added rust proofing.

Have you learned that it's a matter of when, and not if chain stores and franchises screw you over one way or another? A Goodyear franchisee has no business changing oil in a car you care about.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I like 99White's recommendations above, because you really don't know what happened or if/how long the truck was operated without oil in it.

That being said, most likely they put the oil in, lowered the car and started it up and pulled it out. When they saw oil running out all over the floor they turned the car off, fixed the problem and cleaned it up. If that's what happened, you have no problem and no damage and maybe a little added rust proofing.

Have you learned that it's a matter of when, and not if chain stores and franchises screw you over one way or another? A Goodyear franchisee has no business changing oil in a car you care about.

+1.

I had a similar experience at STS with my previous vehicle. I ended up with an engine compartment with oil everywhere, but no damage to the engine afaik.

 

[JasonH]

This is why I began doing my own oil changes on my Expedition. I simply don't trust mechanics. After repeatedly having oil drip onto my driveway after changes, I decided to tackle this myself. I heard the filter was difficult to reach but that's not true at all. Apart from removing the screws for the felt cover, it wasn't anymore labor intensive than any other car I've done. My oil filter was barely screwed on and released with the slightest torque.

 

[bws2015]

I had my oil changed one time and received it back with a greasy hand print on the hood and screws for the felt cover were loose causing a noise when going over bumps. I do the job myself and keep my receipts.

 

[Nooge]

Thanks for all the replies ... I deducted similar likely hoods as all who wrote and that is that the engine was run with oil leaking. What I do know is it all started with a filter without a gasket and quite a bit of oil was on the ground from leak in the back of the shop and the front . The owner admitted there was a lot under the vehicle as well. I do not know if some of the oil was added and leaked again after the error was discovered and what happens to an engine leaking oil profusely after say 5 minutes ie does an oil light alarm come on?
The owner tells me the car suffered no damage and it is running but what I had hoped was that some would weigh in on is there any way to tell if the engine was damaged ? or will I find out later that the engine life after 50000 miles will be shortened ? will the car leak oil now ? I never added oil in between regular on time changes

I have no problem requesting insurance involvement but I am unsure of proof of damage or a course of action to insist on

I would be grateful to thoughts on that

 

[Trainmaster]

There is just about no way to gauge the damage, if any. It could have been running for an hour with no oil in it or for two minutes. They could have noticed when it began clamoring after running with no oil. Or the turbo bearings could have been starved for oil. There certainly should be no leaks now. I don't know if these motors are protected to shut down if oil pressure drops. If they are, that would probably avoid damage. Maybe someone here knows?

 

[JasonH]

Thanks for all the replies ... I deducted similar likely hoods as all who wrote and that is that the engine was run with oil leaking. What I do know is it all started with a filter without a gasket and quite a bit of oil was on the ground from leak in the back of the shop and the front . The owner admitted there was a lot under the vehicle as well. I do not know if some of the oil was added and leaked again after the error was discovered and what happens to an engine leaking oil profusely after say 5 minutes ie does an oil light alarm come on?
The owner tells me the car suffered no damage and it is running but what I had hoped was that some would weigh in on is there any way to tell if the engine was damaged ? or will I find out later that the engine life after 50000 miles will be shortened ? will the car leak oil now ? I never added oil in between regular on time changes

I have no problem requesting insurance involvement but I am unsure of proof of damage or a course of action to insist on

I would be grateful to thoughts on that

I don't think there is anyway to know short of getting the oil drained and sent for testing by a lab like Blackstone. Excessive wear may show up as metals in the test. The shop likely fixed the leak and topped off, rather than draining. You could purchase a warranty for peace of mind...these engines are expensive to repair anyway.

 

[purevw]

I do change my own oil, but worked at a Goodyear store in the early 80s as a mechanic. Standard procedure was to lower the car, start it, and immediately check for leaks. It really depends in how methodical the person was. I am surprised the mechanic didn't feel it as the filter would have suddenly been tight from metal to metal contact. With no gasket, it could have lost a quart every couple of seconds. What happens more often is the mechanic fails to verify that the old gasket didn't remain on the engine when the filter was removed. In that case, it could run for a short time before the double gaskets blow out. Either way, 99WhiteC5Coupe's response is the best. Document everything carefully and get their insurance information. Given the reputation of Ford's variable timing valve trains that are super sensitive to lubrication issues, there could be a valid case for concern.

 

[skydude]

Last year had a similar situation that happened to me... I do my own oil change. After I changed the oil and filter I started the engine and noticed oil spilling out under the car.. I shut the engine down and I figure I dropped 5qts of oil..after I cleaned up the whole I started to look for the cause and I found that when I removed the oil filter, the oil filter gasket/o-ring peeled off from the filter and was stuck against the block.. I didnt see that when I installed the other filter ...the oil leaked out between the 2 gaskets....
aprox 3 month later I had cam phaser failure... not sure if that was related to the incident... One thing I learned, no matter how manytimes Ive changed my oil... dont rush. Btw my 2011 had 135000 miles when this happened. Hopefully you dont have the same outcome as I did...

 

[Nooge]

My Father taught me to lubricate the gasket ...there was no gasket on the filter so had the person tried it there would be no problem

 

[Tsani]

This exactly why I do my own changes. Had it happen to a brother in law and cost him his engine. When I pull the filter I automatically check for the quad ring and always lube the new one with clean oil. It doesnt take long to do the change especially if you remove the fill cap. Added plus, I know what oil and how much I put in. You may not be getting the oil you think you got. Blackstone is a good lab. I use them for testing the oil on my bikes. Occasionally I send one in from the trucks. Very informative. In the case of one of my vehicles, I identified a abnormal wear issue because of the reports history and changed out a failed cam bearing in one of the bikes. But you need a starting point for that to work. As to how much oil you lost, a little spreads a long way. I dont know if loss of oil/low oil pressure will throw a scan code. If so, you may be able to retrieve it. That would tell you a lot right there. Ad for the felt cover, I dont remove mine. I use one of those shapable funnels and a piece of pig mat as insurance. When done, I use the pig mat as a wipe on the filter and drain plug and pan. Easy peasy. Remember not to over tighten the filter and plug. Snug and a bit more, thats it.

Good luck. Every noise you hear is going to bring on oil shop change ptsd.

 

[Stretch70]

Loss of oil pressure is certainly not a good thing. Amazing that the tech didn’t check for the gasket nor feel that it didn’t spin down right, nor see the quickly spreading oil puddle under the car, nor see that the oil pressure light didn’t go off before driving out of the bay. Quadruple failure!
If you had bearing damage, an oil analysis might find particles in the oil. It’s a mail-off thing, not sure how good they are.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

You can get a kit from Blackstone Lab to pump oil from your dipstick tube for testing. Drive the car for a few hundred miles and perform an oil analysis. This will indicate if excessive metals are present in the oil.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I don't think there is anyway to know short of getting the oil drained and sent for testing by a lab like Blackstone. Excessive wear may show up as metals in the test. The shop likely fixed the leak and topped off, rather than draining. You could purchase a warranty for peace of mind...these engines are expensive to repair anyway.

Good point. These guys are penny pinchers, so they probably did just top it off. Heck, my local dealership put an old filter back on after fixing a leak at the oil pan because the truck was under warranty and they didn't want to spend the $2 on a filter. That said, I second the Blackstone recommendation. It's worth the ~$30. It takes about 2 weeks to get results right now.

 

[Retiredusps]

I would say you are good to go, so long as the engine never got to have aload on it. I did the same thing at the time my wifes new 05 expy gasket stayed on filter housing. Now has 204,000 miles still going strong. But document everything just to be safe Can not hurt. File with their ins.in case something goes south 6 months from now. If they say nothing will go wrong prove it, sign here more names and paper work the better. be a pain its your wallet that may be empty later

 

[Motorcity muscle]

Best reply here is post #2, your pictures show that the truck was moved a long way and if that was your truck that did all that, you will have problems. With that big of a leak your engine ran with no oil and turbo's do not do well without oil.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I would say you are good to go, so long as the engine never got to have aload on it. I did the same thing at the time my wifes new 05 expy gasket stayed on filter housing. Now has 204,000 miles still going strong. But document everything just to be safe Can not hurt. File with their ins.in case something goes south 6 months from now. If they say nothing will go wrong prove it, sign here more names and paper work the better. be a pain its your wallet that may be empty later

Retired USPS in NJ ... I thought my wife might know you from work, but she said their NJ consultant is from TX.

 

[Cyclone]

Yeah, its the Turbos that I am always warned about when it comes to Oiling and the Ecoboost engines.