Is the oil level important to starting the engine?
 

Presently, my car is at the body shop for some body work and a new paint job (Dupont Centari Enamel "Pitch Black"). The guy working on the car couldn't get it started this week. It had sat for only a day and, while it could crank (the battery charge was down too), it wouldn't start.

The car has an oil leak (which is going to be fixed) coming from the oil pan and the oil cooler hoses (which are going to be replaced too). Though not major.

My question is: given that the car starts best after a fresh oil change, is the oil level important to insure the engine starts quickly?

Given that a rotary engine burns 1 quart of oil every 1500 miles, the need for an oil change every 3000 miles becomes obvious (which will also be done with a Fram X2 filter and Castrol GTX 10w40).

I had the guy at the body shop (who's doing a great job on the repairs), charge the battery and crank the engine for 10 seconds 3 times (with the fuel pump relay disconnected).

I've been taking pictures and keeping journal entries which I'll post if anyone's interested.

After it's out of the shop, itt's getting a new set of tires (Kumho 716HP4s) on 15-inch chrome wheels (Superior "Scoundrel" 1-pc alum that came sith the car), new Corksport SS oil cooler lines, and rear bearings and seals. The fluids in the tranny and rearend will be replaced with Red Line synthetic. I ordered the parts today and the car will be ready in two more weeks.

First you want to avoid Fram oil filters all together.

You could start the car without oil but you will run into wear issues very soon if oil pressure does not come up.

I second the suckness of Fram. Dont use it.

I also agree that the car could start with low oil, but its not advised to keep it like that :p:

BEH! "avoid fram oil filters"! your going to have to back that up! they are the only ones that advertise the filtering performance on the box! i dont think iv ever seen another filter advertise how many particals it catches and so on. And i dont think Frams source was quoted from an indendent lab.

Running any engine with no oil is just dumb! come on! your smarter then that.

"given that the car starts best after a fresh oil change"

actually its a hard time for your engine, since there is no oil in the system cuz you just draind it out. Youll notice that if you put the recomend amount of oil in a car and then check the dipstick, it will read high. But after you start the car and turn it off after you have pressure. then it will read normal. This is because the oil pasageways and filter retain some oil after the car is off. On some cars, the oil light will be on for a few seconds after an oil change since it takes a moment to get the oil into the system.

Perhaps you should read the thread on oil filters posted around 6 months back.

Use fram at your engines risk. I know I like my cars and trucks way too much to ever consider useing a fram in one.

Of course I shouldn't run the engine without oil! I didn't drain out the oil, there is a small leak that is going to be fixed.

I was just wondering how important the oil is to ensuring the engine starts?

Thanks for the heads up on Fram oil filters. I'll look up the thread.

Oh, and I ordered an OEM filter (I heard about the Mobile1 and Purolators).

Thanks, OC for the trivia on engine wear after an oil change. Would you recommend cranking the engine with the fuel pump d/c for a few seconds to get the oil circulated first?

Or is today "I'm acting stupid and stated the obvious" day?

its not really needed. but it does help. there is aftermarket preoilers for some piston engines. i dont know about our engines though.

i want to see some real proof that fram is no good. real tests by a real lab. some some crazy fluke.

iv just read the oil filter study. That looks like a pretty good study and it looks like fram isnt as good as i thought. I think ill cut one open and find out for myself.
thanks for the heads up!

I've heard of the preoilers. There's one available at Summit Racing (which is very expensive).

I read the oil filter study as well. What a shock! Cardboard, glue, teflon? I think the only reason my car's engine isn't dead was because it didn't see much road for the past 5 months (because of the body work).

It may also explain why my brother's old car had started pinging terribly (I had used a Fram filter when I did an oil change, he has a 300ZX now and the old car has a new engine).

Fram has such shitty production when it comes to filters. However I like their grip :( I wish all filters had that shit.

DuDE A Moblie 1 filter is way better than a fram, it has the # of microns it filters to

Purolators <------ whats wrong with them??? i been using them since the first rx-7 i owned and never had a problem


-Shawn

Sounds like your car is flooded. The body shop probably short started it to move it, and now it has flooded itself. Search "unflooding" for info.

And do not use Fram filters. Search "fram" for more info.

Figured that was the case too Aaron Cake. I had the guy doing the work charge the battery and pointed out the fuel pump relay so that he could d/c it. Then, when it was time to restart the motor, he should crank it for about 10 seconds 3 times (just to get rid of any fuel that may be in the housings) and then reconnect the relay.

This week, the car is not going out of the shop until the new sunroof panel and other parts are put on or painted. But, I'll wait on a full account of the work until after it is done.