Q: I have water in my engine oil, is the engine okay?

asked by on September 23, 2017

By mistake, my little brother poured water into my oil tank in my car, and i drove maybe a mile to my house, to begin with the car didn't have much oil in it, Wondering if the Engine can still survive this problem?

My car has 110000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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There’s no good spin I can put on this. It’s very likely that you’ve done some damage to your engine. The oil circulation is pretty high, so it’s almost certain that the water was stirred up into the oil and when that happens the engine is running without lubrication and the water/oil sludge can become lodged in hydraulic parts like the VANOS and the valve lifters. Do not start the engine again. I’d say your best move is to have several oil changes in a row until the oil runs clean. Only then can a technician give a good listen and a test drive to see how things are. The good news is that you can have that done at your convenience by contacting YourMechanic. They can send a technician to your home or office to change your engine oil for you right there on the spot.

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