Do a car's oil pump - pump oil to other parts of the engine when the car is turned on or when the engine start

Question

If a car has been sitting for a while and the oil resettles in the oil pan, will starting the car cause any damage to the engine.

Answer 1

This question requires a few answers...

1. Yes when the oil settles, the moving parts are left with residual amounts of oil, they don't necessarily go completely dry.

2. The ONLY time a dry startup will cause damage is when
you start it for the first time after initial build or rebuild...this is why we have breakin lube, so that the any lack of uniformity on parts get lapped down to comformance.

Most bearings etc are coated with dry film lubricant layers, so a thinfilm of oil is all that is needed to keep things from wearing too much upon startup.

You also have to use good oil filters that don't allow the oil passages to dry up completely....

Answer 2

No, that's a normal way the engine works. Oil is pumped when the engine is running. I'm sure there is some residual oil in other parts of the engine when its shut off.

Realistically, there is probably a very tiny amount of wear that happens when you start your engine (e.g. from not having oil pumping). But engines are engineered for that and nowadays they're build way better than years ago.

Answer 3

The pump is driven mechanically, so it only works when the engine is running. You have good oil flow everywhere within 10 seconds of starting up, so wear and tear is minimal. There's always enough of a film on everything to protect it for a few seconds.

Answer 4

depends how long the car has been sitting, if a couple of years you should prime the engine with an oil prime drive and drill before you start it.

Answer 5

no. you need to start the car and let it idle for at least 1 min. then it will be fine