Drove to work this morning and was cut off before pulling into the parking lot at work and didn't realize that I left the car running. Seven hours later I couldn't find my keys and was shocked to find them in the car with the car running. Still had gas in it. Car didn't overheat got to about 230 (not it the red at all). Only smelled exhast (windows were closed). Checked under the car, no fulids dripping. Temperature outside was 101 degrees today, of course. Turned it off, let it cool down for about an hour dropped to 200, and drove it about 7 miles, with no problems. Will this hurt the car? Older car Oldsmoblie 1990.
2007-07-10 11:42:42 · 13 answers · asked by likki6 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
It would be just like being at a stoplight for seven hours.
2007-07-10 11:46:49 · answer #1 · answered by whit 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I did the same thing to an older car a long time ago. I went to the shop to turn the flame on the babbit, and got sidetracked and forgot to go back home again before coming back to work. My car ran for about five hours.
It didn't run quite the same for a while, but it was ok. I gave the car to my brother years later and never did rebuild the engine. Neither did my brother.
You probably didn't do any overt damage, but I'm sure there were some parts in the engine that weren't happy about moving up and down and back and forth in all that heat for so long.
I'd bet you'll be ok.
.
2007-07-10 11:47:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In most cases the vehicle would have overheated, warped your head and shut off after a while. In your case the car was still running and like you said the temp gauge read 230 that is not enough to over heat and warp your head. I would say that if you would have left your AC on at max "maybe you did" then you would have been in for a big surprise. My thought would be that if you drove it home and it ran like your normal everyday use, then you have nothing to worry about. Just to be sure with the engine off take your oil filler cap off and look underneath it. If you see your normal black or burned oil then your okay. If you see a milky color then most likely your head warped and your gasket is no longer sealing correctly, another way to tell is that if your engine starts to smoke out the exhaust. Over all I believe you are in the okay. Good Luck!
2007-07-10 12:13:33 · answer #3 · answered by equipartsdude 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are fortunate. Lucky it wasn't stolen. I doubt if you did any damage to it. It is just like driving it for 7 hours on a trip. Since things didn't overheat, it all should be OK. Good luck
2007-07-10 12:05:21 · answer #4 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as your radiator works well, you should be okay. Usually a car is cooled by air rushing past the engine, but when the car is idling, the radiator cools the air in front, and the fans push it past the engine (at a much slower rate).
2007-07-10 11:46:30 · answer #5 · answered by treseuropean 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ha! I did the same thing. It shouldn't hurt anything. It doesn't affect the gas because you the car is not moving. You should be just fine, as long as you can face what your coworkers might have to say!
2007-07-10 11:52:23 · answer #6 · answered by jellybean 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you drove from San Francisco to San Diego, your car would run 7 hours. What's the problem?
-MM
2007-07-10 11:55:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
You were lucky. If it was still running, it will be ok. A friends of mine did that one time and his engine fried. I had to rebuild it for him. It got so hot it melted the plastic cover over the timing belt.
2007-07-10 11:52:40 · answer #8 · answered by Ron B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as it didn't overheat you should be OK, just pay a little more attention next time.
2007-07-10 12:09:24 · answer #9 · answered by booboo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're darn lucky you still had a car to come back to.
2007-07-10 12:41:54 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋