# Engine without oil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555 "2014-02-17T19:21:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555/61 "2014-02-19T06:01:24Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > If the jury will allow this question… My point is, it’s possible to make cars that don’t require oil now. Maybe in the future we’ll have cars with lifetime oil? Then cars with no oil? We didn’t have unleaded petrol or sealed, maintenance free lead batteries in the past either. Who knows what we’ll have in the future? I would doubt that we will have recip ICE without oil. Removing heat is major but sealing is critical. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555/62 "2014-02-19T12:59:46Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > Nope. I have an electric vehicle (Tesla Model S). The motor makes 400+ hp and there is no oil. It has sealed bearings that don’t require service. According to some info I found the motor is industrial quality and supposed to be good for a minimum of 1/2 million miles. > > It does used glycol based coolant to cool the battery and charger. Besides that I believe the only fluids are brake and windshield washer fluids. Check your maintenance manual: I’m almost certain you’ll have a couple of liters of gear oil in the single-speed gearbox. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555/63 "2014-02-19T21:09:12Z")
> [@stanger](#): > > Oil does so many jobs in most typical internal combustion engines, that it cannot be eliminated or easily reduced. > … > 6) Oil washes and removes contamination from ordinary use of an engine. Small particles of metal from the many moving parts and carbon buildup from the combustion chamber that bypass the rings - these are all removed from the working areas and drain to the crankcase, where the oiling system filters them out of the oil before sending it back on its way again. If not for oil filtration, these parts would compromise the chemical quality of the oil and introduce abrasive and corrosive elements into the engine in an ongoing basis. Excellent post, especially this last bit which is too often overlooked but very important. I’ve seen an 8-cylinder Lincoln engine running for hours without oil or even an oil pan, with a mirror below so you could look up into the engine block and see the crankshaft spinning. My father-in-law was among other things a distributer for Slick 50, which is a polytetraflourine (aka Teflon) treatment for auto/truck engines. It coated the cylinders and other engine parts to reduce friction. The engine was on a trailer that he’d haul to various flea markets in Florida as a demo. At the end of the demo, he’d replace the oil pan, add oil, and run the engine for a while to clean it out. He did this for decades, IIRC. It was a rather impressive demo. I “slicked” several of our new cars, though I can’t say I ever got any objective evidence that it helped. But I did see that old Lincoln engine putter away hour after hour. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555/64 "2014-02-19T21:14:36Z")
Interesting. Was it actually running under it’s own fuel supply? Or was it being turned by an electric motor? ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555/65 "2014-02-20T14:06:26Z")
Re: Tesla EV > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Check your maintenance manual: I’m almost certain you’ll have a couple of liters of gear oil in the single-speed gearbox. I thought about that after I posted and I think you’re probably right. There’s no replacement needed AFAIK, but it would seem reasonable that there is gear oil. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555/66 "2014-02-20T22:29:32Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Interesting. Was it actually running under it’s own fuel supply? Or was it being turned by an electric motor? It was running on gasoline. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/engine-without-oil/681555.md?page=3)