76, 454, Ran Out of Oil, Now Cutting Out

[alfreema]

A couple weeks ago I heard a mild backfire for the first time.  I looked down and noticed my oil pressure seemed okay so I continued to my destination.

Next time I drove it, it backfired again multiple times, but this time the oil pressure gauge was pegged low.  I got home and checked the oil and it was completely out.  I mean _zero_.  Of course I refilled it immediately without driving again, but I had unknowingly been running it for at least 10 miles and maybe more with near zero oil in it.

A couple weeks later, it's harder to start and it cut out on me while accelerating down the road.  I was able to restart it and get it home.

Based on how its driving, I am sure I can get it to a shop if I drive slowly.  Am I likely looking at a new cam or something far more sinister? 

Obviously I am going to have them figure out where all the oil is leaking from -- it is just now coming up on the 3,000 mile service.

If it's the cam, what else should I replace while it's in the shop?

I believe there are about 78,000 original miles on this engine (it sat on my grandfather's farm for a couple decades before I restored it).

Tell me I didn't ruin this engine and that I can stop chewing on my binky.

[fitz]

Good news,
Binky's are cheap compared to the cost of rebuilding the 454.
I don't think I'd spend money putting a cam in a motor that was run without oil in it.

[Walker123]

Probably going to have more issues than a cam. Get under the truck and put a socket and ratchet on the balancer bolt and try to rotate the engine manually if it rotates fairly easily then you should be okay but I would still drain the oil and inspect for metal and also remove the oil filter and cut it open and inspect for metal. Keep in mind the engine will be a little hard to turn because it will have compression. But if it's extremely hard to turn and you find shiny metal in the oil then your probably looking and a bearing failure  like rod or main bearings.

[alfreema]

I should mention that I drove it for a couple of weeks without issue after replenishing the oil.  Not sure that means much.  And the backfiring happens about once every minute or so if I let it idle.  This morning I drove it without any issues, but I didn't try taking it over 45 and I sense that it's a little "rough".  It honestly almost feels like an electrical/distributor issue.

[big_al273]

running a motor without oil is not likely to damage anything that doesn't get lubed with the oil, with that said i would not count on ANY bearing surfaces being true or healthy after being run with no oil, so as has been suggested try turning the motor over by hand (pull the spark plugs to kill compression and make it easier, feel for rough or stiff spots), drop the oil pan and cut open the oil filter to check for metal debris, if you find any metal in the oil/pan/filter you have a failure to find and from there you need to figure out what it is and if it is worth repairing or if you would be better off with a new block and/or engine