[Darkstar]

i went to go start my car today (a 1993 legend) after it had been sitting for about 3 hours and i was low on oil. i checked the dip stick and the oil level was barely on the very tip of the dip stick, way below the minimum line.

so i thought "ill just add some oil", in the manual it said to add 5 quarts of oil if you do a complete oil change, so i figured that i would add 2 quarts. (i now know its supposed to be 1 quart, not 2)

i added the oil and when i turned on the engine, let it run, then let it sit for a while, the oil on the dip stick was about 1/2" above the max line, but everything seemed fine.

my question is: would the excess oil be a problem? or would the engine just burn it off after a while? im about due for an oil change (about another 600 miles) so should i just get it done now? or should i just leave it alone?

thanks for your help guys! i know my post is quite long but any help is GREATLY APPRECIATED!


-brandon

 

[Bukowski=Legend]

DO NOT RUN YOUR CAR WITH TOO MUCH OIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can destroy your seals, or your whole motor. Just get under the car and crack the drain bolt and let a little out. Even if your not mechanically inclined, it's only one bolt and it only takes a cresent wrench. Don't let the bolt all the way out, just a couple threads so the oil will drip out, catch the oil in a pan/tray. And refer to TIP: below...

TIP: Never assume how much oil to put in. It only takes a minute to let the oil settle, measure it on the stick, then add a little more, then repeat if necessary.

If you run your car, esp longer than just in the driveway at idle etc, the excess oil is sitting too high in the block and your crank is churning it all over the place and possibly creating excessive pressure to work on all the seals that the oil touches... and can blow out these seals, or cause premature failure.

I learned this crap the hard way. Replaced a motor in the past due to my ignorance of how important that little max fill line is on the stick.

Good luck,
buk

 

[bigdad]

Overfill can damage seals, but also the most problematic situation is overfilling will cause foaming of the oil (crank splashing it) which will actually starve the oil pickup at the oil pump and scorch your critical lube points/bearings....drain the extra quart NOW.

 

[Darkstar]

well i was going to drain the excess when Bukowski=Legend first posted his reply, but i figured it was about time for an oil change anyways so i just took it down to jiffylube and had it done.

basically it only drove about 2 miles, at low rpms, with the excess oil in it. i dont think it hurt it.

thanks for your reponses though!



-brandon

 

[Bukowski=Legend]

Glad to hear Brandon.
Sometimes it's the small things that matter a WHOLE lot...

 

[Mckenzie93]

I also heard and knew that too much oil was bad... but read this.

When I got my 93 coupe inspected, they said it was dangerously low on oil, and that there was a small leak at the oil filter.... fair enough..... oil was lost through the leak at the filter. I phoned the owner and told him to put some oil in as he had not gotten a chance to look at the inspection report,

When I went to buy the car, he had put a 1/2 inch over the line, and I got all freaked out thinking I was going to blow seals and stuff of that nature. I immedialty took it to a minute lube place and asked the guy if it was going to be alright, as I had to drive it nearly 350 km to get home. He said it would be fine.... I doubted him becuz they were really busy and he probably did not want to just drain my oil. I made it home fine, and the next day I went to get my oil changed and that fixed the too much oil problem.

Would there be any unseen damage to the car, or would it be immediate?

 

[bigdad]

If you did not experience any loss of oil pressure (oil light or engine light) then you are probably ok. If the oil pump couldn't get enough oil because of foaming you would lose pressure and a warning light would come on. If you did not have any other obvious problems with leakage or blowby out of the crankcase (like overflow from the oil dipstick hole or evidence of blue smoke from overpressurizing the crankcase) you are probably fine too. Overfilling doesn't necessarily mean you will have a disaster, it depends on how overfilled you are and how fast driven and oil used etc. I wouldn't get too worried about this, since you made it ok without any visible effects....just not a good practice to overfill capacities in crankcase or tranny....fires could even result...just something to keep in mind when changing fluids. Not every car is the same either...my BMW hold 7 quarts of oil (but a bigger pan).

 

[Darkstar]

well when i first put oil in it i overfilled it about 3/4" over the max line, after the oil change at jiffylube i noticed that THEY overfilled it! only about 1/4" though.

like everyones saying, over filled oil CAN cause damage, but pretty much only if its run too long. personally i only ran my car about 2.5 miles with the overfilled oil, most of which was in residential areas where the speed limit is only 25mph.

my oil pressure light never came on either, so the "foaming" was minimal.

anyways thanks again guys!



-brandon