Over fill my engine oil~~

Vibe2009 · Post by **Vibe2009** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:37 am

man... what a bad experience...I thought I read 4.5L in the manual when it actually say 4.5qt!!! So I put in too many engine oil~~it was a major pain to drain some of the oil out and closing it... dirty~I did run my engine for 2 minute when the engine is over fill... how bad is that too my engine?I hope my vibe is ok.... is my first time changing engine oil~~Also, the dipstick is hard to read...

Old Tele man · Post by **Old Tele man** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:40 am

...two minutes is OK, 200 miles would be a problem!

Vibe2009 · Post by **Vibe2009** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:51 am

how do you check the dipstick? I drain out a fair amount of engine oil, but it still say full...Let's look at this issue another way... I understand that not all the engine oil gets drain out, so if the manufacture say 4.3L for my 2.4L engine, you probably fill in less than 4.3L... how much is a right guess? 4L?? Considering some of the old oil remains...

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:52 am

You only added a bit extra. At worst, the crankshaft is slinging a little oil around. It's not like you're trying to run 20w50 in -30. You probably won't even notice it.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:56 am

Similar to this. The bottom line is the minimum level the oil should be, the top line is where it should be filled to. A little over or under the top line is not a problem.

Attached files

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:31 am

Since you caught it early, there shouldn't be any issue. If you leave it overfull for too long, the crankshaft will start to froth it up a bit and then the motor will be circulating a mixture of oil and air (but mostly air) through. It has a similar effect as running it dry if you let it go too long.

Vibe2009 · Post by **Vibe2009** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:39 am

Ok, so I put in 4.4L today...I try draining out some oil, check again, and still seems over fill...so I drain again, check again, still seems overfill...I drain out some more, the third time, and now seems to be lower...What is going on? I think I drain out about 1L of oil, but the dipstick doesn't move much...I think my driveway is relatively level... i turn on the engine, i thought the engine sounded a little funny... maybe my mind is playing game with me~~~

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:46 am

Let it sit for a while. If it is overfull, sometimes there will be a little residue in the shaft for the dipstick that will deposit itself on the dipstick. Let it sit for 30 minutes or so then check it again.

Vibe2009 · Post by **Vibe2009** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:30 pm

I am going to check again tomorrow morning!From another forum, people say as much as 1L can remain inside the engine after draining... is that true??Quote:- drain plugs are always off the side of the pan rather than the bottom, so you are always going to leave some oil in there, maybe as much as 0.5 litre- if you drain the oil while the engine is good and hot, a lot of oil is still clinging to surfaces in the upper parts, maybe another 0.2 litres- manufacturers usually give the capacity for a completely clean factory fill- the optimal dipstick level is between the min. and the max marks, but it is O.K. to err on the safe side a bit- if your oil filter mounts horizontally, you can loosen it to let out about 0.7 litres to make things just right

Sublimewind · Post by **Sublimewind** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:48 pm

Quote, originally posted by Vibe2009 Â»I am going to check again tomorrow morning!From another forum, people say as much as 1L can remain inside the engine after draining... is that true??Quote:- drain plugs are always off the side of the pan rather than the bottom, so you are always going to leave some oil in there, maybe as much as 0.5 litre- if you drain the oil while the engine is good and hot, a lot of oil is still clinging to surfaces in the upper parts, maybe another 0.2 litres- manufacturers usually give the capacity for a completely clean factory fill- the optimal dipstick level is between the min. and the max marks, but it is O.K. to err on the safe side a bit- if your oil filter mounts horizontally, you can loosen it to let out about 0.7 litres to make things just rightYou will actually drain the oil better when it is warm, but you shouldn't do it when it's HOT, tha'ts a good way to get burnt... When it is warm, it's not as sticky as when it's cool/cold... YES, there will be more oil in the pan after an hour, but after 1/2 hour, the difference would be minimal.. you can't ever get ALL the oil out... But, if you let it set draining for 1/2 hour, you'll get a godo majority of it... if you are REALLY concerned, crank the motor, don't let it start and run, but if you crank the motor, you can kick out, what's stuck in some areas.... this is no different than the typical cold start you do everyday... AS LONG AS YOU DON'T LET IT RUN... I don't understand what is meant by error on the "safe" side... ? do you mean overfull..? The range on the dipstick gives you that range FOR ERROR... you could actually run it below the dipstick for a short time, without much damage... that error is built in for people that love to never change the oil... I wouldn't recommend it, but i'm just saying, it's more tolerant than you think.. Yest you may be able to loosen the filter and allow some to drain that way, whatever works.. You could always just buy 5qts of oil, drain and re-fill, it's not THAT expensive.. Good luck, doing your own work is economical and gratifying... it can also be scary..

Sublimewind · Post by **Sublimewind** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:50 pm

By the way, we have a section here just for this type of post... it's the engine section, and/or the maintenance section...

Vibe2009 · Post by **Vibe2009** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:00 am

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind Â»By the way, we have a section here just for this type of post... it's the engine section, and/or the maintenance section... my bad

ned23 · Post by **ned23** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:11 am

back in the old days when you overfilled your oil the engine would just spit out the extra all over your driveway.

Ol' Timer · Post by **Ol' Timer** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:22 am

Quote, originally posted by ned23 Â»back in the old days when you overfilled your oil the engine would just spit out the extra all over your driveway. How's that again? Are we talking oil or water/coolant. Before they had those coolant recovery tanks on the side of the radiators, you might see some coolant on your driveway. But I would guess if you grossly overfilled the crankcase, the only place I could see it coming out of would be the dip stick tube.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:42 am

Your Manual transmission, transfer case, and rear diff will puke out oil if you overfill them. That's why the fill hole is so far down the side.

Jyik40 · Post by **Jyik40** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:39 pm

In my 2.4l GT I leared quickly that the manual is completely wrong when it came to the oil capacity (real world that is).When I change the oil on my car, I only put in 3.5 quarts. That will bring the oil level to around 3/4 full. After a day of driving, I then let the engine sit for a bit on a flat surface and then check the level again. Then I add a small amount at a time. It usually ends up being 3.6-3.7 quarts needed for the 2.4l

Sublimewind · Post by **Sublimewind** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:53 pm

So, you are saying that .1-.2 of a quart makes the manual completely wrong... Hmm..

ned23 · Post by **ned23** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:03 pm

Quote, originally posted by OlÃ¢Â€Â™ Timer Â»How's that again? Are we talking oil or water/coolant. Before they had those coolant recovery tanks on the side of the radiators, you might see some coolant on your driveway. But I would guess if you grossly overfilled the crankcase, the only place I could see it coming out of would be the dip stick tube. Before modern, recirculating PCV valves, there was just an open tube sticking out of the side of your engine to ventilate the crankcase.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:40 am

Quote, originally posted by ned23 Â»Before modern, recirculating PCV valves, there was just an open tube sticking out of the side of your engine to ventilate the crankcase. The 1.0L engine from the early '90s Geo/Sprint/Firefly would puke oil out of the pcv valve into the intake if your rpm's were too high going going uphill, but I guess that's the penalty you get for a 50+mpg vehicle!

Old Tele man · Post by **Old Tele man** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:51 am

...that "pipe" was called the "breather pipe" and it's purpose was to ventilate gas blow-by and fumes from inside the engine to atmosphere....some were just straight pipes, while others had a "breather" cap on the end.

ned23 · Post by **ned23** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:54 am

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver Â»The 1.0L engine from the early '90s Geo/Sprint/Firefly would puke oil out of the pcv valve into the intake if your rpm's were too high going going uphill, but I guess that's the penalty you get for a 50+mpg vehicle!Well, it was a design flaw that people put up with but it doesn't seem like it's something you'd have to have to get 50+ mpg.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:04 am

Quote, originally posted by ned23 Â»Well, it was a design flaw that people put up with but it doesn't seem like it's something you'd have to have to get 50+ mpg. True enough, but it was annoying on the highway trying to keep up with traffic going uphill in 3rd (chug chug - look behind to see a big puff of blue smoke). I still see lots of them on the road, up here, and it's unfortunate that they don't produce that engine anymore or even offer a small car like that (Aveo doesn't count).

Jyik40 · Post by **Jyik40** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:18 pm

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind Â»So, you are saying that .1-.2 of a quart makes the manual completely wrong... Hmm.. Where did you get .1-.2 qt? The manual that comes with the car specifies 4.5 quarts for the 2.4l with a filter change. If you put in 4.5 quarts, the engine oil is over the "full" mark on the dipstick. The engine reads full at approx 3.7 quarts, so the manual is off by ~.8 quarts. Even if you put in 4 quarts, the dipstick reads over the full mark.

Over fill my engine oil~~

Over fill my engine oil~~

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