Over-filled engine with Motor Oil

[fyrstormer]

The biggest danger to overfilling the crankcase with oil (aside from crankshaft damage? never heard of that before) is that the crankshaft will whip the oil into a foam (like Cool Whip, only not white), which will then fill the crankcase, and get sucked into the vacuum hoses through the crankcase ventilation system which is supposed to just suck burned oil fumes. Filling the vacuum hoses with oil foam can turn one-way valves into no-way valves, which can cause all kinds of secondary problems including but not limited to sensor contamination, sparkplug fouling, and loss of vacuum-assisted power brakes. It sounds extreme and most of it is, but it's still possible. Better to drain the oil and not take any chances.

 

[LukeA]

1) Drain all oil.

2) Buy more oil (The correct amount).

3) Mulligan.

4) Learn from mistake.



I have a better one.

Was getting ready to take my Mustang to the beach. I changed the oil and was going to weld a small exhaust leak on one of the manifolds. Well, I had it jacked up in the driveway and was fixing to go underneath to try and pinpoint the small hole.

Well, it slid off of the frame and went into the oil pan, destroying the oil pan, and releasing all of my oil onto the driveway.

A tow, a pulled engine, a new oil pan, new oil, and a new manifold later I learned to not trust a faulty transmission and a hill.

1. You were attempting this on a non-level surface.
2. You were only using the jack to support the vehicle, not jack stands.
3. You didn't chock the wheels.

It also doesn't sound like you had anything wider than your head under the frame, like the wheels, which is typically a good idea.

 

[Superdave]

oil foaming is the only real problem, and it usually takes more than a quart to cause that. The oil pump can suck in the bubbles and lose prime, if it's a priority-main system you'll likely spin a rod bearing. Most modern engines have windage trays that prevent foaming, but with enough oil anything is possible.


my ex's friend kept seeing the oil light on her mid 90's Intrepid so her husband kept adding a quart of oil at a time.. every couple days. Finally they called me when it wouldn't run anymore. I drained more than 2 gallons of oil out of it to get the level back to normal on the dipstick. All the plugs were fowled, compression test showed about 30 PSI in each cyl.

i cleaned the plugs and with a can of starting fluid managed to get it running again.. it smoked like a train for a week after that. Once it stopped smoking they traded it in.. haha

 

[mossyoak]

I hope that isn't sarcasm

I've learned many times over that sometimes the best solution to a problem is to take everything back to square one and start over.

no im serious, because its not exactly easy to put a drainplug back on wheile oil is coming out at quart every 10 seconds. and an oil filter doesnt hold a quart and itll leak out oil faster than the drainplug

 

[HarryN]

I don't know about anyone else, but it is really hard to pull an oil drain plug and put it back on with oil flowing out - especially if you want a good seal. If you decide to go down this path, I would just drain it all, clean up the surfaces, close up the plug, and starting filling from the top again with the same oil. (not as much this time )

Another path would be to just drop a line down the oil fill tube and suck some out. There are kits for doing this if you like that route, or a creative person can make a siphon with about 10 ft of 1/4 in plastic tubing. If too much oil comes out into the catch pan, you can always put some back in.

Some oil change places just pump it out from the top of the tube as well, and you might convince one to take out "some" oil if they are not busy and you hand the right guy $ 10.

 

[Search]

1. You were attempting this on a non-level surface.
2. You were only using the jack to support the vehicle, not jack stands.
3. You didn't chock the wheels.

It also doesn't sound like you had anything wider than your head under the frame, like the wheels, which is typically a good idea.

I was in the process of jacking it up. The transmission had gone out and I was on a VERY slight decline.

It came out of gear (the second time in a few months) and even though the E-brake was pulled it shifted just enough (a very little) to cause the stand to slip.

It was covered in oil from a previous adventure which I wasn't a part of which added to the slip.


I'm not an idiot, my number was just called for one of those stupid moments that no one believes wasn't my fault

 

[QtrHorse]

no im serious, because its not exactly easy to put a drainplug back on wheile oil is coming out at quart every 10 seconds. and an oil filter doesnt hold a quart and itll leak out oil faster than the drainplug

It is hard to drain a small amount of oil and then install the drain plug back without getting messy. It is honestly not worth the trouble.

My oil filter holds just a tad more than a quart of oil after the motor has pumped it full of oil.

 

[jzmtl]

Have you checked the dipstick yet? In my experience it always take more than the spec'ed amount to reach the full mark, so plus the trapped oil in filter you actually may or may not need redo the oil.

It is hard to drain a small amount of oil and then install the drain plug back without getting messy. It is honestly not worth the trouble.

My oil filter holds just a tad more than a quart of oil after the motor has pumped it full of oil.

Well in that situation you don't actually take the plug out. You unscrew it all the way but hold it there, then open it a bit like a hinged cap, position your hand so oil doesn't run down your arm.

 

[lctorana]

...position your hand so oil doesn't run down your arm.

bet you learned that the hard way

 

[MarNav1]

I was in the process of jacking it up. The transmission had gone out and I was on a VERY slight decline.

It came out of gear (the second time in a few months) and even though the E-brake was pulled it shifted just enough (a very little) to cause the stand to slip.

It was covered in oil from a previous adventure which I wasn't a part of which added to the slip.


I'm not an idiot, my number was just called for one of those stupid moments that no one believes wasn't my fault

Just glad you weren't hurt or killed. Get ya some good wheel chocks too, very important. I'm so paranoid I leave the jack under even when its on stands. The only thing I completely trust is a good set of ramps.

 

[QtrHorse]

Well in that situation you don't actually take the plug out. You unscrew it all the way but hold it there, then open it a bit like a hinged cap, position your hand so oil doesn't run down your arm.

I have never been able to tighten a oil drain plug back while there was still oil in the pan without it running down my arm and or covering my tools in oil.

I used a Fomoto oil drain valve for about a year but did not like how slow the oil drained out. It is a small lever drain valve you install instead of your standard drain plug. They are convenient and clean but if you change your oil a lot and in my case, the motor holds 15 quarts of oil so it seemed like eternity before the oil would completely drain.

 

[jzmtl]

I have never been able to tighten a oil drain plug back while there was still oil in the pan without it running down my arm and or covering my tools in oil.

I used a Fomoto oil drain valve for about a year but did not like how slow the oil drained out. It is a small lever drain valve you install instead of your standard drain plug. They are convenient and clean but if you change your oil a lot and in my case, the motor holds 15 quarts of oil so it seemed like eternity before the oil would completely drain.

Well depends on the car, you'd have to reach around and grab the drain plug from above which is easier done on some than others. I've heard about the drain valve but never used it. Heard some guy hit something and snapped it while offroad, and had to be towed out.

 

[Burgess]

Just an update . . . .


First, let me thank all of you, once again,
for your comments, advice, and suggestions.

:thanks:


To answer a question which was asked of me:

My Oil Dipstick showed about 35mm above FULL.


Wanting to avoid as much mess as possible, i searched on-line
and discovered THIS handy little device:

http://www.wholesalemarine.com/p/PEL-PL-2000/


Cost me $42, including UPS Ground shipping.

Ordered it very late Sunday night, and received it today (Tuesday) !


Even though it may look a bit "funky", it operates like a charm.

Pumped out that "extra" quart of oil, with no mess at ALL.

Everything is now Back to Normal.


Plus, i now have it to handle oil changes in my other gasoline engines.

Actually looking forward to trying this out with them. :thumbsup:



Thank you, guys !

:wave:
_

 

[chmsam]

Over filling the crankcase will cause cavitation. Those bubbles in the oil will cause the oil pump to not function properly. The proper technical term for that is "bad mojo." As you've learned those marks on the dipstick are probably there for a reason.

Easier and cheaper to just dump the oil and start over. Charge it off to a learning experience. Spending more money on a gizmo to suck the oil out isn't worth it and could possibly (although maybe not likely) add another chance to contaminate the oil. But yeah, draining hot oil and sticking your hand back into it is not only not a hugely fun thing to do but will pretty much guarantee a bad seal for the drain plug.

And along those lines... many years ago a buddy put on a spigot-type drain plug from some company that sent him a catalog. Worked great for easy oil dumps. Especially handy when he ran over some brush and that conveniently popped the spigot open as he did. He didn't lose the engine but it was not something that painted a pristine environmental image. Luckily there was neither a fire nor loss of control from the oil hitting the tires.

Just another suggestion but in the old days I got into the habit of pre-filling the filter with oil when changing it (and the filter should be changed with every oil change). If the filter mounts at an angle (*&$#ing moron engineering school rejects...) then just fill part way as much as you can. Those few seconds w/o oil at start up after a filter change add up in the life of an engine.

As for crawling under any vehicle not on proper jack stands that have been correctly placed:

:duck:, and :tsk:

A car on a jack with or without chocks just is not safe enough to crawl under.

 

[matrixshaman]

Everyone says a filter holds 1/2 to 1 qt oil. There's no way that's even close to true except on some of the really old filters that were HUGE.

Look at the outside size... Most modern filters will wholly fit inside a 1 cup measuring cup. ...........

Since Burgess has the same basic engine/vehicle that I've owned I know the size of this filter and IMO it will hold close to a quart. That's why I mentioned it - as a 5 minute quick fix to the overfill.

Glad you found a good solution Burgess - sounds like a handy thing to have.