too much oil - crankshaft splash

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I have an 02 Impala with 3.4 engine. It requires 4.3 qts and the person put in 5 qts. If it is over filled, shouldn't I get splash and low enough oil pressure to make the light come on? Or, if I drive it and pull the stick, shouldn't I see air bubbles on the oil stick? As of yet, I have not seen this, and I have not seen the oil pressure light on.
 
I'm going to doubt the low oil pressure situation just because you have .7 quarts over.

Crank windage will not always cause a major foamy oil mess, but it can definitely drag the engine power down a little at high rpms.
 
The oil will aeriate(?) and its lubricating abilities will be reduced.I doubt in your case it would be a problem being 3/4 qt overfilled.If it were me, I would pull the drain plug briefly and reinstall. I do not know why manufacturers cannot simply design their vehicles with common sense capacities, either 4.5 or 5 qts for example.
 
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You're only 0.7 over, there will be more than 0.7 qts taken from the pan and being pumped around the rest of the engine while its running so I wouldn't worry at all. I always over fill mine very slightly (around 0.5) and it normally settles out to around the full mark and stays there for the next 5k
 
I don't understand why there is even any discussion on this issue. Vehicles are designed to hold a specific amount of oil. Virtually all manufacturers state in the owner's guides and even on the dipstick NOT to overfill with oil. They do not say, don't overfill except for .5 quarts, or don't overfill too much. They say DON'T OVERFILL. That is for very good reasons:

http://www.ehow.com/list_7615638_problems-caused-engine-oil-overfill.html

This is easy. Make sure your oil level is somewhere in the safe zone on the dipstick. Not above and not below.
 
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Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
I don't understand why there is even any discussion on this issue. Vehicles are designed to hold a specific amount of oil. Virtually all manufacturers state in the owner's guides and even on the dipstick NOT to overfill with oil. They do not say, don't overfill except for .5 quarts, or don't overfill too much. They say DON'T OVERFILL. That is for very good reasons:

http://www.ehow.com/list_7615638_problems-caused-engine-oil-overfill.html

This is easy. Make sure your oil level is somewhere in the safe zone on the dipstick. Not above and not below.


They build in a safety margin of error, and they know people are not perfect. A little overfill does nothing.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
I don't understand why there is even any discussion on this issue. Vehicles are designed to hold a specific amount of oil. Virtually all manufacturers state in the owner's guides and even on the dipstick NOT to overfill with oil. They do not say, don't overfill except for .5 quarts, or don't overfill too much. They say DON'T OVERFILL. That is for very good reasons:

http://www.ehow.com/list_7615638_problems-caused-engine-oil-overfill.html

This is easy. Make sure your oil level is somewhere in the safe zone on the dipstick. Not above and not below.


They build in a safety margin of error, and they know people are not perfect. A little overfill does nothing.


Most drivers when somewhat low, add a QT. Even if it needs only 1/2 QT. There is a safety margin (moron margin).
 
Originally Posted By: thomasew
I have an 02 Impala with 3.4 engine. It requires 4.3 qts and the person put in 5 qts. If it is over filled, shouldn't I get splash and low enough oil pressure to make the light come on? Or, if I drive it and pull the stick, shouldn't I see air bubbles on the oil stick? As of yet, I have not seen this, and I have not seen the oil pressure light on.

You'll be fine your not going to get any windage with that little over fill, I've been topping off my GM cars with 5qts forever and never any problems. its not an issue.
 
Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
I don't understand why there is even any discussion on this issue. Vehicles are designed to hold a specific amount of oil. Virtually all manufacturers state in the owner's guides and even on the dipstick NOT to overfill with oil. They do not say, don't overfill except for .5 quarts, or don't overfill too much. They say DON'T OVERFILL. That is for very good reasons:

http://www.ehow.com/list_7615638_problems-caused-engine-oil-overfill.html

This is easy. Make sure your oil level is somewhere in the safe zone on the dipstick. Not above and not below.



Tell that to WalMart or Jiffy Lube haha.
 
I over fill all of my cars by .5 to .7 quarts....now at an accumulated 800,000+ miles...no air bubbles yet.

But I only run them to 200,000 and then trade them in. I also don't take them on freeway trips that are in excess of 1500 miles.
grin.gif


The 2AZ-Fe calls for 4.4 it gets 5.0
Both 2GR-FEs call for 6.4 they get 7.0
The motorcycle calls for 5.8 it gets 6.0
The Honda 1.8 calls for 3.9 it gets 4.0
 
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Originally Posted By: thomasew
I have an 02 Impala with 3.4 engine. It requires 4.3 qts and the person put in 5 qts. If it is over filled, shouldn't I get splash and low enough oil pressure to make the light come on? Or, if I drive it and pull the stick, shouldn't I see air bubbles on the oil stick? As of yet, I have not seen this, and I have not seen the oil pressure light on.


Get a 16-20oz cup and place under the drain bolt of the oil pan. Very slowly unscrew the bolt until it begins dripping. When the cup is full, tighten the bolt and put the oil in an empty quart container for use later.
 
My moms 03' Buick Rendezvous with the 3.4L calls for 4.5 quarts I believe. I always fill it with 5 quarts.
 
The issue for me is not knowing when " a little over is fine..." becomes "that's wayyy too much..."

Is an extra 1/2 a quart fine... or 1 quart... even 2...? I don't know... and without knowing exactly how far 1 quart raises the oil level, and how much room is between the lowest point on the crank, and the full oil level, you are just guessing... maybe 2 extra quarts is fine... and maybe 1/2 a quart is too much...

There is a FULL mark on the dipstick... that's good enough for me...
 
Originally Posted By: geeman789
The issue for me is not knowing when " a little over is fine..." becomes "that's wayyy too much..."

Is an extra 1/2 a quart fine... or 1 quart... even 2...? I don't know... and without knowing exactly how far 1 quart raises the oil level, and how much room is between the lowest point on the crank, and the full oil level, you are just guessing... maybe 2 extra quarts is fine... and maybe 1/2 a quart is too much...

There is a FULL mark on the dipstick... that's good enough for me...


Amen brother. You get it.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: SilverSnake
I don't understand why there is even any discussion on this issue. Vehicles are designed to hold a specific amount of oil. Virtually all manufacturers state in the owner's guides and even on the dipstick NOT to overfill with oil. They do not say, don't overfill except for .5 quarts, or don't overfill too much. They say DON'T OVERFILL. That is for very good reasons:

http://www.ehow.com/list_7615638_problems-caused-engine-oil-overfill.html

This is easy. Make sure your oil level is somewhere in the safe zone on the dipstick. Not above and not below.


They build in a safety margin of error, and they know people are not perfect. A little overfill does nothing.


Who are they? Lets see some manufacturer's documentation to support your assertion. I am sure you have lots of technical documents to draw upon that provide the margin of error for various engine makes and models.
 
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I have proffesional experience with dipsticks which have a "min" and "max" indication as is common, but also above that (about 1 and a half quart higher) a "change the oil now, imminent death is likely" mark... Mitsubishi Mivec diesel engines btw... the purpose of the mark is in caseof fuel contamination, not for adding extra oil though.
 
7/10ths of an extra quart is not going to cause the top of the oil pool in the pan to raise up high enough to contact the crankshaft. You need to pour in about 4 extra quarts to do that. How many gallons of water does it take to raise the water level in your swimming pool one inch? Ask yourself that.
 
Minimum line on the dipstick does not mean the engine is out of oil, the same logic applies to the max line. However, I also prefer to go by the dipstick and try not to go over the max line. Honestly, 3/4 of a quart would probably bother me, even if there was no oil foaming problem.
 
There is a huge difference between windage and the crankshaft whipping the oil. Windage, the wind created by a spinning crankshaft, isn't usually the concern.

A grossly overfilled crankcase will have the oil level so high that the crankshaft is hitting the oil. This impact at very high speed can destroy engine parts. Or, it can whip the oil into a froth that doesn't lubricate well, and ruin an engine.

From the OP's description, this isn't happening. I don't promote overfilling, but in his case it doesn't seem to be a problem. If he'd like, he can remove his filter, drain it, reinstall it, idle the engine, then re-check the oil level. Or, when the oil is cold, remove the drain plug, let a pint out, reinstall the plug. I've changed plug gaskets this way and only spilled a few drops. You gott'a be quick with that thumb over the drain hole....
 
I always fill my cars 1/2 ish qt extra because of oil left over.

Usually takes 4 qt and and I put in 4.4 qt never had an issue
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