Sensitive butt dino / oil overfill

[RedCorvette]

So I had an oil change performed with oil and filter I provided to the shop.

I told them that there was slightly more in the jug than the vehicle required but when I came to pick up the car, they didn't hand me any oil back.

When I get home, I check the oil, and it looks like it is overfilled by 2/3 of a quart, pretty much the extra amount in the jug.

So my wife drives the car and complains that acceleration on the freeway seems to have been reduced.

I then take the car out on a cold start, and it feels less smooth, almost a little gritty, until the oil has warmed up.

I had the excess oil taken out and my first impression on the freeway is more acceleration. Haven't had a cold start yet nor has my wife driven it, but it seems that what a lazy tech seems to think is not a big deal, can have a noticeable impact.

As I get more and more detailed with car maintenance, I'm convinced that the difference in lifespans of cars are due to precision in maintenance procedures. Using the right fluids and parts, in the right quantities, changing them out on time, and making sure you get everything old out.

A lack of attention to detail as well as knowledge seems to be highly prevalent so you either have to do it yourself, or monitor others very closely.

 

[buster]

Quote:
A lack of attention to detail as well as knowledge seems to be highly prevalent so you either have to do it yourself, or monitor others very closely.


Agree.

 

[tommygunn]

My butt dino has told me the same thing before.

 

[antiqueshell]

It's a sorry state of affairs in the USA. The average joe that works in the country has no sense of diligence, concern, or thought of anyone else except themselves.

DIY or look for that person who is the needle in a haystack.

 

[HTSS_TR]

You should pour the extra in the jug into a clean old quart bottle and give the jug with exact amount to the shop.

I don't trust anyone, I even double/triple check myself before I do things. When I change oil I line up all the quart bottles and/or jug(s) on garage floor, then check each bottle and count it again to be sure I had the correct amount before pour any oil in the fill hole.

 

[Oregoonian]

You should pour the extra in the jug into a clean old quart bottle and give the jug with exact amount to the shop.

+1....This is exactly what I did when I had my oil changed by a dealer other oil-change shop (Walmart). This way there is no issue with how much oil is put into your vehicle. Also...make sure you can watch what they are doing, so they don't switch to some cheepo oil for your quality oil.

In addition....provide your own filter....so you don't stuck with a low-tier, junk filter.

BETTER YET.....Change your own oil and filter.

 

[2James1]

FWIW, Not long ago I took my 2000 Sunfire to the dealer for an oil change. (they were running a special and I don't trust quick lubes) Every time I have changed my oil i have used 4.25 quarts and when they were done they gave what was remaining of the 5th quart to me. It only had about 11 ounces left in it. I am not impressed with their attention to detail either.

 

[EricZoom]

That's why I never bring my car to the dealer for anything, except when absolutely necessary. I'd rather change the oil myself, and know it's done right, than let anybody else do it.

 

[RedCorvette]

Yes I've long gotten into the habit of supplying my own parts. And I found a mechanic who is dilligent. But he gave the work to his employee who screwed it up. The good news is that he puts it right without any arguing.

But even then, I know more about the right fluids and procedures then they do. There are just too many different vehicles and nuances.

Here's a couple of other examples. A while back, when I didn't know better, I got Walmart to do the oil change. I asked for Synthetic. They chose Castrol Syntec 10w30. The car called for 5w20. They also put a really cheap filter on. They also damaged the part of the exhaust before the cat when taking the filter off. (As a side note, a Ford dealer happily carried out warranty work to replace the cat which was not the issue).

Then I found a highly rated independent who claimed they used original parts. I gave them my free after rebate synthetic. When I got the car back, they hadn't put on a Motorcraft filter, they had used a Fram. My wife took it back saying don't worry about the cost of the new filter, just change it to Motorcraft. They went off and charged $8 for the new filter and then said the oil was low and charged $10 for a quart of M1!

 

[The_Eric]

So you're saying that a 15% overfill is affecting your engine to the point that you can perceive it? I don't believe it. Now it doesn't make it right that the mech overfilled it, but I think you're over reacting. Everybody tends to forget that the oil level in the pan DROPS when you start the engine...

 

[RedCorvette]

I'll know for sure when I have a cold start now that the oil level was reduced to normal. After all the change could be due to the change in oil and filter brand.

But highway acceleration with warm oil was improved.

The level dropping after starting means nothing if it is overfilled. If it's overfilled, it's overfilled and manuals are very clear and specific in strongly advising that you remove oil if that happens.

 

[RedCorvette]

Yep confirmed that driveability on cold start is back to the way it was prior to the oil change.

 

[LeakySeals]

Oil was oxidized being too high. Real bad thing. Once the oil gets foamed up with air, its as if you have no oil. Thats the decrease in performance you felt, the engine starting to seize up.

 

[RedCorvette]

No it wasn't. If the oil was overfilled by say 1.5 quarts, then yes I might have had that issue. But the overfill was 2/3 of a quart. Not enough to cause foaming and the engine starting to seize!

But it was enough to decrease performance a little and also cause a little roughness when cold.

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
So you're saying that a 15% overfill is affecting your engine to the point that you can perceive it? I don't believe it. Now it doesn't make it right that the mech overfilled it, but I think you're over reacting. Everybody tends to forget that the oil level in the pan DROPS when you start the engine...

Remind me of that the next time I spend a half hour pressing buttons on an aftermarket scan tool (I don't have access to one with good VW support) unteaching a VW to surge violently because some quickie lube overfilled the oil a half quart.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: RedCorvette
No it wasn't. If the oil was overfilled by say 1.5 quarts, then yes I might have had that issue. But the overfill was 2/3 of a quart. Not enough to cause foaming and the engine starting to seize!

But it was enough to decrease performance a little and also cause a little roughness when cold.


Fine, if you already know then...Don't worry about it, everything's fine

 

[RedCorvette]

Thanks. But it's a good point. The techs carelessness was not that far from becoming a disaster if he'd had more oil.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
So you're saying that a 15% overfill is affecting your engine to the point that you can perceive it? I don't believe it. Now it doesn't make it right that the mech overfilled it, but I think you're over reacting. Everybody tends to forget that the oil level in the pan DROPS when you start the engine...

Remind me of that the next time I spend a half hour pressing buttons on an aftermarket scan tool (I don't have access to one with good VW support) unteaching a VW to surge violently because some quickie lube overfilled the oil a half quart.


Would you mind explaining this to me? BTW, I'm not insinuating you're wrong.

 

[yonyon]

Not all, but there are a few of them can't tolerate an overfill at all. It ends up blowing oil through the throttle body so it needs to open wider to idle, but also ends to stick. The computer tries to learn how to idle under these conditions but wasn't programmed for oil in the throttle body so some of the adaptive channels end up with wacky values and the result is violent surging not just at idle but also light throttle. Getting rid of the excess oil doesn't fix the surging because at that point the computer has no idea [censored] it's doing at that point and can't relearn on it's own. I would expect a factory scan tool or an aftermarket tool with good VW support one might be able to easily reset it, but with what I have access to it's necessary to manually reset a few numbers to sane values so the computer can then fine tune itself.

 

[RedCorvette]

Don't you just disconnect the battery to reset the short term trims, which then get relearnt?