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Too much oil in my engine.

PNWguy

By PNWguy
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PNWguy Bored Member

PNWguy

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Rookie mistake.  2005 GMC Yukon.  5.3 V8.  Check engine oil level light came on, so I checked it on level ground and it was maybe 3/8" on the dipstick.  That's about and inch or so below where it should be.  I changed the oil about 5 months ago and it has around 5k miles on the oil.

So I went to WalMart and bought two more quarts of oil.  Figured since it was so low, that it would need both.  Dumped them both in.  Checked the level and now it's 3/8 of an inch above the highest mark.  Figured maybe I needed to drive it to circulate the oil better, or it wasn't level, or something.

Freezing rain and 6am so I drove the 20 miles home and watched the oil pressure gauge.  Normal.  Drove it back to work to work another 12hr shift and let it sit a couple of hours and checked the oil again.  Now it's 1/2" above the highest mark. 

Any harm in leaving it slightly overfilled?  I know in the old days, it could lead to over pressurization of the crankcase and cause oil leaks and other issues,  Not sure on the modern Chevy V8s just how sensitive they are.

Oil is Mobil 1 10w30 High Mileage...  Was planning on changing the oil in the next week or so anyway before I drove down to Southern Idaho in a couple of weeks.  Any harm leaving it as is for a few days?

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Borg warner Crew Member

Borg warner

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5 minutes ago, Silentpoet said:

I usually check the level several/a few times when I am filling.   but too late for it now.  Some engines just use more oil. Some are not as tolerant to over filling.  I doubt it is a huge issue with the 5.3 but I could be wrong.

Just to be safe, drain some out. That's easier than doing a complete oil change.

Edited by Borg warner
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PNWguy Bored Member

PNWguy

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12 minutes ago, Borg warner said:

Just to be safe, drain some out. That's easier than doing a complete oil change.

I figure having to crawl underneath and removing the drain plug and getting the drip pan out and all that, I might as well just change the oil while I'm at it. 

I guess if it's been fine for the 50 miles or so I've already driven it, it can wait a couple of more days...

 

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TBO Bored Member

TBO

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I figure having to crawl underneath and removing the drain plug and getting the drip pan out and all that, I might as well just change the oil while I'm at it. 
I guess if it's been fine for the 50 miles or so I've already driven it, it can wait a couple of more days...
 


FWIW: You could probably drain all the oil out of it and drive it for 50 miles or so....

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G19 DB Senior Member

G19 DB

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My impala (the one with 260K miles) was overfilled by a quart by some jackwagon at tirediscounters.  It is a 4qt engine and they must have assumed 5qt engine.  Anyway, I check the oil when filling up, so I check and the oil is crazy high.  It was driven about a week before I noticed.  No damage (that I know of).  It probably depends on the engine, but I'm guessing you are prolly ok.

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pipedreams Structural Member

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Your using Mobil 1 high mileage so why would you want to change it rather than just drain a bit?   Mobil 1 promises you over 75,000 miles of extended engine performance with a potential to exceed.   Seems like your wasting money unless your doing a heck of a lot of hard driving.

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blueiron Bored Member

blueiron

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You can spend ~45 minutes of your time and drain some oil or you can gamble with the physical integrity of the engine in hopes you don't aerate the oil and fry the mill. 

One costs minor inconvenience and the other can cost thousands of dollars. As the old knight said in the Indiana Jones movie: "Choose Wisely".

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Borg warner Crew Member

Borg warner

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6 minutes ago, blueiron said:

You can spend ~45 minutes of your time and drain some oil or you can gamble with the physical integrity of the engine in hopes you don't aerate the oil and fry the mill. 

One costs minor inconvenience and the other can cost thousands of dollars. As the old knight said in the Indiana Jones movie: "Choose Wisely".

45 minutes to change the oil, but probably only ten minutes just to drain it.

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Cougar_ml Bored Member

Cougar_ml

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There should be a little bit of space between the "full" mark and where it's dangerously overfilled.  If you haven't noticed any issues after driving it 50 miles, no unusual noises or temperature issues, then you are most likely still safe.  Not sure what your commute is like, but if you aren't driving on any major slopes for any length of time, you should be good.

As others have mentioned, better safe than sorry, but only a half quart or so high for a couple of days doesn't sound like an issue if you aren't doing any "adverse driving conditions" type driving.

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crockett Bored Member

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Many overfill their (also GM) Corvettes when going to the track, knowing that the shitty push-rood engine will eat through more than 1 quart in 1 day. 3/8th of an inch won't be a problem. In a worst case scenario you will get a bit more oil through the pcv valve, which will just get sucked through and burned.

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PNWguy Bored Member

PNWguy

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10 hours ago, pipedreams said:

Your using Mobil 1 high mileage so why would you want to change it rather than just drain a bit?   Mobil 1 promises you over 75,000 miles of extended engine performance with a potential to exceed.   Seems like your wasting money unless your doing a heck of a lot of hard driving.

The oil is for engines with OVER 75,000 miles.  It doesn't mean you don't have to CHANGE it for 75,000 miles....  

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JTMac Senior Member

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Since you brought up adding too much oil, here's a story.

Early in my driving days and before I'd ever had experience with more than changing an air filter, I had a Buick Regal that was burning and leaking oil at a phenomenal rate.  I was having to dump quarts in over the course of a several miles just to keep it from being completely dry, and it was getting worse quickly while I was waiting on my mechanic to have time to look at it.  After buying enough oil to fill the engine and using half of it to top it off, I drove to a store across the street.  When I got out of the parking lot, I checked the oil again just to be sure...  and I saw a clean dipstick.  Even at its rate of worsening, that seemed crazy.  I added the rest of the oil, and still saw nothing on the dipstick.  I figured that if I was filling it from basically zero, then I was at least back to as low as I'd driven it before and I could make it home. 

The car made an absolutely awful racket.  I pulled into a parking space at a nearby convenience store, and it would go no more.  I no longer remember the noise it made to judge with my gained experience, but a passerby who claimed to be a mechanic said it sounded like it had thrown a rod. 

My mechanic was able to swing by the next morning to take a look at it where it was parked.  He said that he drained *a few quarts too many* from it, and that now it was running.  My father and the mechanic assumed that I must have mistaken clean oil in the dipstick for a lack of oil.  I'd been cycling clean oil through it for quite a while already, though, and I knew the difference.  Even under the light of street lamp, I didn't see how such a thing could be possible. 

I drove it home that day, and I never had to call the mechanic back to continue...  because it never lost oil again.

Based on my experience, I'd recommending adding a few more quarts!  ...don't actually do that.

Edited by JTMac
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