Oil overfill ok?

[Brian VT]

I just changed my oil and filter. I read that it takes 10 quarts. Perfect. I had a 2.5 gallon jug of Delvac so I dumped it in.
The dipstick is reading high. How much overfill can I get away with? I'd rather not go back under to drain some but I will if it's important.
The red line in the picture is where it's reading.

 

[Cubey]

It's not hard to pull the drain plug carefully and let a little out. Just don't let go of the drain plug and keep it close so you can stick it back. I did that on my recent oil change where I got a bit too full. A few minutes to put it right beats blowing an engine.

 

[rreegg]

I think the cross hatch on the dipstick represents 2qts from min to max - so you're probably a little under a quart over filled. This could probably go either way - my truck burns/drips a qt about every 500 miles so if it were on my truck probably wouldn't worry about it. But in my opinion this is about the max I'd let it be overfilled (since there's usually a little leeway built into things).

One option might be to suck out from the top if you have the tools or like cubey said just carefully let some out from the drain plug.

 

[Brian VT]

Not a huge deal to crawl back under there and get oily/dirty again.
But if there's no danger then I'd rather leave it in there.
So I guess the info. I read is wrong. 9 quarts for oil/filter change. Not 10.

A side note: I was getting near the bottom of the oil jug and a chunk of white something came out and into my funnel. I yanked the (full) funnel away before the glob went into my engine. What a mess! So I didn't even get the whole 10 quarts in there.
I checked out the white stuff later and it was like a gob of whale snot. No idea what it is. It came out of a sealed jug of Delvac.
I guess it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on what you're dumping in.

 

[Cubey]

I guess it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on what you're dumping in.

Maybe use a funnel with a mesh screen.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Crazy about the whale snot...brand new oil jug jeez.

I'm with @rreegg , I wouldn't go "fix it" but that'd be my upper limit, too. If you burn oil it'll burn a bit faster no doubt then settle down to normal. The issues with over-filling is that the crank slaps a ton of oil around and froths it up, which lowers lubricity and makes the oil aerated which doesn't pump well, and again you loose lubricity for the engine. Over the long term I believe it oxidizes the oil as well which breaks it down faster.

Oh did you start the engine yet or pre-fill the filter? If not, then the filter is empty and 10 quarts is correct. Best practice is to pre-fill the filter 1/2-3/4 full. I never used to but have learned on here it works well, lots less startup rattle after an oil change!

 

[Black dawg]

I always overfill mine by 1 quart.

 

[Brian VT]

Crazy about the whale snot...brand new oil jug jeez.

I'm with @rreegg , I wouldn't go "fix it" but that'd be my upper limit, too. If you burn oil it'll burn a bit faster no doubt then settle down to normal. The issues with over-filling is that the crank slaps a ton of oil around and froths it up, which lowers lubricity and makes the oil aerated which doesn't pump well, and again you loose lubricity for the engine. Over the long term I believe it oxidizes the oil as well which breaks it down faster.

Oh did you start the engine yet or pre-fill the filter? If not, then the filter is empty and 10 quarts is correct. Best practice is to pre-fill the filter 1/2-3/4 full. I never used to but have learned on here it works well, lots less startup rattle after an oil change!

That diptstick reading was after running the engine for a bit. I did pre-fill the filter maybe 1/3.
Would I see a drop in oil pressure on my gauge if it is frothing from the crank?

 

[Cubey]

That diptstick reading was after running the engine for a bit. I did pre-fill the filter maybe 1/3.
Would I see a drop in oil pressure on my gauge if it is frothing from the crank?

The stock gauge is junk, if that's the one you mean.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

That diptstick reading was after running the engine for a bit. I did pre-fill the filter maybe 1/3.
Would I see a drop in oil pressure on my gauge if it is frothing from the crank?

I imagine you would if it was bad enough. It's the kind of thing we've all heard/read about but not many people actually do it and far, far less do it on purpose while taking oil pressure readings, lol. I would guess the kind of person that overfills enough to cause issues also doesn't watch the gauge. And as @Cubey said, you won't see the difference on the dash gauge. I guess it's possible you could if you have the old style sender that actually works but there aren't numbers on the background of the gauge...

 

[XOLATEM]

How much overfill can I get away with?

This is just my two cents...only my opinion...and not to be taken as gospel....

I agree with this opinion...

The issues with over-filling is that the crank slaps a ton of oil around and froths it up, which lowers lubricity and makes the oil aerated which doesn't pump well, and again you loose lubricity for the engine. Over the long term I believe it oxidizes the oil as well which breaks it down faster.

This is the first thing that I think about when it comes to overfilling...

The fly in the ointment is...we never know how much oil is really in the engine with measuring it only with a dipstick and dipstick tube...

....manufacturing tolerances and assembly errors inherent with mass manufacturing keep us from knowing truly if the oil level is low enough to not get slapped by the crank and rods with the truck on level ground...much less a grade...the only way to be sure is to have the oil pan off and stick the stick in the tube and see where it is....

This is a reason to have a good grade of oil in there that resists aeration and frothing...extra insurance against oil pressure loss intermittently...which can wipe your bearings, crank, cam, lifters, etc.,etc.

Ideally...we should have sight plugs at the right level in the oil pan...but that would be costly and also require people to actually get underneath the truck to read the sight plug...not a good idea when it comes to limiting potential liability.

Also the engine running level is going to be different from the engine not running level...and...it reads differently after sitting a while than when you just shut it off...

So...we are stuck with trusting the crosshatch on the stick after we change the oil and check it...personally...I would run my oil in the middle of the cross hatch....thermal expansion will raise the level somewhat...and call it a day....and then check it occaisionally under different conditions to get a 'feel' for how it acts...

The stock gauge is junk, if that's the one you mean.

as @Cubey said, you won't see the difference on the dash gauge. I guess it's possible you could if you have the old style sender that actually works but there aren't numbers on the background of the gauge...

On this...somewhere between the 40's, 50's 60's and now...there is probably buried in the law books and court records of some nit wit that sued Ford over their oil pressure readings on a fairly new automobile and was just not willing to believe that 10 PSI per 1000 RPM was good enough to last 100K miles...or...whatever the warranty was...

So....I believe that Ford responded with making an oil pressure guage system that was general...and not specific...so...I imagine that your readings...when the engine is running...is going to be always somewhere between the 'N' and 'L' in the word NORMAL...

Same with the coolant temp guage...although I found out last summer while towing a heavy load.... that I could cool my engine better with the windows down and the heater on high...

As long as my guages move when my engine is running...I am not worried...I also have an aftermarket guage that came with my truck and it usually reads around 40 PSI...so...I am ok...

Pre-filling the oil filter is always a good idea...you don't want too big of an air bubble moving through your lubrication system for too long...

the white stuff later and it was like a gob of whale snot.

I have seen that in diesel fuel tanks, too...I imagine it might be a form of algae or other contaminant...it stopped a few engines cold...when it would not allow fuel to flow...

Hope this helps...again...just my .02

 

[Brian VT]

I have aftermarket gauges with real numbers on them. My oil pressure is usually 45 +/- and I trust it and I pay attention to it.
So I guess if it's frothing my gauge will tell me?
I'd prefer to leave the extra oil in there and let it burn down. I rarely put any real demand on this engine, fwiw.

 

[Cubey]

I have aftermarket gauges with real numbers on them. My oil pressure is usually 45 +/- and I trust it and I watch it.
So I guess if it's frothing my gauge will tell me?

By the time it does, it might be a bit too late. Just spend 5 minutes putting it right. Takes less time than messing around in this thread. It's not like 15w40 is expensive.

 

[Black dawg]

Changed the oil in several of my vehicles today. All 1 qt over.

 

[Jesus Freak]

crank, cam, lifters, etc.,etc.

Ideally...we should have sight plugs at the right level in the oil pan...but that would be costly and also require people to actually get underneath the truck to read the sight plug...not a good idea when it comes to limiting potential liability.

The 302 in my 86 bronco is actually a '79 block, there's no dipstick in the block. AND the oil pan is an '86 it doesn't have a dip stick in the side, the oil pan that has a dip stick is "rare as hens teeth" round these parts, so what did I do? Yep, you guessed it, I put a sight plug in the side of the pan!