Immediate Help Needed:

"Taylor Martin" (tjmartin) 08/14/2020 at 08:18 • Filed to: None

0

35

Sorry the pic is kinda crap, but I have reason to believe I overfilled...

I added just over 1L of oil cause it looked really low, having decided that was the proper amount because I bought a 5L bottle and only need 4L for an oil change. Therefore: 1L would fill it up 1 quarter of the way.

But now the dipstick reads that it’s over the maximum mark... that’s no good.

Am I a big idiot? Is it safe to start my car? I don’t need sleep, I need answers.

Update: I’ve started the car and nothing exploded. Shut it off after 30 seconds to let the oil drain into the system. Will check the stick again momentarily.

Update:

After running the engine for 30 seconds I checked the stick (wiped it off too). We’re pushing it, but I think we’re ok.

Update: running the engine a while before setting off. Nothing unusual to report. Looks like we’re ok.

A theory: it’s goddamn hot outside, and my engine has been warm even when it was shut off. Everyone on TSX forum said to check it cool, which is impossible cause Florida.

Final Update: looks like we’re ok. After running the car for 5 minutes, then waiting 3 minutes for the engine to cool off, the dipstick reads maybe a mm over the top dot.

Having checked the dip a million times, my shirt is covered in stains and my hands smell like oil. I certainly look like a mechanic, but I don’t feel like one.

Now it’s time to get rid of all the oil I just added. 200 miles.

Thanks so much for coming to the rescue. Seriously, y’all just saved my ass. Very glad I’m apart of a community like this! Here’s to many more mechanical mishaps in the coming years :D

Taylor Martin > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:24

1

Just a little added context while I wait for responses:

I planned on driving down to Garage Yourself to get it changed today, but it’s a 200 mile road trip to miami and didn’t want to overwork the car on little to no oil.

I’m currently sitting in the Autozone parking lot. I needed a funnel and some gloves.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:25

2

A ny chance you could crack the drain plug and let a little dribble out...into a cheap plastic bin or something to catch the oil?

dumpsterfire! > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:28

2

silly question, but you wiped off the dipstick before checking right?

TorqueToYield > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:29

1

most cars its no problem to slightly overfill. that dipstick to me looks only slightly over. I would wipe it and check again.

Personally I wouldn’t worry about an extra 1L in my engine which takes 5, but thats me.

Im guessing you don’t have access to tools to do a full oil change?

Sovande > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:29

0

Have you waited a few minutes to make sure the oil level drains down after the fill?  IF not, give it a few.  If so, and it’s still high, do what RallyDarkstrike suggested.

Taylor Martin > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 08/14/2020 at 08:30

1

I have no means to get under the car. The drain plug is covered by a skid tray. So no.

Taylor Martin > dumpsterfire! 08/14/2020 at 08:30

1

That’s not a silly question, I’m pretty incompetent, but yeah, I wiped, dipped, then checked

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:31

2

So you overfilled it by 1L?

Did you replace the oil filter? Do you need to fill up the oil filter with oil? If not, I think it will be fine, the oil filter will likely absorb 0.5-0.75 L...I would drive 200 miles and replace/remove the oil.

RacinBob > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:33

1

Hard to say. The reason you don’t overfill an engine is that the level gets up the crank at some point and the crank spins it to foam. But I doubt you would get to that level with just +1 L. So how far are you planning to drive before you drain it back?

My opinion is I overfilled my endurance car by about that much without a problem, I would think you could drive it for a couple of days and then drain it back without risk .

I would f ire it up and shut it off and see how the oil looks on the stick, If nothing unusual, drive it. As long as you aren’t abusing the engine my bet is you are fine to drive it till convenient to drain some. 

Taylor Martin > Sovande 08/14/2020 at 08:33

0

I’ve been waiting and checking a few times. The manual says three minutes and it’s been more. I don’t have the means to lift the car and remove the skid tray, though I could buy a crap jack and stands directly from here if I absolutely had to.

Taylor Martin > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 08/14/2020 at 08:35

1

I just wanted to top it off to get down to Miami, where I’d drain all the oil and replace the filter.

Boy do I feel dense

facw > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:35

0

I don’t know the best thing to do here, but yeah, dipsticks don’t go from “empty” to “full” so you wouldn’t want to make assumptions about how much you need. On my car the difference between “min” and “full” is about one quart/liter .

If you think you have too much obviously you can drain some, or use one of those oil extractor pumps.

Taylor Martin > RacinBob 08/14/2020 at 08:36

0

I’m planning to drive it 200 miles exactly, then immediately drain the oil, change the filter, all that Jazz (with a professional by my side so I don’t do something this stupid again).

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:38

1

AT MOST you overfilled by 1l, but it’s likely less than that. You’re fine. Don’t sweat the small stuff. 

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:39

1

Ooh its me whos dense! I didn’t read it properly...

But looking at your dipstick, I think its fine to run it with that much more oil...

glemon > RacinBob 08/14/2020 at 08:39

0

I agree with Racinbob. I will add that whipping in air is beneficial in some things such as heavy cream, but not so much with your oil. I would not worry too much about an extra liter in the crankcase though.

I believe some engines are more sensitive than overfilling than others, you might Google overfilling (make/model or engine) with oil and see if any horror stories come up.

i86hotdogs > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:40

2

I usually base my level by the most full oil mark (covering the entire flat side) . Judging by your photo, you look like you’re right in the middle of the dots. I think you are fine. And like everyone’ s saying, a little over will not hurt you.

Taylor Martin > facw 08/14/2020 at 08:40

1

It’d be real cool if manufacturers told you how many liters there are from dot to dot on the dipstick.

I have no way to get the car off the ground (safely), and no oil extractor pump.

I’ll look real silly going into Autozone again though.

RacinBob > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:42

0

Run it 5 minutes, shut it down and check the stick , if you don’t note anything unusual, take off.

My recollection is that there is a lot of clearance to the crank because if their wasn’t the crank would be in the oil on high G turns. Be sensitive to the engine, I bet you will be fine. 

Taylor Martin > i86hotdogs 08/14/2020 at 08:43

1

The photo is bad. It comes out covering no more than the flat side of the stick, with one big drop at the bottom, and a very thin layer the rest of the way.

People are saying I’m ok. I’m going to do one last google search and start the car

PartyPooper2012 > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:47

0

What I’ve been told is that if you overfill, you may bust seals. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I have never overfilled.

A buddy of mine did tho. Came complaining about it to me. We stuck a hose down the dipstick pipe and pumped some of it out. It’s a pain tho. Might be easier to just drain it normal way. 

facw > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 08:49

1

I’d assume that being at most a liter over isn’t going to ruin anything, but I don’t know that you want to risk your engine over the assumptions of some guy on the internet.

Taylor Martin > RacinBob 08/14/2020 at 08:50

1

The manual recommends I wait about 3 minutes to let the engine cool before checking the stick. I just popped the engine on for 30 seconds to make sure, and will be checking it again after I type this comment. After that, I’ll run it for 5 minutes and make sure nothing odd happens

Taylor Martin > facw 08/14/2020 at 08:55

0

Your assumptions hold more weight than mine do, and I’m assuming we’re ok. Going to run it for 5 minutes.

Jb boin > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 09:23

1

On my Audi 1.8T (which takes around 5L to fill) it’s about 1 liter from mini to maxi and if I recall correctly it’s similar on my 3.0 TDI (which takes around 8.2L to be filled).

Jb boin > glemon 08/14/2020 at 09:26

0

It’s more risky on a diesel that could run from the oil and it’s known to clog catalyzers if the excessive oil is producing too much blow-by.

Have you checked the level with the car parked flat?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 09:34

1

Hmm smelling like oil, a familiar concept as a Subaru owner. 

66P1800inpieces > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 09:40

0

The 2008 TSX I have has a oil check procedure that involves letting it run,  then turning it off and letting it sit for a couple of minutes, then checking it.  

66P1800inpieces > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 09:44

1

Depending on the year the skid tray does not need to be removed. There is a little door with 1 10mm bolt holding it up. I wouldn’t touch the drain plug but instead you can use a 6 foot length of 1/4 polyethylene tube (the harder opaque stuff, not the clear vinyl stuff).  When the engine is mostly cool you can use the tube to siphon some oil out.  It is only 1/4 diameter so it will go very slow.  Drain it into a 1l bottle so you can check the progress. 

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 09:53

2

Professional mechanic here to chime in. You’re good. Your oil level is right at the max mark. The little bit above that is where the oil is getting thin on the dipstick, that’s just from residual oil inside of the dipstick tube. It’s tough to tell the difference sometimes, but you only read the part of the oil that was actually submerged. To make it worse, the more times you check the oil in a row, the more residual will be up in the dipstick to muddy your reading.

Even still, you could probably go another quarter to half inch over the max mark before noticing issues, probably at least to the twisty part of the dipstick on your car.

Overfill symptoms may include, slight rough run, smoke from exhaust, new or worsened oil leaks, burning oil smell, etc.

Seriously though, you're good.

Discerning > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 10:14

0

T hat dip stick looks awful. Don’t understand how manufacturers can be happy with a st ick like that.

Wouldn’ t hurt to take it to the dealer tomorrow and have them take a look at it.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > RacinBob 08/14/2020 at 11:14

0

My GTO (04) owners manual actually said to put an extra quart in if you’re going to track it, so I agree, probably not the end of the world.

Also, I imagine the Honda engineers probably planned for this situation and made sure the engine wouldn’t go boom from being slightly overfilled.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 11:21

0

Funny overfill story...

I overfilled the FX45 by a smidge. No big deal. Not long afterwards I stopped at the liquor store nearby and left my wife and kid in the car with it idling. The parking spaces in front are at a steep angle so it was pointed nose upward.

I come out of the store and immediately smell burning oil and was wondering which shitbox was smoking out the neighborhood. I quickly realized it wasn’t a shitbox at all, but m y beloved FX straight BILLOWING smoke from the tailpipes.

Once the car leveled out it stopped smoking. Did the Japanese version of an “ Italian tune up” to clear her airways and no (obvious) harm no foul.

RacinBob > Taylor Martin 08/14/2020 at 11:25

0

Its not a temperature thing. I think they tell you to check it cool so that you are sure all oil is drained back from the top end.

Taylor Martin > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 08/15/2020 at 11:09

1

I can confirm 24 hours later that the car hasn’t contracted any of those symptoms, but I learned a hell of a lot about how small the gap is from minimum to maximum on my dipstick.