car oil-put in too much?

Question

My car is very decietfull, the dip stick sometimes shows not enough,sometimes nil  and i have no idea whats actually in the car. Car started tapping upon start up after i put this oil addictive stuff in. I took it for a oil service and was told it had 2 litres too much in :(. I said well i checked it last night and it showed nothing!. This is my dilemma. Now the tapping has gone and engine runs sweet again, maybe i was lucky?

G · Accepted Answer

Have the garage corrected this? Both underfilling and overfilling can cause damage but having said that it is better to overfil than underfill. Cars... when the weather is cold, engine cold... the engine can contain a lot of moisture and report false readings... parking/checking oil on an uneven surface can also cause false readings... and then you have most engines which need a slight warm up before the oil can be checked... in fact it is recommended that you warm up the engine (reasonable drive) and check the oil with engine off, even surface, once engine has reached operating temperature. Best advice is to check it every week or two weeks so it never gets too low. When the oil level is dangerously low, the oil loses its flash point due to thermal shock and adding say 3/4 fresh oil on top of this is a waste of time. Better to drain it all and start again in such cases.

Good luck x

Shadetreee · Answer

Do an oil change and put the correct amount  in along with a new filter.  On level ground after the car has not run for half an hour,  check the oil with the dip stick.   If it is not showing full,  it may be the wrong dip stick.  Since you now know it the correct amount of oil,  take a file and make a mark on your dipstick where the oil line reaches.  You now know what is full on the dip stick.

The original Peter G · Answer

No oil , or very low is bad
Right level is best
A 1/4 inch over the top mark won't do any harm
2 litres too much will have the crankshaft hitting the oil, which beats it into a foam, which isn't good for anything

Humveetech · Answer

Actually your wrong.  Too much can damage the engine.  If you get it to a certain level, the oil can be picked up by the pistons & forced in to the combustion chamber & oil will not compress & will bend rods

I suggest you leave the oil level alone.  your suppose to wait about 5-10 minutes after the engine has shut down before checking the oil level to ensure it has drained back into the pan

bandit_60 · Answer

when you checked it did you park on a level surface ? did you wait until the oil drained back into the oil pan ? this is just a thought but maybe the oil is not draining back into the oil pan because the drain holes are clogged under the valve pan !

Gary Crant · Answer

Just make sure you check when the vehicle is on level ground and the engine is cold.

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car oil-put in too much?

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