too much oil

[Mullet]

i changed my oil yesterday and i put in 6 quarts instead of 5. Then my dad told me this could harm the engine so we are going to drain a quart out today. I only drove maybe 50 miles with the 6 quarts in so my question is did i harm the engine in any way? I did not run the car hard and it was kept under 4000rpms during those 50 miles.

 

[93EmeraldMTX]

Mullet:
i changed my oil yesterday and i put in 6 quarts instead of 5. Then my dad told me this could harm the engine so we are going to drain a quart out today. I only drove maybe 50 miles with the 6 quarts in so my question is did i harm the engine in any way? I did not run the car hard and it was kept under 4000rpms during those 50 miles.

i doubt it, check your dipstick tube, soo how far over it is. i thought it was 6 quarts with the oil filter?

 

[rangerj]

Mullet,

You dad is right, overfilling an engine with oil is not good. The easiest way to remove a quart of oil is to remove the filter and dump it into a container, then replace the filter.

Do this two or three times until you have removed a quart, or the oil level is where it should be.

It is the hydrolic pressure that can damage an engine, or a transmission for that matter. In the short period of time you drove with the overfill, you should not have hurt anything.

However, watch for signs of leaks at the crankshaft seals and/or the oil pan gasket. It is a good practice to check the owners manual, or a service manual, for the fluid capacities whenever you change fluids. Also check for the manufacturers recomendations on the type of fluids.

Many of the newer engines use 4.5 quarts of oil, and the oil viscosity recommended is 5W-20, and anything thicker than that could be catastrophic. 10W-30 is recommended for your SHO. Next time, and every time thereafter, look it up. It will make things a lot easier. rangerj

 

[sdpatt]

The only true answer for how much oil should be in the crankcase is by th emeasure of the dipstick. The SHO usually takes on the order of 5.5 quarts of oil during a change if the standard size filter is changed (should always be changed). Just lower the level until the measure on the dipstick shows the crankcase to be at or below the FULL mark when the car is on level ground and the engine has be shut off for at least 10 minutes.

The problem with too much oil in the crankcase is due to the crankshaft having to plow through the viscous fluid at its high rate of speed. The oil is whipped into a froth and froth doesn't lubricate well. It also robs power for the crank having to paddle through the oil. The SHO crankcase is equipped with a well designed windage tray that prevents the wind from the spinning crankshaft from blowing on the oil in the oil pan. There is also a bearing girdle above this tray and between the two, the oil level would have to be very high to cause this problem.

Your engine and you will both be better off if you just get the oil level down to the FULL mark or below.

<small>[ March 08, 2003, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: sdpatt ]</small>

 

[pjtoledo]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but a while back there was quite a discussion of putting 6 Qts in. I seem to recall that FPS routinely uses 6 qts. I have measured the oil levels of 5 and 6 qts in a detached oil pan. IIRC 6 Qts did not come up the the windage tray. The oil that drains down from the heads goes into channels cast into the pan, it should not hit the crank.

Perry Toledo,Ohio

 

[shojuan]

pjtoledo:
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but a while back there was quite a discussion of putting 6 Qts in. I seem to recall that FPS routinely uses 6 qts. I have measured the oil levels of 5 and 6 qts in a detached oil pan. IIRC 6 Qts did not come up the the windage tray. The oil that drains down from the heads goes into channels cast into the pan, it should not hit the crank.

Perry Toledo,Ohio

It would make sense for that extra room being designed in as a safety feature since it's quite common for people to overfill their crankcase a little bit. Some people treat the F mark on the dipstick as the minimum amount of oil they should have in there.

 

[jasonty]

Hmm... I don't think that putting too much oil in would hurt the engines rotating assembly, but I do agree with both sdpatt's and rangerj's statements. Their both about dead on. I think the SHO has a "baffle" or "windage tray" on the oil pan, so the crank doesn't really ever come in contact with the oil in the sump. I could be wrong though. But I'm thinking also if you have no baffle in your pan and you put too much oil in, and the crank slaps that oil, the main bearings wouldn't be too happy. Too much stress on them. But that would take a lot of time to prematurely wear anything out because of too much oil. So to answer your question, no you didn't hurt anything, but it's not a good idea to leave that oil in there. Also the PCV system would probably relieve any crankcase pressure before you screwed anything up.

<small>[ March 08, 2003, 11:40 PM: Message edited by: jasonty ]</small>

 

[yamahaSHO]

Scott is right on. When your oil pump starts pumping foamed up oil(mostly air), it will not lubricate well.

<small>[ March 08, 2003, 11:46 PM: Message edited by: yamahaSHO ]</small>

 

[luigisho]

In this case, the dipstick reveals all.