Oil Overfill

[Hot Rod]

Had the oil changed in my '99 at my 5-Star dealer about a week and a half ago. During the past couple of cruises,I noticed the oil pressure gauge was riding a little higher than usual. Checked the dip stick level today and found it was about one inch above full line. Figure that's about a quart overfill.

Taking it back to the dealer next Tuesday so they can deal with it. I'm more concerned that the Viper Tech who did the change and serviced a few other minor things wasn't paying close attention.

Put about 200 miles on it since the change. It's about 10 miles from me to the dealer. I'm not a motorhead, but I know this can't be good. Is there any risk of engine damage?

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I have a '94, for which there was a TSB that instead of 11 quarts, 9 quarts were enough. A recalibrated dipstick was part of the fix. But your question is about overfill.

The "dangers" are that the higher level puts the oil in contact with the rotating crank and rods which causes foam. Foamy oil isn't particularly good in the short term because it doesn't support the bearings and in the long term allows for increased oil oxidation (thickening.) With higher RPMs this may be not so bad, since a lot of oil is pumped to the heads and it takes longer to drain back. With lower RPMs the foaming isn't so bad and the extra quart keeps oil temperatures low.

All things considered, a quart extra is not awful. Far better than a quart low.

 

[1TONY1]

Previous owner of my car had an overfill and shortly after developed oil leaks.....he got an engine overhaul out of it, even got new sleeves in the overhaul. I don't know if I will sign off on the overfill causing leaks but somebody did. Also I don't think it would increase your pressure, maybe thats from fresh oil.

While we are here: those that have had Arrow rebuilds, does your paper work have Arrow letter heads or any indication of the overhauler? I have the sheets on mine, even the engine dyno sheets but none of them show a name.

 

[Viper Wizard]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hot Rod:
I'm more concerned that the Viper Tech who did the change and serviced a few other minor things wasn't paying close attention.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

1992/1995 10 quarts w/filter
1996/1999 8.5 quarts w/filter
2000/2002 10 quarts w/filter

RUN AWAY FROM THAT DEALER !!
That Tech would not work here !!

 

[joe117]

I wouldn't think that an overfill could cause higher oil pressure.

 

[Bad_Byte]

Just took my truck to have the oil changed. They also overfilled by close to 2 quarts. Then I drove to Phoenix and noticed a drop in oil change that I attribute to foamy oil. I believe that the air in the foam will compress thus creating lower pressure. I'm no expert but I do pay attention to the gages. When I got back I drained the oil to the proper level and everything seems to be back to normal.

 

[Ron]

<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I've found that you can't automatically refill exactly according to spec. The variable is the oil cooler. If you do a fast drain and refill, some oil is left in the cooler and lines. Conversely, if you let it drain over several hours, it seems to me that the cooler drains some.

I refill to within a quart of spec, idle for a few minutes, then let sit a few hours and top off.</FONT f>

 

[SoCal Rebell]

I just got my Viper back from the dealer, without requesting it they filled the oil and overfilled by a quart. I went to the race track and because of the overfill it kept getting sucked into my intake and I was blowing white smoke all morning.

 

[silverviper]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SoCal Rebell:
I went to the race track and because of the overfill it kept getting sucked into my intake and I was blowing white smoke all morning.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Same experience, except I think I was guilty of the overfill myself. I was checking the oil in my driveway at the end of the engine break in period. Since it's normal to lose a little oil during break in, I didn't think anything of being a quart low and added it. Went to Thunderhill and there was tons of smoke at full throttle, high rpms. Only later did I figure out that checking the oil on an incline (my driveway) made it read a bit low, so I may have added too much.

Ted May at Valaya checked it out, doesn't seem to have done any damage. He also added a "breather kit" to keep oil from being sucked into the intake under any hard driving.