Hi all,

I changed my oil about 300 miles ago, and obsessively checked the quantity for a couple days thereafter. The morning after a 100 mile highway trip, the dipstick showed about .5 quarts low. Erring on the side of caution, I got underneath the car and didn't see any leak but added a half quart just to be safe. Now when I check it, it is showing a half quart over the top dot, which makes sense as the engine needs 4.5 quarts and I ended up putting in the entire 5 quart jug. Is it ok to have exactly half a quart extra? Mobil 1 0w-20

Thanks!

 

probably won't hurt anything, you should however wait 10 or so minutes, or check oil with engine cold first thing in the morning...it does take some time for all the oil to return to the sump. you may have not been on completely level ground either.

 

That's what probably happened, my driveway slants and the car was a couple degrees sideways. I never check the oil within a couple hours of driving, and always wipe it off.

 

probably won't hurt anything, X2

 

It's always best to have a half quart below max than a half quart above max. Too much pressure can harm seals.

 

Too much oil will NOT cause too much pressure in the engine; not ever.

Engine damage can occur from too much oil due to the fact that the crank counterbalances and connecting rod throws can come in contact with the oil and whip it like whipping cream in that in will introduce bazillions of tiny air bubbles into the oil. Long story short, when lubricating with air (instead of oil) engine damage will occur.

 

There's a tray underneath the main bearing caps:



...that separates the crankshaft from the oil pan. The tray keeps the crank throws from whipping up air into the oil even if it's overfilled by 1/2 quart. People with oil burners will overfill on long trips just so they don't have to stop in between gas stations to add oil. I did.

Won't hurt a thing.

 

Not true, the only thing the tray helps with is windage when the oil level is correct (although a half of a quart extra probably won't cause an issue); however, if the oil level is too high, no tray is going to help, the crank throws will still come in contact with the oil and whip it into a froth.

 

My thought is that once the engine is up and running there is more than half a quart that will be out of the oil pan, so really the only time there will be potential for frothing is in the first few seconds of engine start. Is this correct?

 

half a quart won't cause frothing. an extra quart and a half could though especially while the engine is running.