Accidentally, I put a wee bit to much oil in my crankcase. Because I forgot that I filled my oil filter 1/2 full of oil, and then put almost 6-1/2 qts. of oil in my engine. On the dipstick it read about an 1/8" over the full mark. After I drove it 2 or 3 days, the oil level is perfect. But there is a little oil on my driver's side valve cover lip near the middle valve cover bolt. Did the oil just leak out? Or would the oil hurt the engine being over the full mark just 1/8"? Any replies are welcome.

 

I've heard of people putting in 7 quarts before without it going over the FULL mark. However, if yours did you can just take some out. It would be pretty simple to just pull the drain plug for 1 or 2 seconds and put it back, that should drop a little less than an quart.

 

Sorry, I lied. I went out to check it out again and it was'nt an oil spot on the valve cover. It was mud. But if my calculations are correct, I put in a little over 6-3/4 qts. of oil. So 6-1/2 qts. should be enough. It says in the manual if the oil level is between the MIN/MAX markers, the oil level is fine. 6-1/2 qts. is the appropriate amount. Just a little FYI.

 

Something I just did, but it seemed to work for me. The first time I changed the oil, I started off by filling the new oil filter. Let it sit for a few, and then topped it off again. (I do this at every change, but it's amazing how much gets absorbed on that first pour!)

Then I poured in the the remaining amount plus 4 more qts in the engine. Then I pulled the dip stick out to see where the level was at with only 5 qts of oil in the system. It just touched the very bottom of the stick. IMO, an engine should be fine with the oil being 1 qt low. I wouldn't go long like that, or do any extreme driving, but you're not gonna seize it up either......

So this gave me my baseline of when MY rig is 1 qt low. I then added the 6th qt and it brought the level in the middle of the MIN and MAX marks. Just like where the manual says it should be.

6 qts should be all you need. What does the extra 1/2 qt do for you? I've always heard that it's a lot worse if you overfill, then underfill a crankcase. The difference in the marks on the stick are probably just due to them being slightly different from one to the other..... But I'd think the size of the oil pan is always the same. Anyway, just my opinion.....

Just FYI, it's never even gotten close to the MIN mark between oil changes (dino oil @ every 3k)

 

Whenever I change my oil I put in 5 qts, crank the engine, not long though!, just enough to turn the engine over a few times. That pushes the oil throughout the engine including the new filter.
Then I wait a little bit while I clean up and check the level before adding that last qt.

 

That's great info. Thanks dudes.

 

If you ever want to crank the engine without it starting, all you gotta do is mash the gas pedal to the floor and crank it. The EFI system will shut off the injectors when you do this.

BTW, the problem with overfilling is if the bottom of the crankshaft hits the surface of the oil, it will whip the oil up into a froth. The frothy oil will not protect the engine and you'll end up doing damage.

If the oil isn't bubbly or frothy, you're probably ok with the level at or just a fraction above the max mark. To be absolutely safe, you're better off draining a bit out of the pan.

 

The oil level is perfectly on the max mark now. An I did'nt see any frothing or bubbling of the oil. Thanks for the heads-up Dennis.

 

You can overfill the oil by at least 2 quarts before you hurt anything.

Dennis, another easy way would be to pull the EFI fuse.

BTW if any of you guys have a turbocharged engine i think your supposed to disable the ignition and crank it to get oil up to the turbo so you don't wreck the bearings.

-Jon

 

Thanks Ford4ever. My engine will be OK. I was just worried a little about the slight overfill. From now on, I'm just puttin' 6 quarts of oil in my engine to get the level in between the min/max marks. That way I don't have to worry about overfilling it! Thanks again!

 

I was one that had to put 7 quarts in for my last change to get it to the max line. I thought I was going crazy. Put the truck on a different part of the street and still it was low. I was using 10w-40 here in Puerto Rico, but just changed to 10w-30 for this change. Oh, it is alot smoother than the 40 now. I wonder if the change from 40 to 30 caused the extra quart. Who knows. Just thought I would share.