Most vehicles have engines that hold approximately 5 and 8 quarts of engine oil – the small 4-cylinder engine would likely be at the lower limit, and the large V8 engine may need more oil because of the additional oil return paths and passageways.
While it is common knowledge that too little oil is bad for an engine, what happens if you put too much oil in your engine? And what should you do if you have?
What Happens With Too Much Oil In an Engine
Most oil changes are performed every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, however, there are newer vehicles that can change oil after 7,500 miles, or even 10,000 miles.
There is also a common misconception among some people that if you add more oil into the engine than it’s needed, it will lubricate the different components even better.
However, this is simply not true. When you have an excess of oil in the engine, it can actually cause the opposite to happen. Instead of lubricating the engine’s components properly, it won’t lubricate them very well at all.
With excess oil present, the rotating crankshaft will create air being introduced into the oil. Therefore, once air is present, it causes the oil to become foamy and frothy as it is cycled through the running engine.
As the oil is thickened with all the tiny air pockets, it will slow the movement and circulation through the engine’s components at the necessary speed to keep them cool.
Worst of all, the air can potentially introduce tiny debris and particulates into the oil. Now the oil is contaminated and will degrade the effectiveness of the oil as a lubricant.
As you can imagine, as long as the components are not lubricated carefully, the engine will overheat, and you will cause all kinds of damage and problems with your engine.
Checking the Oil Level
Most car owners typically use a dipstick to check oil levels, not to add oil but rather to check for too much oil, and to check full/not full.
Most dipsticks have “MIN” & “MAX” (or similar) markings to indicate what you’re supposed to be looking for. When looking for oil levels, you’d ideally want your oil to fall in between the two markings; however, if your oil is above the “MAX,” then you definitely know you have too much oil.
Some newer cars, notably Audis, no longer have a dipstick to check. Instead, you will get a message in your cluster from a sensor advising you that you have too much or too little oil.
What to do if your dipstick levels say you have too much oil.
Other than using an oil extractor (I really love my Mityvac), you don’t have much choice other than to drain the oil from the engine.
You can do this by either going to an auto repair shop, a quick lube shop, or doing the job yourself. If you know how to change your own oil, then you already know how to drain yours.
The first thing you need to do is locate the drain plug below the engine, underneath the oil pan. Assuming you are on a car, you should drive the front tires up on ramps or jack the vehicle up.
Next, place a container below the drain plug and unscrew the drain plug to let a bit of the oil drain out into the container before tightening the drain plug back.
It is going to be difficult to try to let a little bit of oil out to bring your oil levels back to a respectable level. You’re probably going to be better off doing an oil change and draining it all out.
You’ll want to add the oil slowly, and keep checking the oil level to avoid going over the required amount.
Your car manual will instruct the engine oil capacity of your car.