Good day. I don't know if this is the proper forum for this question but I will ask it anyways. I have a 1994 F250 with 5.8L EFI engine. I took it to one of those quicky lube change places. Long story short, I checked my oil level this morning and it is about 1 quart overfull. How much of a problem is this? What is going to happen to my engine ?

 

Probably wont hurt much. If anything, an extra quart will cause some windage issues causing the oil to foam. If it bothers you too much, pull the oil filter and drain it. That should just about do it.

This is a prime example of why not to go to speedy change type places. I do all my own oil changes for just that reason. I worked with a guy once who was a real good mechanic, he told me about a time when he worked in one of those places and they had some newby right off the street put 5 gallons of oil in a car once. They bought that engine.

 

Yeah usually a little over fill is not a problem. And how do you know it is 1qt over? A wild guess is that 1qt over would be about 1 inch over the full mark on the dip stick, but probably is different for different engines. I don't know 5.8 engines so can't say. On my 460 1qt is maybe 1/4 inch, on my 350 chebby it is maybe 1/2.

If it is just 1/2 inch, no sweat. 1 inch maybe a problem if you do a lot of high RPM driving or you do slalom or drag racing, then you would get windage and maybe foaming. After driving around normally, does your dip stick have a lot of bubbles on it? If so then you are too full and draining the filter probably would fix the problem. A few bubbles are OK. Foam several inches up the stick is bad.

Think about it... the crank is swirling around in the pan above the oil. The factory leaves a fair margin of space above the oil to cover for occasions where someone is reving the engine, driving up steep hills etc. The intent is to keep the oil from contacting the crank in most situations. There is a fair margin of error allowed for. So 1/2 inch on the stick is 1/2 inch closer to the crank, but in most cases is still a decent distance away, I assume. Note that I don't have xray vision and have never tried to measure just how far the oil really is from the crank, so what I am saying is an educated guess and experience with other engines, but not your model. Also think about how deep 1qt of oil is in a drain pan. Depending on surface area in the crankcase, 1 qt of oil can spread pretty thin.

I usually overfill a chebby I drive by about 1/2 qt since I am too lazy to just pour in the 4 1/2 qt called for, I just dump in the whole 5qts. 114,000 miles so far and no problems, ditto many other engines I have owned. Not saying it is a good practice, but unless you are doing unusual driving or your engine is really picky, you don't have a problem.

If you are worried, drain the filter.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

In my experience it is not the oil change place that wants to overfill your oil. They probably don't want to waste oil and money. The technicians probably want to be more on the full side rather than low, so they are rushing and add too much oil. I have seen it happen with my work vehicles I took in in the past. Usually overfilled a little. Even dealerships overfill, but not all the time. The Ford dealership here usually doesn't overfill, but sometimes they do. I think it comes down to the fact that oil change technicians are usually green and are told not to forget or not fill enough oil. Most people don't check it even, so better to be over full than low, which is where you are at. Probably won't hurt anything, but if you are like me and things like this bother you, wouldn't hurt to drain it down and calm your nerves.

 

Thanks for the advice. i guesed at the level, about 1/2 inch over the full mark. I drove around for a while and no bubbles were on the stick but just to put my mind at ease I am going to drain down the oil.

 

All my Ford manuals say it is ok if the oil is over the full mark after an oil change but not if it is so high as to reach the F in the word full. Check your manual.

 

Check your oil filter and make sure it was replaced with a new one. Had it not been replaced, the new oil would read high on the dip stick by the amount a filter holds. Your new oil would look dirty too.

GeoW

 

there was a thread going a day or two ago about quick lube shop horror stories, I've never been to one, but had thought about using them to save time out of my day. Never in a million years now.

 

I just replaced the drain plug on my mother's truck because of one of these places. They stripped the pan, not the plug. I had to put in one of those oversize plugs, that cut new threads when you put it in. I tried to tell her to let me do it, but she never listens.

 

i always put in 5 quarts in a 4-1/2 system, i figure when its running at least 1/2 quart is circulating within the block.

 

I have a Ford Maverick that has been in the family since new. I have always put 5qts in rather than 4.5. No problem all these years, 160K miles and 4 kids used it for school. Still does not use oil & runs like a scalded ape.

 

FE's have somewhat of an oiling problem, most FE enthusaits will run about 6.5 quarts of oil in a 5 quart pan, any higher and the crank will start whipping the oil and foam the oil. I run a HV oil pump and usually run about 6 quarts. There is usually a small margin of error for engines. I wouldnt worry about it. Never take the your car/truck to a jiffy lube place, I knew a dude that bought a brand new Powerstroke Turbo Diesel and took it too jiffy lube, they forgot to put the oil filter on, after about 5 minutes, no more stroke left in that powerstroke, it was fried. The people that work there are carless morons, they strip the drain plugs, forget to put the drain plugs on, and they alawuys overfill them, its sad so many people nowadays are so incompent to do a simple oil change, its seems the people of the old days are smarter then modernites.

 

Usually you can tell how overfull it is by comparing the dots on the stick to how far up the oil line is. If the dots are a 1/2 inch apart and the oil line is 1/4 inch obove full, then its safe to say that it is half a quart over full. If your a perfectionist and want it right on the mark and its full, you can pull the plug and count. 10 mississippi is about a quart, 5 is half and so on. Its what we do at work and it more times than not puts it right on the money. As for staying away from quick lube places, not everyplace is bad. Personally, we at our shop (Jiffy Lube) take pride in our work. Our particular store is rated number 1 in the nation in customer service also. So dont be scared to come around!

 

Wow! I sure won't try that. I might fumble the plug and sit there with my thumb over the hole while yelling for someone to retreive the plug for me. Besides, I would think 10 Mississippi might just drain the whole pan. Partly depends on the diameter of the hole.

 

Why not just loosen the plug, and let it drain without the plug being off completely? It might take a little longer, but not much if the oil is hot. Then just tighten, and wipe off any oil around the drain plug? Also, it is my opinion, running a full 5 quarts of oil in a 4 1/2 quart system is not good. The engine will run, but you are creating a lot more stress and pressure in the bottom part of the engine, especially the crankshaft, rods area. Frankly, the engine will run much more efficient, and easily, with 4 quarts of oil, being a 1/2 short. That was even an old drag racers trick. I had a friend who raced a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner with a 440 4bbl. The Roadrunner ran low 11 to mid 11s, and was very healthy. The owner always ran 4 - 4 1/4 quarts of oil in a 5 quart system. All for reducing friction/resistance inside the bottom end, which is where all the weight of a motor is located, even in a stock engine.