Overfilled oil! Should I drain some, or redo.

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I overfilled my Regal yesterday. I didn't realize it at the time, because it looked like it was just at the full line. But when I checked it today, it was up well above the full line, and I noticed the occasional stutter of the engine, almost like a small misfire now and again.


Anyway, I'm correcting the problem as soon as I get home from work. The original plan was to drain about a quart into a bottle and check the oil. If I go too far, I can just pour some back in.

But I hear that aerated oil needs a full drain and refill. I don't think the oil actually reached the crank.

Would I be fine just draining some, or do I need to redo my oil change?
 
No worries. Just drain out a little. Oil gets aerated all the time - Its flying off the crank and fogged into a mist constantly.

Now, you MUST know how much you overfilled it don't you?

Did you pump from a bulk tank at work?
 
Originally Posted By: OpenClose
Would I be fine just draining some, or do I need to redo my oil change?


My 2¢ - just drain some. You'll see what the oil looks like - and I bet it won't be whipped into goo. But, internet advice is worth what you pay for it.
 
Be sure to park on level ground and recheck with engine warm. I wouldn't drain it all, just enough to get to full mark. If it's just a little over full it should be fine. How far over is it?
 
It was all 5 of the holes, plus about a hole distance above. This is on a warm engine.

So that comes to what, a quart?
 
Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
Be sure to park on level ground and recheck with engine warm. I wouldn't drain it all, just enough to get to full mark. If it's just a little over full it should be fine. How far over is it?


+1 A little over is OK. I usually throw in the max fill minus half a quart and top off until I am at the full mark.
 
It was just something I saw when searching on various forums and QA sites for symptoms of overfilling oil.

I came here to verify, because I feel better about BITOG. If you guys said to worry about it, then I would look farther into it. But if it is some urban myth [censored], then I wouldn't bother.
 
As long as you didn't blow bubbles into it with an extra long straw you should be better than fine.
 
distance between add oil and full is 1qt/1liter usually

if its .25" above just ignore it. that is prob 8oz or less
 
Originally Posted By: OpenClose
I overfilled my Regal yesterday. I didn't realize it at the time, because it looked like it was just at the full line. But when I checked it today, it was up well above the full line, and I noticed the occasional stutter of the engine, almost like a small misfire now and again.

Anyway, I'm correcting the problem as soon as I get home from work. The original plan was to drain about a quart into a bottle and check the oil. If I go too far, I can just pour some back in.

But I hear that aerated oil needs a full drain and refill. I don't think the oil actually reached the crank.

Would I be fine just draining some, or do I need to redo my oil change?


Whadda ya mean by 'aerated oil'? does it look like a chockolate milk shake?

Uhhh those symtoms (bolded) sound like you COULD have a blown head gasket, and higher oil level is due to coolant in the oil. oil & water(coolant) combine and turn into a 'shake'

However, Coolant is HEAVIER than oil and will settle to bottom of pan after setting a while - to be sure you dont have a problem, drain a quart FROM THE DRAIN PLUG into a clean clear container - you'll know right away if you have a problem (the coolant/water will come out FIRST)!

I 'hope' you just overfilled (but the 'stuttering' has me worried - coolant in the cylinder). . . .
 
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Check the oil in accordance with the owners manual. It usually says to check the oil a few minutes after shut down. If you let it sit overnight before checking, it could be a false reading.
Half a quart high is nothing to be concerned about.
 
Originally Posted By: oldoak2000

Whadda ya mean by 'aerated oil'? does it look like a chockolate milk shake?

Uhhh those symtoms sound like you COULD have a blown head gasket, and higher oil level is due to coolant in the oil. oil & water(coolant) combine and turn into a 'shake'


I didn't notice this until after the oil change, and i moved from 5W-30 to the specified 10W-30 and switched to a high mileage oil. Used PurePlus every OCI.

I've generally kept an eye on this. I have an OBD reader which I have been using to monitor things knock and misfires. Neither have budged. I would check oil temp and pressure, but apparently you can't read these on the regal?

I had a bit of a coolant sludge problem when I first got it, but that was pretty well resolved, and there doesn't seem to be oil in the coolant.

It only seems to crop up at idle, and I think it was happening in 4th gear under load (hard to tell with bad roads) Otherwise, performance is great, boost/MAP pressure seems to be good, no oxygen sensor codes. And just the evap line minor leak I've had since I bought it.

So it doesn't seem to show too many symptoms of a blown head gasket.
 
I wouldn't worry about it, but that's me. Kind of ironic, I have the same (non-supercharged) engine you do in 2 cars...GM updated their specified oil to 5W30 in 2004...I changed my 10W30 to 5W30 so I can use my stocked stash of 5W30 in any of my vehicles...easier that way.

I can't seem to find it at the moment, but I cut a hole and welded a bung fitting on my oil pan as a return line for my bypass...Anyhow, with the pan off the car and bead blasted clean, I put the pan on the (level) workbench and poured 4 measured quarts of water into it to determine how high to weld the bung fitting...then I put another 1/2 quart in it; and it DID NOT come over the crank baffle...I'll post the pics if I can find them later tonight.

Edit: Yes, I've replaced the UIM and LIM gaskets on several of these engines. The above is very correct; and the leaks occur around the EGR tube back into the intake. There were such problems with this that Dorman redeigned their redesign for the UIM.

I'm definitely a fan and lover of the bullet proof 3800. You can buy all kinds of performance parts for it at zzperformance.com.
 
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What's the specified oil fill for this car/engine combo and how much did you put in?
If you've overfilled it by half a quart or so, just leave it be.
If you've overfilled by an entire quart, you might want to get some out.
Do not waste the oil by draining it all and then refilling to specified change volume.
 
Don't drain it all out.
If you didn't know how much oil your engine takes,you still may not now.
How did you overfill it?
 
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