Running A Quart Over

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Quattro Pete
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(exactly how long is your OCI?),

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That's just it, I don't know. Usually in the past I've gone a 3 month OCI regardless of milage, but you guys have been pressuring me to go longer; that's why I want to run more oil. So far I only have 1,471 miles on the oil and the OLM says 68%.


Quest
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If I were the original poster, I would definitely check to see if the oil level is "high" enough to reach the crankshaft's lowest point during operation. The "churning"/"whipping" effect of the crankshaft with an overfilled crankcase will beat the oil like an egg whipper, adding air bubbles into the oiling system which may subsequently lead to crank/main bearing failures if the oil pump manage to suck enough air bubbles and pump it into the oil gallery --> leads to main/rod bearing wear.

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What you're saying is exactly what I'm concerned about. Patman's post has helped a lot towards putting my mind at ease though.
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Not saying running a quart over is going to cause any problems. But why are the manufacturers usually so specific about how much oil to use? Seems they must have a pretty good reason to say, for example, use 4.5 quarts not 5 or 5.5 quarts. If there were a lot of benefits, why wouldn't they just recommend more to begin with?

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Because if they recommended more to begin with, then people like me would still add even more on top of that!
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Hey, it's worked for me for years, so it can't be a problem. You just need to find out your own "maximum" safe level for your vehicles. I know what works in mine.
 
" I'm thinking that more oil can dilute contaminants better and help the engine run a little cooler. I've always been envious of the BMW's and Jaguars with their large 8 quart + sumps. "

This looks like a great example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. If you get enough oil in there that the crankshaft starts whipping up the oil in the pan you are most certainly not doing your engine any favors. The kind of experimentation you are doing without any way of actually observing or measuring what is happening inside the engine is not smart.
 
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The kind of experimentation you are doing without any way of actually observing or measuring what is happening inside the engine is not smart.

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Oh man. . . how I wish that was the worst decision I ever made. . .
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I appreciate your concern; however, I'm thinking the manufacture must've made some allowances for screw-ups such as Jiffy Lube adding too much oil; or at least I'm hoping so.
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A lot of guys on this board are always pushing for extended drains, but when some of these cars have sump capacities of 4 quarts or less, I just can't agree on pushing OCI's under those conditions. Do I wish my car had an 8 quart oil sump? Yes absolutely!
 
lol! I'm taking wgtoys side this time.

Unless you have a way to find out (pulling the oil pan and experiment), otherwise, it is never a wise idea to push beyond the presumably "Safe" top mark of the dipstick, citing a good scenario where even though you are able to achieve your goal by topping the oil all the way up until it just barely reaches the bottom of the crank (when level), what if you car is idling in an incline?

a little bit (like a few ounces ) past the full mark shouldn't be too much of a trouble to 1 quart over???!?? Come on now! It's that a bit on the nutty side?

Q.
 
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It's that a bit on the nutty side?

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I'm here aren't I ?
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ADD| . . . . . |FULL

I've got the add mark, 5 holes drilled, and then the full line.

I would pull the dip stick and on one side I'll see all 5 holes filled, and then on the other side it would be down a hair. I would ask myself several times if I was sure that the 5th hole was covered, but I never could get a definite answer back. This way with 6 quarts, I don't have to listen to my different personalities argue back and forth with each other; I just shut the hood and forget it.
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I overfill everything that I own and it has worked OK for nearly 60 years that I have been driving.
My Old Bronco holds 4.5 qt.I add 6 qt. and it has run nearly 22 years without a problem.
If that is going to do harm it sure is taking a long time to show up.
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I drive fast and at higher rpm you will have a qt. up in the engine that leaves 3.5 but if you get a half qt. low now you have 3 qt.in the crankcase. Go around a conner and the oil pills up in the side or accelerate hard and it will pile in the back and the pump can suck air so which is worse a Little over full or no oil pressure.
Like Patman said GM actually recommends overfilling the Corvette for hard driving.
I cured that problem on my Corvette by installing a deep sump 10 qt. pan with 3 trap doors to keep the oil near the pickup but on a production engine the cheapest way to do it is to overfill it.
I have to laugh when I read about people that are concerned about their oil level being half a qt overfull.
 
I run all my GM fleet(3800's,3100's) over full, from 1/4 to 1/2 qt
over with a over sized filter(PF-52)never any
problems, oil seems to stay cleaner a little longer and
probably runs little cooler too..
 
Bart, I have no doubt what you say is true. I just wonder if the crank clearances with the sump are perhaps different in some vehicles, newer vehicles, etc.? It might not present a problem in certain cars whereas it could in others. That's why, to me, if I'm driving my car "normally", I'd feel better sticking with the manufacturer's recommendation.

Having said all that though, I seriously doubt I'd ever notice a problem with a 1/2 quart over in almost any vehicle, unless it had a 1.5 quart sump.

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Wth my old 3100 and my even older GM 2.8, I used to use a PF-52 and just dump in 5 quarts. Never had a problem.

Of course, my new 3900 calls for only 4 quarts, so I just go with 4, it annoys me having 1/2 quarts of oil around, so I don't see any point in adding any more, although sometimes I feel compelled to. *shrug*
 
I run a 1/2 quart over in my Cavalier and 1 quart over in my Explorer. My reasoning is that having more oil in the crankcase will allow me to run my 10k oci's with less degradation of the oil.
 
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A lot of guys on this board are always pushing for extended drains, but when some of these cars have sump capacities of 4 quarts or less, I just can't agree on pushing OCI's under those conditions.

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Then don't do an extended drain, or just do a UOA to see if a given drain is safe (with your stock capacity). What is your definition of extended drain anyway? 4k? 5k? 7k? 10k? 15k?

If I had to choose between a a shorter drain and overfilling my engine, I would pick the first one. Your overfilled engine may be OK... or it may not. Without any way to see if you're doing any harm, why risk it?
 
Well, I'm on my 3rd day of the 6 quart experiment and so far so good. The idle quality has been as smooth as ever and the acceleration performance is still peppy. I'm thinking that if the crank was striking the oil pool, then the car would've felt sluggish, but all is well.
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I might switch to the oversize filter on my next OCI, but I still haven't decided yet.
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I went out and checked it just now, but it had been sitting for 40 minutes; do you think I should check for bubbles right after shutting it off?

This is where the oil level is on the stick:

ADD| . . . . . |FULL
Right after the last 'L' in 'FULL'
 
I would check the oil about 5 minutes after shutting down.
If your oil is foaming because of the introduction of air into it from the crank whipping it up, I would think you would hear all kinds of nasty noises because of the lack of lubrication.
 
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