Engine Oil Overfill – One thing that you should always have at the back of your mind is that your car engine has to properly lubricated so you have to remember to top it up with oil when required.
Failure to do this can result in the wear, corrosion and even damage of your car.
However if maybe during a lubricant top up or change you end up overfilling your car, that will equally result in problems and issues for your car engine.
The question on your mind right now will be how do I know if there is too much oil in my vehicle ? Well, that is what we are about to discuss below.
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How to know if you overfilled your car with oil?
One of the ways in which you can tell that you may have overfilled your vehicle with oil is if you notice thick white exhaust smoke while driving.
It is true in some cases fluids for instance antifreeze may be responsible for the dense white smoke but it wouldn’t hurt to check it out and prevent further damage to the engine.
Another way by which you can tell if there is too much oil in your vehicle is if you notice oil leaking from your car. Sometimes it could be that your oil plug is loose and you will just have to tighten it or it could indeed be that you have overfilled your car.
So if you are suspecting that there is too much lubricant in your car and you want to be sure of it, we will tell you just what to do. First, you have to warm the engine.
You can do this by maybe driving your car around for about five to ten minutes, then park your vehicle on a flat surface and turn it off. The reason why you have to warm the engine first is so that you can a correct reading on the dipstick.
If you do not know where the dipstick is, you can check your car maintenance manual. Pull out the dipstick, clean the oil on it with a cloth and put it back in, then wait for just a few seconds and pull it out again.
You will then have to look closely at the fill line and if the oil is above the fill line, you have too much engine oil in your vehicle.
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What Happens If I Put too much Oil in my Car?
We already spoke about how too much oil in your car can lead to wear and damage of your engine but we will now go more into detail about it so that you will know to handle the situation as quick as possible to prevent more damage.
- Can lead to engine wear. This is because since the oil is not at a right pressure, the engine parts will not be properly lubricated resulting in the wear of the engine.
- Damage of the crankshaft and crane as there will be too much friction as a result of the excess oil. You also have to know that the head and tail couplers and ends on crankshafts are responsible for preventing oil leakage.
- So in a situation where there is a lot more oil than should normally be the case, you can imagine the extra pressure that will occur resulting in leakages.
- If it then happens to be on the flywheel part of the crankshaft, the engine oil can spoil the clutch.
- More so if the pressure on the crankshaft is increased as a result of too much oil, the oil can even make its way into the crankshaft exhaust pipe and into the combustion chamber and in the course of that block the suction hose with oil soot resulting in engine overload
- Too much engine oil can also result in bent engine rods, collapsed valve pipes and can ruin spark plugs.
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How to Remove Excess Engine Oil from Your Car
With all that we have discussed above, it goes without saying that if there is too much engine oil in your vehicle, you just have to drain it.
You can either do it by yourself or you can get a mechanic to handle it for you. If you want to do it by yourself then we will walk you through it.
- You’ll want to park your car on a flat surface and take care that the engine is not hot. Go underneath your car and find the oil plug. If you have issues finding it, you can always check your vehicle’s maintenance manual.
- Place your drain pan under the oil plug and making use of your 3/8 inch drive socket wrench go ahead and loosen the drain plug and allow the oil to drain. Take care not to unscrew the oil plug too much as that will lead to a flood of oil.
- When you are okay with the amount of oil drained, tighten the oil cap and check the oil level with the dipstick to be sure. If you see that more has to be drained then get to it, or if you see that you have over drained then top up the oil to the right level.
How much oil does your vehicle require?
The right amount of engine oil that a car requires varies, but generally four-cylinder engines will take about 4.5 litres of oil, six-cylinder engines take about 5.5 litres of oil and eight-cylinder engines take about 4.5 to 7.5 litres.
To be sure about the right amount of engine oil for your car, take a look at the lubrication section of your car manual and should see it there as well as the type of oil your car engine needs.
Now you know the effects of overfilling your car with engine oil and how to tackle it, but remember that if you feel you cannot handle it by yourself, be sure to get in touch with a mechanic.
