eLinux

It seems as though my car has been getting "too much" oil.

The past two times (probably amounting to one year of use, or 10,000miles) the oil in my car has been changed, 4qt. has been put in.

I took my car to the dealer today because it's been acting *really* weird -- it felt unresponsive, slow. It felt like the engine was struggling. The engine was also making a distinct ticking sound.

The Honda mechanic notified me that there was too much oil in the engine.

I check the oil in a car fairly regularly (less than 2,000 miles), and I don't recall seeing the oil level too high. But the car is only supposed to take 3.5qt. and the car's been getting 4qt.

I'm actually pretty upset about this, because I've read that it can cause some serious damage to the car.

Should I trade the car in before something blows up on me? What are my options? What possible damage am I looking at here?

If problems are going to arise in the future over this, I'll switch the car out faster than I can blink my eyes.

What to do?...

NoToRiOuSxPiNoY

iTrader: (1)

Yes it can do some major damage to the car. It clogs the pistons and the rings. Especially if u drove it alot. Who did the oil change? I would sue the ppl who did it.

jwcardy

iTrader: (8)

who has been doing the oil changes....if you are having a shop do it, i would question them about it...if it is you, i am not going to be mean, but where did you see anything that it gets 4qts......

as far as getting rid of it...i wouldnt...you have caught the problem....but i dont know of any long term effects that what has already happened could cause...

centurioncivic

it actually takes 3.7 so you shouldnt be that bad off.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Hmmm strange. I and most other people hear that ticking sound coming from the valves. Always thought it was normal. And I'm confused how you never noticed before. Did the dipstick show the level to be higher than normal?

jwcardy

iTrader: (8)

depends on what model it is...mine is a dx, and my owners manual says 3.4 for mine

jttegx

iTrader: (3)

3.7 qt only if every drip of oil is completey drained from the engine. (which most likely is not because some stays in the block no matter what, unless you open it up..) the manual may say 3.7qt but 2 days ago, I changed my oil with mobil 1 5w-30 fully syn... i only used 3 qts and 1/4 because i knew their was left over oil inside the engine block. so pretty much like 5% or so of old oil is combined with my new motor oil.

if i were you, i'd immediately* re-do an oil change with good oil. 4qts is pretty off limit and start talking to the person/people who changed your motor oil. on the side, even check the oil filter if its installed properly.

eLinux

Mine takes 3.5 for sure. If had been 3.7, I would have shrugged it off, but .2 qt is quite a bit. Especially .5qt is a huge difference.

eLinux

You know, I'll be honest with you. When I checked the dispstick both times, I was looking more for coloration than the height of the oil level.

Although I would have *very* quickly noticed had it been WAY too high on the dipstick.

It probably went above the "normal" mark. But I definately don't think it went above the second hole the dipstick has. What precisely does this second hole signify? Does it mean "max"?

eLinux

Yup...you're right. I'm sure there was still some oil there.

So..., the extra .5qt, added to whatever was already in there. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

I changed the oil out myself to correct this problem. It looks normal now. But I'm sure the other two oil changes (which like I said amounted to about 1,000 miles of driving) had an extra .5qt.

eLinux

This is the bad news I was dreading to hear...

I've heard it can do more than that, too. Actually, I read a someone who wrote their car's engine went completely bye-bye over that.

I guess my huge fear is that some type of that damage that occured will come to bite me in the *** later on. i.e., when the car gets higher milage, I'll have to start replacing major parts left and right because of this oil fiasco.

I read the calatytic converter can be seriously damaged for putting too much oil. (among other things), and sometimes the problems don't show up right away.

This is a huge bummer. Is there any way to change what type of damaged this might have inflicted?

I guess I better start looking for a new car. The bad part is that I almost was so happy recently to have paid the car completely off...

sKwiD

iTrader: (11)

Hmm interesting. I have an EX (3.7) and I put 4 quarts all the time. Is this bad for my car or something? So far its been alright, and I've been doing this for over a year now.

eLinux

Well my car probably takes 3.5 because it's '98.

.3qt isn't a lot, but I'd probably be more careful. From what I've read while doing some research the past few days, there sure as heck *is* a possibility that your car could be in some serious trouble if you put too much in.

Here's a bit of info I found:

Here's something else I read that states the cat converter can be affected:

Just my thoughts on the situation. I hope it didn't get that bad. I've been looking at prices, and I really can't afford a new car at the moment. I'd have to stick with what I have.

eLinux

What do I do to check it out?

Take it to the dealer? Tell them to check the seals? I mean...how do you go about checking if any serious/permanent damage was done to the car?

NoToRiOuSxPiNoY

iTrader: (1)

Well change your oil again. Do a complete oil flush(Just to make sure everything is drained out) then see if it drives funny? Usually it's gonna feel sluggish and run kinda rough. Tell me what happens after you do those stuff. Pray to the car gods it's just your imagination.

flotsamm

iTrader: (1)

You can have a compression done, or a leak down test. You can also look at your spark plugs for signs of excessive oil burning.

Regarding how much your suppose to put in, just go by what the manual says. Mine says 3.7 quarts with a filter so thats what I put in. Every engine I've ever changed the oil on uses this same method. This is why its important to bring the engine up to full operating temp first before changing your oil. This way the oil is thinned out and flows better when draining.

I dont know how sensitive our Honda engines are to being overfilled, but I personally dont think .5 of a quart is enough to cause any damage. Sure it might feel more sluggish since it has to work a little harder moving the oil around, but I still dont think its enough to cause any serious problems. When the engine is running, oil is spread out all over the place. Spreading out .5 of a quart shouldnt cause any problems I would think. I could be wrong though since I'm no Honda tech. But I'm sure that if it was a big deal we would of heard of it by now that you have to be extremely careful not to overfill a Honda engine.

Maybe your engine feels sluggish since some of our VTEC engines are triggered by oil pressure? Maybe having to much oil confused the VTEC controller.. dunno, guessing here.

NoToRiOuSxPiNoY

iTrader: (1)

But some like someone stated earlier... there are some oil still left inside the car. There's no way to drain all the oil out by doing a drain and fill oil change. As oil turns to sludge, it stays in the engine.

Meiyo

First of all... What model engine does your car have?
Did you change the filter?

The Official Honda Maintenance Manual states the following:

D17A2, D17A6 engine: Oil change (including filter) - 3.7 qt
D17A1 engine: Oil change (including filter) - 3.4 qt

Unless you have mesured on the stick (2nd tick mark/hole) and it was above every time, I wouln't be too worried.... If you mesured a quart of oil right out of the can you most likely wouldn't get a "real" quart. So what I'm saying is: Let's say you have a D17A2 and you buy 4 quarts of oil "X" - doing the oil change you would likely use "all" 4 quarts. That doesn't mean your engine took 4 quarts... When changing the oil, always go by what the dipstick tells you, not the oil containers. Start with 3 quarts then check - then add as needed.

eLinux

I actually noticed a while back when changing my spark plugs that there was oil on the "screw" part of the plug...although there was none on the tip. I don't know how normal this is. It didn't *seem* normal, that's for sure...

I did a bit of math and thinking, and you're right. The engine is a big box. And while .5qt is a "lot" of oil (relative to what the manual says I should put in), that much oil would probably only raise the oil level in the box a quarter of an inch of so...probably not a whole lot.

The dealer drained the excess oil. I took it for a spin tonight. Radio off, windows up... I paid really close attention to the way the engine was acting, and how it sounded. Everything feels better overall. Chances are this might just be the placebo effect, but I'm hoping that it was indeed an improvement made because the oil level went down.

I guess I'll just pray the .5qt didn't do any permanent damage. I honestly don't know what a compression or leak down test is. I might take it to another shop and ask them to see if there was any permanent damage done...i.e., check the seals, catalytic converter (? - can this actually be done visually?), etc.

Either way, lesson learned: be careful when filling up your oil!

@Meiyo - 3.5 for me. It's a 1998 Honda Civic, so unless you are driving a '98, I would think your manual's numbers aren't acurate for my car.

I wish I had paid more attention when I checked on the oil level on the dip stick...I might have caught it early and saved myself this headache.

NoToRiOuSxPiNoY

iTrader: (1)

Oh snap... You got a blown head gasket bro!! If you can find oil on one of the spark plugs.. that is one of the biggest sign of a blown head gasket.. it's gonna get worse bro..

ctx66

i wouldnt worry much about a .5qt overfill. youll be fine imo

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

As long as there's no oil on the plug tip, you're fine. I doubt excess oil did any real damage. I also have oil on the plug threads, which is probably normal.

eLinux

Whoa...what in the world!?

I've been driving my car with the oil on the threads for probably 500+ miles now...and it's been there for a long time (maybe even before the oil level was filled too high the first time?).

Man...that's some bad news. I have not seen any oil leaks anywhere else though, so could this just be normal? And how much would it cost to get the head gasket replaced/fixed?

I think I'll take it to a shop and ask them to do a compression test. Can someone give me a bit more details on what exactly a compression test is...well...testing? And how much it would cost for me to get one done? And, if it fails the test, what next?

Thanks

eLinux

How much money are we talked about to get the rings replaced?

To be honest I am kind of strapped for cash. If it's going to cost me thousands, then I'd just say I'll wait a few years and buy a new car if the current car is going to run fine. If this is something you recommend I do, then I'll hand over the dough and rest better knowing the car is in good condition.

eLinux

Holy freggin' crap you will not believe what I just found.

Woke up and needed to go somewhere. So before I did anything, I popped the hood and checked the dipstick.

The oil level is still higher than the top hole. The dealer charged me for draining the excess oil!

Ugh! Oh well...I'm so angry/upset right now I might just pretend this never happened. I can't believe they did that, and then had the ***** to tell me that the excess oil was what was causing all of the problems in the car!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Yeah sometimes dealerships just say they do the work to get your money. Isn't that terrible?

I bought a compression tester for $40 at an auto parts store. Basically you remove all the spark plugs and unplug the fuel injector wire connectors. The the tube with the tester screws into one spark plug hole at a time. You mash the gas down and crank the car a few times. The gauge should have a hold feature so it will keep the highest reading.

Pulling the head is a HUGE job. A member and his friend did mine when I got the DH ported head and it took all day. Everything has to come out.But if there's no leaks, that's probably not your problem. Just go back and have them drain the oil this time.

flotsamm

iTrader: (1)

Usually having a little bit of oil around the threads of a spark plug means that it may of not been torqued down correctly or it was just plain loose. When its like this, oil and spent gases will try to seep out of the compression chamber through the spark plug hole. Its okay, just make sure theyre tight enough but not to tight.

About having a blown head gasket, I doubt thats your problem. If it was blown, you'd know about it by now. Your engine would run like **** and you'd most likely be burning oil or loosing coolant.

A compression check looks for pressure level differences across all the cylinders. Each cylinder is suppose to be within a certain range of pressure give or take a few pounds or whatever the manufacture says is okay. For example, some engines say that the compression for each cylinder should be 120 pounds give or take 10 pounds. When you find on thats not in range, then you know that you have a problem. Could be bad rings, blown head gasket, bad valves, leaky seals, etc.

Just drain some oil out and refill it until its below the top dot on the dip stick. You'll be fine..

Meiyo

Sorry!!! I assumed since you were posting on 7thgen - you had a 7th gen.

VTEC01EX

iTrader: (6)

I'd just change the oil - yourself, so you know it's done right - and just keep an eye on the car. 98% of people on the internet don't really know what they're talking about - just like real life. If your car is still acting up a few weeks after a proper oil change, you might want to consider finding a reputable independent mechanic in your area to consult. I can guarantee you'll get more reliable advice than 'oh snap! that means you blew your headgasket, you're pwn3d!11!'

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Haha lol. Well speaking from personal experience, my plugs have oil on the threads and I always tighten them to 14ft/lbs with a torque wrench. As long as it's not dripping off the plug, it shouldn't matter.

Now the compression test is a good idea. You want to see if the psi at each cylinder is more or less the same. The specs that Tinman posted are in my rough idle thread.

Now that I think about it, the oil seems overfilled on mine after they installed the new head. It doesn't affect performance at all. There's still plenty of space under the valve cover for extra oil to circulate.

But like said above, just get another oil change from a reputable place. My dealer is usually good with that, so I go there and pay extra. If the problem is still there, you can try other steps. Compression test will also tell you if you need the valves adjusted. If you drive hard, a valve adjustment is necessary every 15k miles. There's even a diy here if you feel up to it.