nikoner

I've taken my car for oil changes at the dealership. That's the only place I've ever gone. The last, time, however, they've put too much oil in the engine. It's 1/2 inch above the top mark on the dipstick.

Would this cause any damage?

I was planning on draining some of the oil and then switching do a different service company.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

its not good but i don't think that will be a problem. mine is always a tad above the full. you can't really get oil out from the top so you'll just have to drain it. Maybe start doing them yourself? I just got jackstands so i'm gonna start doing it in the parking lot.

streetglower

iTrader: (13)

take it back to them and tell them to fix it. Drain it that is.

stock

I have my oil changed at Honda all the time and they always overfill the engine oil. It is always about 1/2 inch above the max mark. I've been to 4 different Honda dealerships and they always overfill.

I've also noticed that some dealerships use a reddish color oil...or they are not draining it all out or not changing my filter.

Use a hand pump attached to aquarium tubing and pump out the extra oil through the dipstick hole.

In the future, just change the oil yourself and not Honda.

streetglower

iTrader: (13)

I dont understand how they can overfill it. At my shop, we have a computer that tells us how much the vehicle takes, and then once we change it, we start up the car, let it pressurize and the car doesnt leave untill a manager approves the level on the dipstick.

The only other thing I can think of is that you guys arent wiping the dipstick off, then rechecking it. Or otherwise you are reading the wrong side of the dipstick.

stock

I check the oil level with the car flat on level ground. Pull the dipstick out and wipe. Reinsert fully and check level. It's about 1/2 inch above max on the dipstick. Checked it when engine is cold and warm. Still overfilled according to dipstick. There is no way to read the dipstick incorrectly. It reads the same on both sides. There is a hole for low and max. The oil is above the max hole on dipstick.

Maybe Honda isn't changing the filter or not letting it drain fully before filling? Maybe they are using a smaller filter but still putting too much oil in?

I don't know but I'm not taking it Honda anymore!!!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i read something it the diy that there is another part to remove other than the drain bolt so it drains faster? what is that?

shroomster

the oil cap....I dunno the physics of it all but its the same principal as when you hold one end of a straw in your drink and plug the other with your finger and let it slowly drain out....
dunno if that is what you meant.....
if you let the majority of the oil drain...it should take you about 3 to 4 minutes before you get that very slow drip.....<<<don't quote me on that but just time it....and for the record....if you wannna get technical put 3 and one half bottles of oil in the car.....not 4 bottles 3 bottles and then half of the 4th bottle....(really should be between 3.2 and 3.5, but that 4 oz or so really won't make that big a difference...)

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

oh lol. i think ima start doing my own in parking lot cause i bought jack and stands finally.

stock

Do you put the dipstick fully in to check the oil? I noticed there are 2 green rings on the top of the dipstick. If I put the dipstick in to the first ring the oil level is correct. If I fully insert the dipstick the oil level is above the max hole.

streetglower

iTrader: (13)

Yes you put the dipstick in to fully check the oil. If you fully insert it and it is over the max limit, then you need to drain some untill it is in between the 2 holes.

stock

Should I pump some out through the dipstick hole with some tubing and a hand pump?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i did that once sticking it in the oil fill cap hole, you can only get about one ounce. the tube wouldn't even fit where the dipstick goes.

streetglower

iTrader: (13)

just loosen the drain bolt and drain some out.

DaddyFatSacks

Do you think a 1/2" is that bad?

shroomster

do you think a leaky pan gasket is that bad?
overpressured seals?
etc?

Civic_RedLine

iTrader: (18)

why is it bad? Im turboed and techs say i should have a little more oil than stock

shroomster

because turbos need more oil than stock...is it that they are oil cooled or have oil running lines...its one of those...but thats why turbo'd cars need more oil....if you're stock you don't need more...its also better to add oil to oil filter to pre-charge filter for the turbo....

nikoner

Originally Posted by DaddyFatSacks
Do you think a 1/2" is that bad?
do you think a leaky pan gasket is that bad?
overpressured seals?
etc?

---

What are the sympoms of a leaky pan gasket or overpressured seals?
How can 1/2" more oil in the pan cause that much trouble? I don't understand.

nikoner

I drained the extra oil today. The sump had about half a quart too much oil inside it.

I asked an engine engineer what he though about this in an email. Here's what he wrote:

" It looks like
it's probably about 1 qt too high. Maybe not quite that much...but that would be a typical mistake a service person may make. Actually, if they changed the filter, it should take 4.4 qts to fill, and they probably put 5 qts in. So it's likely about 0.6 qt too high.The good news is that this shouldn't damage anything. There's been MANY
instances of people forgetting to drain the oil, and putting another 4 qts in the Honda engines. They would smoke pretty bad, but once the oil was drained, everything was still fine.

As for removing the 1/2 qt, that can be tricky. Sometimes when the drain plug is pulled the oil can come out VERY fast.

You could drive it like this until the next oil change and it shouldn't hurt anything. But it wouldn't hurt anything (except time or wallet) to have 1/2 qt removed."