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Oil change -- 6 qts too much oil?


Mirage52

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Hello, I changed the oil on my 2013 SEL FWD yesterday -- done it before and never had an issue.

 

Drained the oil as normal and added 6 qts of oil as recommended from the manufacturer and when I did a reading on the dipstick after 5 qts it was at the fill mark. Was thinking of not adding the extra quart but decided to add another quart to get to 6 quarts. The reading was above the fill mark by a quart. Drove it to work this morning and checked the level and it was all the way up the dipstick -- I couldn't even get a reading.

 

Does checking the hot oil skew readings? Did I add too much oil? Should I drain a quart of oil? 6 quarts is the recommended level, right?

 

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yes, checking it hot and not drained will affect the reading. there is always splash activity on the dipstick in a "fresh" situation like that. You have to allow 15 min AT LEAST to drain after engine is turned off and car is on level ground. 2015+ can do with 30 min or more (!).

 

The spec from the OM is 6 qt for the 3.5/3.7, and 5.7 qt for the 2.0. How much oil did you drain out? Maybe there was still a qt left.

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No chance there was a quart left. Maybe a half...my driveway is slightly off level so the car leans forward just a tad which may trap some oil in the pan, but it couldn't be a full quart. I drained the oil until there was a very thin stream coming from the drain plug. Like I said, I've done this before and perhaps I didn't add the full 6 quarts, and just went off the dipstick. For whatever reason I decided to add all 6.

 

Just re-checked the stick after car's been sitting for a few hours...it's not that far above second hole in dipstick. I am thinking it's OK.

Edited by Mirage52
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You didn't specifically state, did you change the filter? Some filters can hold a quart and the add recommendation, is based on a dry filter.

 

BTW, don't drive any car that's overfilled with oil. Can burn out the engine (crank hits the oil, causes it to splash and foam, allows oil pick up to pull in foam = air).

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Agree, and that's what the manual states as well.

 

But the OP reported that if was over by a quart after he added 6 qts and by the next morning, was way high on the dipstick. That can be dangerous for the engine.

 

For me (and I no longer do my own oil changes) I found that it usually reads a little low after an oil change but became normal after driving a while.

 

Rather than driving on an overfilled engine, I believe I would either drain out what was necessary to show a full reading or just change the oil again, making certain that I got a full drain (and start from scratch). If you drain out too much, can always add back what's necessary as it's new oil.

Edited by enigma-2
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