What happens if you put too much oil in the engine

An engine needs quality lubrication. But the amount of oil is also important. Too much oil in the engine is just as bad as not enough. Although many people are sure that if you overfill the oil in the engine, nothing bad will happen. We tell you what is the danger of oil overflow and how to eliminate it.

Where does “extra” oil come from

First, we advise you to make sure that you check the level correctly. If you’re not sure, read our guide: it explains everything in detail.

In theory, there can be several reasons for an oil level above the maximum.

• there are foreign impurities in the lubricant;
• there is too much oil itself.

The first case is inevitably connected with engine malfunctions. There are only two “foreign” impurities in the oil – coolant or fuel. And both of them should not get into the oil in any way. As well as moisture from outside (quite an exotic variant), whether it is rain or frost. Fortunately, these problems are not difficult to diagnose. Water and antifreeze do not dissolve in oil, so they are identified by oil emulsion, for example, on the dipstick. Gasoline, on the contrary, easily dilutes the oil, but its presence can be guessed by the characteristic odor that the lubricant acquires and a decrease in its viscosity.

In any of these incidents, the motor needs urgent repair, but this is a topic for a separate discussion. If the engine oil itself has become more than the MAX level, the technique has nothing to do with it – it’s all about the human factor.

Either the service station initially poured too much oil (when they changed it), or the driver then added extra oil himself. The latter case is a frequent consequence of incorrect level measurement. For example, the car may have been standing on a slope or not all the oil flowed into the sump after the engine stopped. In the latter case, the level on the dipstick will be low and it may seem that it needs to be raised.

Is it dangerous if the oil level is just above the maximum

If you accidentally pour 100-300 grams into the engine, nothing terrible will happen. Part of the lubricant still eats away over time, so the level will gradually fall to the normal value. In this case, you do not have to worry about what will happen if you pour oil above the level.

However, regular small overfills can have a negative effect on the engine over time. The excess will lead to a more active appearance of soot on the walls of the combustion chamber, there may be corking of piston rings, as well as failure of the catalytic converter, in which soot will appear.

What is fraught with too high oil level in the engine

But if there is a significant overflow of oil in the engine, the consequences can be much sadder. Substantial is understood as an excess volume of half a liter. What can be encountered in such a case:

1. Because of the increased oil level in the engine sump, the volume of space above it is reduced. Accordingly, even a well-functioning crankcase ventilation system may not be able to cope with the increased pressure of crankcase gases. Because of this, there is a high probability of leakage of oil seals and engine seals. For example, a sign of problems are characteristic marks in the area of the front engine cover (front crankshaft oil seal) and the junction of the gearbox with the engine (rear oil seal).
2. If you overfill the engine oil above the level, the counterweights of the crankshaft rotating at high speed will whip the lubricant like a mixer and it will become frothy. Air in the oil reduces its viscosity and pressure, and as a result, dramatically worsens the lubrication and operation of the engine components – primarily the hydraulic compensators and hydraulic tensioners of the timing chain. In addition, under certain circumstances, significantly exceeded oil level is fraught with hydroshocks in the crank mechanism.
3. Motors with noticeable wear of the cylinder-piston group due to excessive crankcase gases can be observed smoke during engine operation (blue smoke from the exhaust pipe), and the catalytic converter in this case will fail more quickly.
4. The electrodes of the spark plugs may become greasy, then it will be more difficult for the spark to penetrate the gap between them. As a result, there will be engine malfunctions.
5. If you overfill the oil, turbocharged engines may also cause failure of such an expensive unit as the turbocharger.

What to do if you overfilled the oil in the engine

It is obvious that you just need to get rid of the excess volume. At the same time, you should not unscrew the drain plug in the crankcase sump. It is difficult to drain a relatively small amount of lubricant in this way.

It is better to remove excess oil using other methods:

• Drain the oil through the hole where the dipstick is inserted. A syringe is best suited for this, as well as a flexible drip tube – all of which can be purchased at the nearest drugstore.
• If the oil filter is conveniently located, you can unscrew this element and drain the oil from its housing. But this method is less convenient – if the volume of the filter is small, the procedure will have to be repeated several times, and the filter will be filled with oil again only after the engine is started.

Summarized results

1. The consequences of oil overflow into the engine depend on exactly what volume of excess oil got into the crankcase sump.
2. With a small one-time overabundance nothing terrible will happen, everything will do without unpleasant consequences for the engine.
3. Substantial overflow of oil (more than half a liter) can lead to many unpleasant consequences, such as an increase in its consumption, zakoksovka oil rings, leaks glands and seals of the engine, failure of the neutralizer, spark plugs and turbocharger.
4. Oil level in the engine above the maximum can be easily lowered through the dipstick hole or by draining some volume from the oil filter.