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Oil keeps the engine clean and cool, acting like a shock absorber for moving parts and ensuring efficient and smooth operation. However, too much oil harms the engine in the long run, sometimes even engine failure. Proper lubrication needs a consistent oil film, and foam decreases this consistency.
Overfilling leads to mixing air with oil, allowing foam to form inside the engine. This is critical since the additives in the oil are designed to prevent foam formation and become less effective when the oil turns foamy.
Foamy Oil disturbs lubrication by generating additional heat. This overheating can damage the engine and its components, resulting in catastrophic engine malfunction. If you have overfilled, your car will show signs of distress. Drain the excess oil before driving your car to avoid the worst-case scenario.
If you are worried about how long you can run your car with too much oil, the timeline varies depending on several factors. It typically takes 5-7 days for visible signs from engine and exhaust. However, it depends on the extent of overfill, engine type, and driving habits.
Older engines are resistant to overfilling, but modern engines are sensitive, and attaching a timeline would not be appropriate. Therefore, It is best advised to remove excess oil before you drive the car, as extra oil may end up soiling sensors, catalytic converters, and spark plugs.
Additionally, as the engine heats up, the oil expands due to temperature. In case of a bad lubricant, this expansion can be rapid, leading to overpressure and possible leaks.
Short drives may not cause the residue in the engine oil to get oxidized or burned. This increases the pressure within the engine, leading to excess overfilling.
Checking the Oil Limit – The Right Way
If you wish to get an accurate dipstick reading, follow the guidelines provided below:
Drive the Car to warm up the oil
Cold oil can be thicker in some extreme weather conditions. The impurities in the oil get burned or oxidized as the engine revs; this ensures a more uniform consistency for an accurate reading.
Let the Engine Cool down
For some time, the oil remains expanded even after stopping the engine. The oil settles back into the oil pan by allowing the engine to cool. This provides an accurate reading as the warm engine retains or circulates the oil, leading to an elevated reading.
Station the Car on a Level Surface
Reading the oil level in an incline or decline station can skew the oil level reading. Make sure the car is parked on a level surface.
Using the Dipstick
Pull out the dipstick and wipe the surface, leaving no residue that may have settled on the stick when driving. A bad dipstick surface may give a false reading. Reinsert the clean dipstick into the tube again and pull out to read the oil level. This way, you get an accurate reading.
How Much Is Too Much Oil in the Car
Each engine is designed for a standard oil limit, depending on the engine size and number of cylinders. You can refer to the car’s manual to know the oil limit.
However, Sometimes dealers may overfill the car out of negligence or without referring to the car’s guideline on engine oil capacity. To be safer, Inspect the Oil level using a dipstick.
Keeping the oil level below the MAX mark on the dipstick is best advised. An oil level of 0.2 inches or less is not an immediate concern. However, remember that engine oil reserves extra space for oil to check excessive fluid expansion.
Adding more will aggravate the problem. To avoid problems in your engine, drain excessive oil if the mark is above 0.2 inches.
What happens when you overfill the Engine Oil
The engine is made of a lot of intricate components working in harmony at extreme pressure and heat; the role of engine oil is to make the mechanical engagement smooth and in unison. When replacing or loading the engine through the crankcase cap, located under the bonnet. The oil gets collected in the oil pan located at the bottom.
The oil pump draws the oil from the oil pan to circulate throughout the engine; circulation happens every time the engine starts. It passes through the oil filter to remove contaminants, soot, and suspended particles that can potentially damage the engine surface and components.
As you overfill, the oil level in the oil pan rises abnormally and starts getting in contact with the crankshaft, which rotates at high speed every time the engine revs. The oil is caught amidst the rotation and blends, allowing air into the mixture.
The subsequent result is foaming or aeration, making the oil less viscous and less lubricant. The air pockets coming in contact with the engine surface aggravate the wear and tear, thereby increasing the temperature and pressure of the oil mixture.
The high-pressure temperature oil looks for ways to escape the engine; it finally vents through various seals and gaskets to keep the components and engine intact. The high-pressure oil may also get splashed on the surface of the spark plugs, which causes engine misfires.
The result is slow intermittent engine operation, late transmission, excessive vibration from the engine, and leaks from the oil pan and exhaust. The most common symptom is blue or white smoke from the exhaust tail pipe, which means oil clogging in the catalytic converter.
Impact of Oil Overfill on Engine Components and Performance
Overfilling ironically impairs lubrication as the crankcase comes in contact with the oil and turns it foamy. As a result, Increased pressure within the engine leads to oil leaking into various parts.
Oil leaking in the exhaust and combustion chamber is bad for your engine’s longevity. Overfill reduces fuel efficiency due to increased friction and pressure in the engine. The components don’t work in an optimum state as they work harder by consuming more fuel.
Burning more fuel than usual increases the wear and tear of the engine. If this state continues, it can lead to reduced horsepower and cause a considerable impact on overall output.
Other than this, engine overfilling also causes complex disturbances to other critical components; some of the commonly observed malfunctions by the mechanics are listed below.
1. Wet Spark Plug
A wet spark can increase the drama of your already ailing engine. Oil looks for ways to escape due to increased pressure. They get splattered on spark plugs, making them unable to produce sparks at optimum times. Untimed sparks cause misfires in the engine that impact the combustion process.
This can lead to intermittent engine stopping, less power, and terrible driving experience. You may experience strange engine noises, extreme heating, accelerating problems, and misfiring/stalling of the engine. Misfires can trigger the Engine light in some cases.
2. Oil Filter
The oil filter removes dirt and carbon particles from the engine oil, so the engine remains free from contaminants. Increased pressure due to overflow can blow out the filter gasket, causing an oil leak. This can affect the filtration capacity of the oil filter, which may accumulate over time.
Decreased oil flow can affect the engine’s lubrication, leading to more wear and tear. Moreover, increased pressure due to overfilling may cause the filter to rupture or fail. Overheating in the engine can rapidly expand the oil, changing its viscosity. Oil filters are designed for specific viscosity, high viscosity makes filtration tough.
3. Crankshaft
Increasing oil pressure puts more stress on the crankshaft and its bearing. This leads to increased friction, resulting in premature wear.
The crankpin, also known as the lobed rod, is a crucial component that connects the crankshaft to the pistons. Over time, friction due to oil foaming increases the wear and tear.
The abnormal pressure exerted on the crankshaft by the overfilled oil impedes its optimum rotation, causing a high load to the crankshaft bearing. This also increases the temperature of the system above the operating temperature.
4. Engine Seals and Gaskets
Excessive pressure exerted by the oil leaks out of engines; most of the time, it ends up beneath the oil reservoir of the crankcase or soil’s other components. Such overleak may cause seals and gaskets to loosen, breaking the structural integrity of the crankcase.
5. Clogged Catalyst
Oil from an overfilled engine can enter the catalyst, barring its filtration process. The excess oil in the catalyst burns, turning into carbon molecules that clog the catalyst.
Prolonged clogging of the catalyst could result in extreme temperatures, leading to fire or damage to the catalyst. Considering the expense, replacing the catalyst can be heavy on your wallet.
6. Sensor Malfunction
Modern engines are integrated with sensors to monitor engine malfunction and performance. Faulty sensors can activate false positive relay mechanisms that impede the driving experience. Leaked oil, when coming in contact with sensors, can impair them.
How to Remove Excess Oil from Your Engine
- Let the engine cool down before proceeding, as the oil is hot after engine operation.
- A fresh oil change is better than siphoning excess oil through the crankcase cap. Drain the oil from the opening at the bottom of the crankcase oil pan.
- Collect the oil in a container, and dispose of it safely as the oil is an environmental threat or, better, leave the disposal part to the local mechanic.
