Like an idiot, I added too much oil after finding that the level was a bit low. Now I am about a quart high, and am thinking about going under and draining some oil until it is the right level. Am I causing damage by having the oil level too high? Also, when is the best time to check the dipstick? Engine on/off, hot/cold?

 

from diynet.com...

"When checking oil, wait until the engine has been off for at least 15 minutes so that the oil has drained to the oil pan. This ensures an accurate reading. Checking the oil immediately after driving may give a false low reading because much of the oil is still in the engine components."

if it was me, i'd drain the excess oil out. i have no idea if it causes dmg or not, but i'm leaning towards the former.

db

 

I'm not an expert but I don't think it would cause damage. Some cars will handle the extra oil fine while others will burn it off. You will see smoke out of your tailpipe if it is burning off especially on acceleration. I work at a road racing track and many people overfill their engines with oil when they are going to run at the track. The reason is that pulling high cornering G's tends to push oil the oil from one side of the engine. Overfilling the oil will prevent oil starvation due to G forces. I have not talked to a WRX owner there who does this but many others do. Therefore I don't think it will cause you any problem.

However, if you are concerned about it, draining some oil and putting new oil in won't hurt anything. The downside is that it would be hard to drain just some of the oil so you may have to drain all of the oil and replace it with new.

 

Thanks for the quick replies guys. So my screw up was actually a performance mod then?

 

haha not really. More of just added engine insurance. As long as the car is running smoothly and its not blowing alot of smoke you should be fine.

 

It's going to be tough draining some of the oil unless you have an oil plug valve, it's going to come gushing out, but then I think a quart high is kind of much.

 

Check it when cold, level ground and engine off. If you check it when it's too hot you can bea reading thermal expansion which will give you a fuller reading. The oil expands and it heats, so do the engine parts. wait until engine is pretty cool and check it then. A quart high is a little much. I would drain it out and put the right amount in.

 

I've heard people say that when the oil level is too high the oil can get whipped into a froth that can cause the oil pump to starve/cavitate and mess up oil circulation. I believe even with no oil pump the froth can pose a problem with oil circulation. Get a vacuum/syphon pump or do what I did and order one of these:
http://www.fumotovalve.com/ Hope that helps.


-D

 

Excess oil becomes aerated within the crank case, frothing up and causing loss of horse power at high rpms. On some motors, that I have personally seen this occur to, the aerated oil foams up and out to of the oil fill tube.

Basically, it is possible that it could make a mess and its robbing you of some HP.

It takes roughly 10 mins to do an oil change on a wrx.. just do it again and this time be patient.

-G

 

One of the earlier replies suggested that you might as well change all of the oil again. My word would be: ABSOLUTELY drain it all out, let it really drain "dry" and refill it with a quart less than stated capacity, then start and run the car (new filter, too, of course) for 15 minutes, check for leaks, stop and wait another 10-15 mins. for the oil to cool some and collect, then top up to the dip stick mark only. If not sure, stop when the level is between full and add. You can always add a bit more, later. Reason? You get all-clean oil for little cost: adding one clean quart means you have only 1/5th less dirty oil (even after only a few miles) and contamination in the filter than is still there. I know, I'm old fashioned in my oil changing ways, but I have never had an engine failure in over 55 years of driving, including 8 with our Uncle as a diesel mack.

 

Having more oil causes more damage than having less oil.

 

you can take out seals with to mcuh oil , espicially a cam seal, i did it 4 times