Put Too Much Oil in Your Car? (Here’s What Happens)
In an internal combustion engine, metal parts move very fast and close together under high temperatures and pressures. Without lubrication, these components would wear out quickly due to metal-to-metal contact. Motor oil is specifically designed to prevent this deadly wear.
Motor oil has a pretty tough job. It needs to be thin enough to allow the engine to start, but thick enough to provide adequate protection at the engine’s operating temperatures.
What happens if you put too much oil in your car engine? Overfilling oil can have serious consequences, so it is important to always check the oil after an oil change or refill. Here is a list of problems that can occur if you put too much engine oil in it.
1) Engine Damage from Lack of Lubrication
It may seem wrong, but overfilling your engine oil actually reduces lubrication between moving parts. This is because in most cars the crankshaft sits above the oil pan and spins at high speeds while driving.
If the engine oil level gets high enough to touch the crankshaft, the crankshaft can whip the oil into a foam, similar to whipping egg whites with a whisk while cooking.
Foamy oil is poorly lubricated and does not move properly through the system. Oil flow slows or stops completely and the oil can overheat. When an engine is not properly lubricated, parts wear out prematurely and the engine can seize or even stop completely.
2) Defective seals and sealing rings
When the crankshaft stirs the oil, air enters the oil, increasing its volume and increasing the pressure in the system.
Gaskets and sealing rings are designed to keep oil at a constant pressure away from areas where it is not intended. So, too much pressure means they can give in. Some of these seals are difficult to access and replace, such as: B. Front and rear crankshaft main seals.
3) Fouled spark plugs
Excess oil can leak out and come into contact with the spark plug. If the spark plug becomes covered in oil, it may not be able to receive the high voltage pulse that starts the spark or the spark may not be able to jump the gap and start combustion. Fouled spark plugs can cause misfires and poor engine performance, or your vehicle may not start at all. If this problem occurs, they are easy to replace.
4) Fouled or clogged catalytic converter
The catalytic converter reduces the toxicity of exhaust gases. After the vehicle has been running, the catalytic converter is very hot. If oil burns in the catalytic converter, it can impair its ability to purify exhaust gases and shorten the catalytic converter’s lifespan. Catalytic converters are expensive replacement parts.
In extreme cases, too much oil can clog the catalytic converter. A clogged catalytic converter is a potentially dangerous situation because it can become excessively hot and start a fire.
Symptoms of Too Much Engine Oil
1) Recently topped off or changed oil
If you are sure that the oil level has not changed in the past few days since you started driving your car, and you have noticed other problems, it is probably not due to too much engine oil. This is an issue that will have other symptoms after a few kilometers.
2) Blue Smoke
If you notice a slight bluish smoke coming from the exhaust or engine (or if other drivers see it and wave), your engine oil may be burning.
3) Burning Smell
The smell of burning oil is distinctive and pungent. If you smell it, you may have an oil leak or oil may be seeping onto hot engine parts.
4) Oil Leak
As mentioned above, high oil pressure from too much oil can cause a weak part to fail, causing the oil to leak. If you leave your car for a while, you may notice puddles or small droplets of water under the engine.
5) Oil Pressure Gauge
Not all vehicles have an oil pressure gauge, but those that do may give a “high pressure” warning if there is too much engine oil. However, be aware that a defective oil pressure sensor can cause the gauge readings to be inaccurate.
6) Rough engine running, misfiring, or misfiring
These performance problems can be caused by spark plugs fouling from contact with excess oil.
7) Car won’t start
If the spark plugs have engine oil on them, preventing the spark needed for combustion from filling the spark plug electrode gap, your vehicle will not start.
8) Abnormal oil gauge behavior
If the oil gauge on your dashboard fluctuates between “add” and “full,” this could be an indication that there is too much engine oil.
9) Overheating the Engine
Insufficient lubrication between moving parts increases friction between those parts, which generates heat. If this happens anywhere in the engine, the foamy oil can’t do its job and the temperature throughout the engine can increase to harmful or dangerous levels.
10) Driving Loudly
The sound of metal hitting metal is very unpleasant. Very fast moving parts touching each other can create a screeching sound, while slow moving parts can sound like a crunching or groaning sound. 11) Difficulty accelerating
This problem may be caused by greasy spark plugs, or it may simply be because your car has to work harder to overcome the additional resistance of parts rubbing against each other instead of sliding against each other.
How much oil is too much on the dipstick? Your final oil gauge should indicate a level between low and full, but it helps to know how much oil it actually shows.
You can use the distance between the lowest and highest marks to roughly estimate how much your engine is overfilled. Note that a small amount of overfilling is unlikely to cause a problem. Usually, half a liter is perfectly fine, but sometimes even a liter or more. This slight excess of oil will burn off over time. For example, if the oil level is a few millimeters above the full line on the dipstick, you’re fine. Don’t overthink it.
Remove the Excess Oil
Run a hose connected to the fluid pump through the dipstick tube and down to the oil pan. Remove some oil and check the dipstick again. Repeat until the oil level reaches the full line.