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Did I overfill my oil?
I have a 427 Side Oiler and the last oil change was about 1k miles ago when I purchased it. I noticed a fair amount of oil on the floor (I believe it's an oil pan gasket that needs to be replaced), So I checked the oil, and it appeared low. Oil was at the first mark. Indicating the oil was very low. I added a quart of oil, and the oil now appears as indicated in the pictures below. Now, I would think this would suggest that I'm only half way there, but where it gets tricky, is the other side of the dipstick says: "OIL CHECK OIL THIS SIDE UP"
The Red line in the first picture indicates where the oil mark is on the opposite side. So, am I slightly overfilled ~12oz? Or do I still need to add? I have NOT started the engine yet, and I don't plan to until I know if I overfilled it or not. https://ibb.co/khSCjrS https://ibb.co/xfBrVR4 The images don't appear to be working. https://ibb.co/xfBrVR4 https://ibb.co/khSCjrS |
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Just because you have a "FULL" mark doesn't mean you fill your oil up to that mark. Your optimum fill level might be halfway between the "ADD" mark and the "FULL" mark, but that only really applies to a dipstick that is properly calibrated and when your oil pan is level. That said, do you know what brand and model your oil pan is? If you do, then what I would suggest is draining your pan, level your oil pan by jacking up the back of the car (or the front) until your pan is level, then pour in one quart less than the pan capacity (which is usually one quart less than the manufacturer's system capacity number), put your dipstick in and make a mark for ADD at the shown amount, then add another quart and mark that FULL. Then drop you car back down and see how the cant of your engine affects your readings. I keep my oil mid way between ADD and FULL at horizontal and that results in significantly less oil usage than if I fill it to the FULL mark at level, and filling it to FULL mark with the engine tilted results in a significant overfill condition.
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For example, this is my oil pan:
https://www.cantonracingproducts.com...-race-pan.html and Canton says the system capacity is 8 quarts. So, the pan itself holds 7 quarts when full and 6 quarts when it is one quart down. When I level the pan by jacking up the back of the car and pour 6 quarts into the pan it will come up to the ADD mark. When I do not have the jacks under my car levelling the pan, the marks are about 1/3 of a quart off from true. So, if I fill the oil up to the FULL mark I'm really 1/3 of a quart over. When I would do that the oil consumption would initially be higher and then slow down considerably after about a half quart or so. So now I run with my oil level at the true halfway mark and I have very low oil consumption. And it took me years to figure that out. |
Here are two pics. The first is my oil pan when the car is standing normally on my reasonably level garage floor. This is the condition under which I usually check my oil, fill the sump, check how much is being used, etc. The second pic is when I have the back of the car jacked up so that the magnetic level on the bottom of the Canton pan has its bubble in the middle of the level's window (it's jacked up a good bit). Now, when Danbury Competition calibrated my dipstick when they built my engine it was on an engine stand, not when it was sitting in my ERA. Now you can't really see my dipstick all that well but it's directly behind my fancy coolant overflow catch bottle. The oil level difference on the dipstick when you check the oil under the first photographed condition as opposed to the second is about 1/3 of a quart.
https://i.imgur.com/avopVqQ.jpg https://i.imgur.com/2rqXPn4.jpg |
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I truly appreciate the explanation. I don't see any markings, serial numbers or stickers that indicate the Oilpan manufacture. Google image search and some context clues around similarities lead me to believe it might be a Moroso 8 Qt. It's not a perfect match by any means.
Anyone with more experience is happy to chime in here. I do have an oil cooler as well, for what it's worth (if anything) |
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This makes a ton of sense, though. Honestly, it would make me feel a lot better knowing exactly where it should read and how much oil is needed. Perhaps its just time to replace the oil pan gasket and find out.
Looks like my garage tilts the other way, so I'd have to raise the front :LOL: I might just drain the quart I put in, so I can drive it to a place with a lift, so I don't have to tow it. See any issues with that? I know it's better to be slightly underfilled than over, and it was running fine when I took it out yesterday. |
Your oil pan was originally designed for a specific oil capacity. Your oil pan manufacturer can tell you what that number is because they determined it. You need to know it.
Although Patrick's approach, leveling the pan, provides interesting additional information, it is a virtual certainty you will not take the time to level your vehicle or pan the next time you check your oil level, soooo ... Drain the oil from your pan. Put it into quart-capacity containers. With the knowledge of how much oil your pan manufacturer built the pan to manage, begin filling the pan with the good used oil you just drained out. If it is less than the manufacturer's recommendation for his pan design, continue to fill until you have added the pan manufacturer's design volume for your pan. Put the dipstick in, pull it out, and read the oil mark on the dipstick. No matter what Ford stamped on the dipstick, the oil mark you see is the oil pan manufacturer's design capacity target for that particular pan. Mark your dipstick as full at that level. When it reads low, add oil. When it does not, do not. It is that simple and you will not need the leveling procedure — although it can add interesting additional information. |
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And it'll never be the same level at a gas station when you check it on a road trip...
A pint plus or minus is not going to kill an engine. |
Looks like your oil pan is a Aviad or Armondo's Cobra pan. I have the same one and it has a windage tray. 2 gaskets needed for replacement. They spec 9 quarts.
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I'm with Ed on this one - if you mark the dipstick when the pan is level, then the only accurate way to check you oil is to level it every time you check the oil. If you make it where the oil will most often be checked, say in your driveway or garage, it'll be accurate every time you check it in that spot.
It's really easy - 1- Find out from the manufacturer of your pan how many quarts are in the pan itself when the entire system is full. Don't count the oil in the engine filter, cooler and lines, etc. 2- Drain the oil in the pan. 3- Fill the pan to capacity minus one qt. You can VERY safely run the engine down one quart for a moment. Place the car where you'll most often be checking the oil. Give the car 10 minutes with the engine off in that location for all the oil to drain down into the pan. Mark a very noticeable line on the dipstick at that level. That becomes your "one quart low - add oil" line. 4- Add one more quart of oil. Give it 10 minutes for the newly added oil to drain down to the pan. Make a second very noticeable line on the dipstick at the oil level with the one additional quart added. That becomes your "full" line. 5- Go have a cold beer. You're done. |
One Qt. Low?
So, what are the consequences of running an engine that is one quart, or more, low? The oil pickup is located at the bottom of the oil pan so the oil pump should still be operational. Is this not so?
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Just my opinion, having had low oil on other vehicles, but can't say I would make a guarantee about it :) [Note: My method for oil consumption on my Cobra was to monitor it at the beginning and since it used a quart about ever 1500 miles to check it around then. For my civilian vehicles which have minimal consumption I actually don't check them regularly but do check it before an oil change to see if it is using oil, and so far, for my typical 3000-5000 cycles, none are.] |
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