# Too much oil **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [July 27, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/too-much-oil/2283 "2007-07-27T01:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![georgiaflamingo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@georgiaflamingo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/georgiaflamingo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/too-much-oil/2283/1 "2007-07-27T01:31:29Z")
Just had the oil changed in my '02 Sport Trac & the technician overfilled the oil by a quart. My dad always said it wasn’t good for the engine to run it with too much oil. Was he right or is that an old wives tale? ---
**Author:** ![Roadrunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Roadrunner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Roadrunner)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/too-much-oil/2283/2 "2007-07-27T02:07:05Z")
It won’t do damage being one quart over but would be better if you could use a siphon tube and ball, stick the tube down the dipstick pipe and extract the excess out. My tech always puts in a half quart more than required, but it doesn’t do any harm. It’s either dump 1/2 quart in and what am I going to do with this leftover 1/2 quart thinking, OR, dump it all in because I have to pay for the full quart anyway. I don’t need the 1/2 quart of oil for anything as the engine doesn’t burn oil. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/too-much-oil/2283/3 "2007-07-27T02:17:10Z")
One quart should not hurt anything, but you could drain a quart out if it worries you. I’ve routinely overfilled my cars for over 30 years, both on oil and trans fluid. To a point of course, not any of that 2-3 quarts business. ---
**Author:** ![BustedKnuckles](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bustedknuckles/32/25_2.png) [@BustedKnuckles](https://community.cartalk.com/u/BustedKnuckles)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/too-much-oil/2283/4 "2007-07-27T02:22:58Z")
If the oil is filled too much, and reaches the crankshaft, the spinning crankshaft could whip air into the oil. Foaming oil will not pump correctly, and will not maintain oil pressure. Also, oil filled too much could leak past the oil seals. The seals were designed to prevent splashed oil from leaking, not contain an oil level over the seal’s level. However, a quart over may not be too much. But, it would be best to reduce it to the proper level. ---
**Author:** ![jeffrey65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@jeffrey65](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jeffrey65)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/too-much-oil/2283/5 "2007-07-27T02:47:51Z")
If it isn’t too much trouble, have the guy drain about a quart out…he overfilled it. I don’t know what a Sport Trac is (sorry), but some cars I worked on only took 3.5 quarts, so 4.5 would be too high for me… Other posters rightfully noted that the rotating crankshaft assembly can whip/aerate the oil & cause the pump problems. jeff ---
**Author:** ![JTAMETHYST](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@JTAMETHYST](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JTAMETHYST)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/too-much-oil/2283/6 "2007-07-27T16:48:24Z")
You are paying for it so just take it home & use it anytime you need to add oil.