I forgot why I never take my car in for routine fluid changes/checkups and why I started doing it myself............


I've been swamped with work and school and I really never have time to change my oil (out from 7 in the morning, don't get home until 9-10 at night, 6 days a week) and I decided it was pretty much time for an oil change especially since the weather is taking an abrupt turn towards OMGWTFCOLD. Basically, whoever changed my oil was completely out to lunch. I supplied the guy with the oil and filter I usually put in my car myself but he didn't really actually "change" the oil. The filter was swapped out, I can tell, but he didn't drain the oil from the car but instead just added another 5 quarts to it (yup, there was 10 quarts of oil in my car). Now I know the consequences of driving with overfilled oil (like, 1 quart over) over a period of time, but what's the consequence of having 4-5 quarts over? Mind you all, the drive was probably 1/5 a mile from the shop to my house.. The only reason I thought something was wrong was... Well, obviously something felt very wrong. Engine was veryyyyy muggy and "heavy" feeling. I let the car sit for about 10 minutes and check the oil... The oil on the tipstick was probably a good 4 inches passed the "MAX" line. I immediately drained the thing and called the shop and they said "they'll look into it." Will there be any permanent damage from this situation? I know it doesn't take long for the oil to heat up and build up pressure, but was the time the car was on long enough for it to do some serious damage? I didn't smell anything or see anything from the exhaust (no blue smoke) but like I said, the engine felt very bogged down. They will be paying for any damages (possibly a new car?) if I have anything to say about this.



OH! I remember why I stopped taking my car into shops now. DING!

 

not sure about the topic, but interesting story.. did you actually measure the oil drained from the car and concluded it was 10quarts? and was it really black?

 

Hope you took pictures and documented everything, knowing how shops operate they will fight tooth and nail to screw you. Best of luck with whatever happens.

 

10qt's? Can the car even hold 10 qt's?

Good luck anyhow. Sounds like a mess to fix.

 

How do you fit 10 quarts in the engine? You should have been able to see oil all the way up to the top of the valve covers...almost coming out of the freaking filler neck.

 

Wow..good luck bro. Make sure the shop pays for every dollar of damage and hassle it has caused you. Don't let them screw you out of your money. Better have proof though.

 

Well, maybe not 10, but the oil was a few inches passed the MAX line on the dipstick. Knowing the distance between the min and max lines is 1 quart down, then a few inches past that must be like, what, 8 quarts? Either way, it was overfilled by a lot. 7-8 quarts vs 10 quarts, whatever. They'll both do damage. That's not the detail I'm really focusing on right now.

The question is, was driving it for literally 2 minutes through a residential neighborhood enough to damage the engine/crankshaft/whateverotherpartsinvolved permanently or am I in the clear? I reallllyy don't have the time to make an appointment with the dealership or another shop... The closest one is about 100 miles from here and I am not driving my car if there is damage on it. Ugh.. This just really isn't what I need right now in my life.

 

You could get 10 quarts in there. 5 qts sits in the oil pan at a level under the crank. 2x the level might get the level approaching the crank. The crank was probably spinning inside a pool of oil and that probably made it sluggish. Try waving your hand though the air and then again though water. Imagine that's your crank.

Now when this happens the crank can whip the oil into a froth that areates it and kills your oil pressure. The pump will then be pumping areated oil though your engine and THAT's bad. You lose oil pressure and lubrication. If your oil light didn't go on, you're probably okay.

It's good that you only went for a short drive. I can't think of anything specific that might be damaged as long as your oil pressure was good.

 

Thank you. Just the answer I'm looking for.

I drove it under 30 mph the entire time and under 3k rpm... I don't recall seeing the light (I would have noticed it instantly because I was staring at my gauges wondering what was going on when I was driving). How long would it take for low oil pressure to have an adverse effect on the engine? I didn't hear any unusual sounds or knocking..

From what I understand, the froth/foam will eventually dissipate when the engine's shut off, correct? It's currently sitting in my garage with the hood up and the oil pan unplugged to get anything and everything out.

 

I wouldnt of drained the oil, I would of had the shop send a truck to get it fixed

or get a truck yourself and have the shop pay for the truck

 

So what's the moral of this story? Don't let ******** work on your car, and budget the 30 minutes of time necessary to do this job into your busy schedule. It's just like anything else that's important to you, make it a priority and do it right.

 

im just about due for an oil change ..ughh..

i gotta start doing it myself .somehow...

i cant risk loosing my D.D. to some morons mistakes ..

sorry for your trouble hope your engines ok ...

 

I took a picture of the dipstick and I saved all the oil I drained out. It measured to about 9 quarts of oil. I bought 5 quarts of new oil and put it in (which they'll also be reimbursing me for) and started it up. There's no abnormalities; no smoke, no smells, no engine knocks, no strange sounds. Drove it gently around the block and the engine wasn't sluggish anymore. I don't think there's any damage due to the fact that it was driven for less than 3 minutes for about 1/5 a mile under 30 mph and 3k rpms. I lucked out there, but I'm calling a trustworthy mech I know across down to come and look at it and if necessary, do a tear down to see if any internals were damaged or if any oil is in places it should be in. Oh, the shop will be paying for that too. I've brought the pictures to the shop and the garage manager was conveniently "not in today." I hope for their sake they're not ignoring me, because I will pursue this and they will reimburse me and it will go to court if they hold out.. And yeah, Blue Dream, I know it was a stupid mistake on my part but I really am busy and 30 minutes is believe it or not a lot of time to me. IMAFUKINRIDER, do it yourself. If you have jack stands, jack your car up, or if you have ramps, use them. I used to use a few blocks of wood and drove my car up onto them and got just enough clearance to change out the filter and whatnot.

 

not a stupid mistake IMO, you brought ur stuff to the shop and they messed it up, not like u brought it to jiffy lube...or did you?