basic oil change question

[wombosi]

hi, i just changed the oil for the first time on my '94 civic dx.
very easy job but the guys at NAPA told me it would need 4+ quarts.
i put in 4 quarts, ran the engine a moment or to to take some oil into the filter, then rechecked a few minutes later.

there is too much oil in there!

is it critical to get some of it out? will i be able to take off the drain plug for 1 second only and then pop it back in without there being a hellish mess and huge oil explosion?

should i find a way to suction the excess out of the engine from the top?

it's maybe 1/8" or more past the full line (second dot).

thanks all.

(job was very easy by the way, but i was scared like a little schoolgirl climbing underneath the car. almost didn't do it...)

[SVOboy]

You don't want too much in as it puts additional wear on stuff.

[wombosi]

exactly, so how do i get it out without having to do the whole job again?

[SVOboy]

Just let a bit out,

[trebuchet03]

Take the oil filter off -- drain some oil out of the filter... Then restart

[wombosi]

cool.
haven't done anything about it yet, but i'd say it's more like a 1/4" over...

i put in exactly 4 quarts. 1.5 liter '94 civic dx.

leave it alone? she'll prolly burn it off in a few months...

thanks.

[Nerds laugh at me]

I had Wal Mart change my oil a few years back.
They put in four quarts instead of the three and a half that it takes. ( laziness or just ignorance ? )
I drove it for a day after that and suddenly noticed that I had oil leaking from my vale cover gasket and the engine was smoking.

[1993CivicVX]

maybe not good to mess around with an older car Wombosit. It's not hard to drain the plug. But dude, ... DUDE!!! yeah.

[VetteOwner]

LOL ok ok, its fine, leave it, you will make a bigger mess tryign to fix it. its not that bad. it will prolly burn off anyways.

now, just because it SAYS 4 qts, doesnt mean it can hold 4 qts!. that 4 qts is how much the oil capacity is, since you will never be able to drain every drip of old oil out(and sludge buildup) that it will most cetanly be less than 4 qts. SO next time, put 3 in and check the level, and slowly add untill its at the full line.

[smay665949]

When an engine has been over-serviced the oil may have a tendency to from due to windage from the crankshaft. Race engines that spin high RPMs use a windage tray, which is a louvered metal baffle between the crank and the oil in the oil sump to prevent this from happening. They say a windage tray can give 5-10 horsepower by preventing oil from splashing back on the crankshaft, which will try to slow it down. An over serviced engine has the same affect as a race engine because the oil is closer to the crank and will try to slow it down resulting in reduced fuel economy. The foam comes from the splashing oil and may be sucked in the pump. This could potentially damage the engine because the pump is pumping air (foam) through the engine. There are a lot of variables to the amount of windage an engine will get because of the distance from the oil at full level and the crankshaft.