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Oil level overfill?

PleasureTime

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October 2, 2014
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City, State
Cumming, Georgia
Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 Explorer XLT
Hello to the forum, first post with a quick question. I have a 2015 XLT Explorer, it has about 8200 miles on it, took it into the the dealer for an oil change about 1200 miles ago. Just checked it today and it shows about an inch and a half over full on the dip stick. I have always heard that it's not a good idea to over fill the crankcase, should I be concerned about this? Thanks for your thoughts.
 



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Did you check it after you ran it or while it sat over nite ?
 






Welcome to the Forum PleaseureTime.:wavey:
I think you should be very concerned with that. It almost sounds like they added oil without removing any.

Peter
 












Welcome to the Forum PleaseureTime.:wavey:
I think you should be very concerned with that. It almost sounds like they added oil without removing any.

Peter

I share your concern Peter, I'll be calling the dealership tomorrow
 






Two possibilities, neither good; that amount is way over the tolerance for overfilling (and there really is none over the "full" line).

1 - the dealer overfilled with oil - not good for a number of reasons.

2 - The dealer filled it properly, and some contaminant (coolant, fuel etc) has gone into the oil to increase its volume.

In either case, it must be corrected immediately, now that you've noticed it. How does the oil look? Has your fuel mileage decreased? Does the oil look foamy when you check it after stopping? I assume the oil pressure has been OK?
 






Two possibilities, neither good; that amount is way over the tolerance for overfilling (and there really is none over the "full" line).

1 - the dealer overfilled with oil - not good for a number of reasons.

2 - The dealer filled it properly, and some contaminant (coolant, fuel etc) has gone into the oil to increase its volume.

In either case, it must be corrected immediately, now that you've noticed it. How does the oil look? Has your fuel mileage decreased? Does the oil look foamy when you check it after stopping? I assume the oil pressure has been OK?
Here is a third possibility - check the oil level after it has sat for a little while and see where it is at now. If it is within the marks, or just a little bit over, like barely, I wouldn't worry about it.

If it is an inch over the mark, I'd definitely take it back in.

You don't say which engine you have, but the V6 takes 6 quarts. If they added 6 more, I'd think you would be much more than just an inch up the dipstick, but who knows.
 






The oil level, as measured on the dipstick, will only increase, not decrease, in time after shutdown, when you let it sit. The oil drains down out of the engine and into the oil pan, which is where the dipstick takes its measurement from. Waiting longer to take the measurement will therefore make the situation appear worse, not better.
 






The oil level, as measured on the dipstick, will only increase, not decrease, in time after shutdown, when you let it sit. The oil drains down out of the engine and into the oil pan, which is where the dipstick takes its measurement from. Waiting longer to take the measurement will therefore make the situation appear worse, not better.

But you may have "runoff" from the engine draining back to the oil pan and appearing on the dipstick to make it look over filled. At least it used to be that way.
 






I share your concern Peter, I'll be calling the dealership tomorrow

Were you able to contact the dealership today, PleasureTime? If you decide to bring your Explorer in, let me know and I'll loop in your regional customer service manager. I'll be here in stand-by mode in case you need my help. :)

Crystal
 






But you may have "runoff" from the engine draining back to the oil pan and appearing on the dipstick to make it look over filled. At least it used to be that way.

Good point, it is possible that the OP did not use the dipstick properly, and got a high reading as a result.

Of course, proper use of the dipstick (wiping it off and re-inserting it) eliminates such an error, no matter how long the engine has been sitting.

PleasureTime, did you wipe the dipstick off before taking your reading?
 






OK, I'm satisfied that all is OK. I left the dip stick half way out over night to make sure all oil was drained from the tube. When I checked it this morning it was only about a quarter inch above full mark. It had to just be picking up oil from the dip stick tube making me think it was over filled. Thanks so much for all the knowledgeable suggestions, I feel silly for being so concerned about nothing.
 






Crystal, your offer of support if needed was much appreciated. I'm very happy with the Explorer as well as the dealership where I bought it. A couple of things that I would have done differently if I had special ordered it but that's not any fault of Ford.
 






But you may have "runoff" from the engine draining back to the oil pan and appearing on the dipstick to make it look over filled. At least it used to be that way.
Exactly.
 






Ford put in too much oil 3.5L

So I had an oil change at Ford at 15k back in January. Last night I decided to check the oil before leaving on a 12 hr trip tomorrow. I found that I had about a 3/4 qt more oil past the max level. I grabbed a transfer pump and took out the excess but I am now concerned about long term damage. The vehicle has about 16k on it at this point. I do have a picture of the dipstick before I took out the excess but I'm not sure how to get it on here.
 






I really doubt anything serious happened to your engine. A one quart overfill isn't enough to damage an engine.
 






So I had an oil change at Ford at 15k back in January. Last night I decided to check the oil before leaving on a 12 hr trip tomorrow. I found that I had about a 3/4 qt more oil past the max level. I grabbed a transfer pump and took out the excess but I am now concerned about long term damage. The vehicle has about 16k on it at this point. I do have a picture of the dipstick before I took out the excess but I'm not sure how to get it on here.
Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
Using the Forum's 'Search' program I found this thread and merged yours with it. It would also be helpful if you added the 'trim' level (Base, XLT, etc) to your profile so it always shows in the margin. Thanks.

Peter
 






Thanks Peter I appreciate the help. Mustang guy that was my thought too but I wanted another opinion before I drove 12 hrs with something wrong. The oil seems pretty dark for only 1k on the oil but I honestly haven't paid much attention to the color before just the level.
 






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I always check the level of my oil in the morning after the vehicle has sat all night and before starting it. What I noticed is that one side of the dip stick will show the oil level is about a quarter to half inch above the full line. When I turn the dip stick a read the other side, it shows it is right a the top level of the safe zone on the dip stick. Don't know if one side of the dip stick is sitting right against the dip stick tube and the other side isn't.
 






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