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High fluid levels

Skibum1989

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 30, 2005
Messages
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City, State
Sammamish, WA
Year, Model & Trim Level
'95 XLT
I was checking my tranny and motor oil levels today before I make the leap to full synthetic sometime next week. Both of the fluid levels were substantially above the crosshatched areas on the dipsticks. The transmission fluid was about 1.5" above the crosshatched area, and the motor oil was about 2" above the crosshatched area.

I checked both while the engine was hot and running in park. The last time I got the oil changed the guy in the shop told me I had too much oil, so he took some out. I have not touched the oils since then and the levels seem to be high again. I am completely stumped on what to do here, what do you guys think?
 



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check the oil with the engine OFF
 






The motor oil level reads about 1" above the crosshatched area when off but still quite warm.
 






I would drain out a little bit, and re check till you get it correct.

Do you do your own oil changes ?
 












Some people dump a certain number of quarts in and never actually check it. I have seen that happen many times on both engines and transmissions.

True story, happened to my x-mother in law. The chrysler mechanic dumped in 5 quarts of oil, phone rang, came back, dumped in 5 more and sent the her on her way. Needless to say, it messed up the engine pretty bad.
 






I just got the car, next week will be my 2nd oil change. My last one was done by a local shop. I dont know when the transmission fluid was changed last so I plan on doing it myself along with the oil next week.

The oil capacity for a 95 is 4 quarts plus 1 for the filter; and the transmission fluid capacity is 10 quarts for a full change, right?
 






Well either they put in too much or you got a vehicle that can produce its own and you can make a lot of money! And yes it takes 5 quarts of oil. Try checking the oil when she's cool or hasnt ran for a day.
 






lol, too bad it couldn't produce gasoline instead...

I'll check the levels tomorrow morning before i go to work.
 






Alright checked the level this morning, it read 6 inches above the crosshatched area. I did put in some seafoam in my crankcase to clean it before the change, but only at the perscribed amount.
 






I highly doubt it's a true 6" above the crosshatched area.... That would mean that there has to be about 3 gallons of oil in the crankcase..... no way, jose.

Are you sure you're looking at the dipstick properly? Pull it, wipe it, reinstall it making sure it's seated all the way in the tube, then pull it again. When you look at it, there will be some oil on the EDGES of the bottom 6 or 8 inches of the dipstick, but that's not important. What's important is where the dipstick is COVERED in oil at, and it'll usually be a pretty well-defined line.

If you're at all concerned, drain it all out, pour 4 quarts in it and see where the level is. I highly doubt it's that over-full right now.

-Joe
 






LOL wow I screwed that up, it was early. I meant to say 0.6 inches, not 6. I feel stupid now, anyways i'm not terribly concerned with it because it will be changed soon and it seems to be running fine. Sorry guys.
 






if you added in seafoam, that could be why it's reading high.
 












Sorry for the confusion.

0.6" refers to the height of my oil above the crosshatched area on the dipstick
 






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