vittal

Hi guys!

Well I did a little stupid thing. The Vette has been stored for about a month and a half now so I decided to have it run for a couple of minutes.
Before that I checked under the car to see if any oil had leaked out but didn't see much so I checked the dipstick. Since there was only a about a half an inch of oil (under the add line) I couldn't figure where the oil went. Anyway I decided to add a little about 0.13 US Gallon (0.5 L) in total. A little at first and waited a couple of minutes and then when the level hadn't changed some more.
But then after about 20 minutes I returned and put in the dipstick and saw that the new clear oil was up about twice as high as the top of the marking.
So I started the engine for about two minutes to mix the oil up a little and checked again. I think it's definitely two high. I'm going to wait a few hours to see if it goes down and where it stabilizes.

But what can I do if it's too high? Is there anything I can do in the garage?

As far as I know running the engine with too much oil is really bad.

If I had to tow the car to the garage how could I tow it and where is a good point for a hookup tow line?
If I could get the car to a nearby garage would 1 mile be too much if I drove it there?

Thanks for the advice. I can't believe I did something so stupid.

Best regards

383vett

Not too big a deal. I've been there more than a couple of times. Jack the car up, put a drain pan under the oilpan. With the motor cold, remove the drain plug (wear gloves). Let about a 1/2 quart drain out and replace the plug. If the oil level is too high, the crank will splash into the oil throwing oil all over the place and can overpower the oil rings and...

vittal

Thank you!

So it probably wouldn't be a good idea to drive it to a garage less than 1/2 mile away? A friend said that we can put it on the lift and let out the oil.
Or even better push the car the 1/2 mile.

AirForceOne!

Drive no, push yes!

vittal

Thank you.

Oh boy...
Here we go again. Well I guess my own stupidity has to teach me a lesson. It's the slight incline that's got me worried.

So I let out 1/8 of a US gallon (0,125 USGal = 0,4 L) right?
With my luck I'll let out too much.

I don't know where the extra oil went in a month.

WVZR-1

The car is on level ground presently? How many mm above the full mark does the oil appear to be? An 1/8 of a US gallon is only a pint! That would seem insignificant likely.

You mention adding .5L and that's only a pint +. If that much concerned you, you could remove and drain the filter if that's easily accomplished in your garage.

jhammons01

^^I agree totally....Unless it is significantly above the "full" line....I'd move on the next fiasco in life.

If you really feel bad about it.....you should be able to see the drain plug by just lying on the floor.....reach under there with an adjustable and loosen it.

I think I changed the oil and filter with out jacking it up one time...lemme check...

Yup....I could drain it without a jack but the filter would be a trick......so....find a curb or a rock to drive up on....

RUU

The oil drain plug is one of the few easily accessed items on these cars. Drain some into a clean container & take it over to the garage for recycling.

AirForceOne!

Even better, give it an oil and filter change at the garage!

vittal

That's just it the oil and filter were changed in August. So I've got no idea where the oil went.

I tried dipping the dipstick and wiping it and dipping it again a few times to see what I got. I don't know but this dipstick is a bit strange to me so I took some photos. I hope some of you guys can see if there's too much oil and explain what I'm supposed to be looking at because on my other car when I dip the stick it's pretty clear where the oil level is. Here I got confused.

First I got this


Then tried again and got this


Then one time got this


And this


Ok this is how I did it. Pulled out the dipstick and wiped it and dipped it again for a few moments and pulled it out again and checked. Same as anywhere. But here I seem to get the dipstick contaminated with the oil in the tube so I'm not really sure of the reading.
And another thing. Is the dipstick supposed to into the tube with the indication markings towards the floor or towards the ceiling?

I know tones of stupid questions I just don't wanna do something stupid and break the darn thing because I won't be getting another one if I do.

I appreciate the help everybody so thanks again.

383vett

Try this, pull out the dipstick. Wait 10 minutes. Wipe the thing off, put it in and pull it out. Sometimes you have to read to back of the dipstick to see where the oil line is.

NuckinFutz93

The full line is at the top of the x marks. There is an arrow pointing to the full line.

From the pics you posted, you are .5L low on oil.

RUU

jhammons01

Those oil marks that run up only one side of the stick are just from the side of the dipstick tube....you can see where the solid mark hits, and as the guys above me stated, you are on the low side of the hash marks.

WVZR-1

Now that we've got you back to the full mark, you mentioned looking "under" the car for leaks before starting? Do you have substantial leaks that leave "puddles" on the floor?

If you changed the oil in August and it was "full" I'd guess there's reason for concern. If you'e got "puddles" slip a clean piece of cardboard box or similar under it to check the volume you loose.

You need to establish a "check engine oil" routine and keep a record of it at maybe 150Km intervals for a while. If it was full in August and you added .5L and were still .5L low yesterday it seems there might be issues.

How many kilometers has it been driven since the August change?

vittal

Thanks guys for your help. I really appreciate it.

I did that this was the result on the pictures. Well maybe not 10 minutes but 5.

That's what I figured the top was at the arrow pointing down and that's exactly why I thought it was to low. But I didn't check the back of the dipstick.

I always have some cardboard boxes under the car to catch anything that might drip off and while there was some leaking I wouldn't say it was 0.5 L since that would mean quite a substantial puddle on the box. While there is a small puddle 1x4 inches under the engine. But if I put down new cardboard on the floor I get about a foot and a half big oil stain in a couple of months. I haven't been able to figure out where it's coming from but we're guessing the oil pan gasket.

Since August I put on about a 1000 km but it has been sitting since October the 6th. And when I checked the oil level when I stored it I felt the level was high enough to maximum.

Wow I just noticed that there is a substantial change of stain size from August until now.

August right after the oil change


Yesterday when I pushed the car out of the garage to access the dipstick


This is too much right?
But is this 0.5 L? Wouldn't that make a more moist stain?

Thanks

NuckinFutz93

.5l makes a big stain when it drip on cardboard. You can check a a few simple things for leaking before getting worried. Check around your oil filter. sometime the old oil filter gasket sticks and stays behind when you change the oil. I would start checking there first. The run your hand with a dry clean glove an around the back of your intake.

mtwoolford

check and make sure you have the right oil filter; there are oil filters that will physically screw onto the oil filter mounting pad but their gaskets are either too narrow or too small a diameter to seal properly. If there is any question, procure the right filter and install it.

Your present filter may simply be loose; I install a filter hand tight, then tighten it with a filter wrench a further 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn; I believe this is the proper procedure. Once I had a filter installed by a shop which apparently was only put on hand tight; it certainly came off by hand. Luckily, it chose to let go in my driveway where I caught it without damaging anything.

mtwoolford

you certainly must have some interesting stories about driving a Corvette in your part of the world. Care to share ?

PLRX