Oil over fill
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2025
Posts: 18
Likes: 4
From: Clarksville, TN
Oil over fill
I accidentally overfilled the oil on my 2016 C7 Stingray by about 3 quarts.
I'm doing an oil change at my friend’s place this Friday, about a 15 minute drive from me, but I don’t have a way to extract the excess beforehand.
In your experience, is a short drive like that likely to cause any issues, or would you play it safe and have it flatbed?
Appreciate any input.
I'm doing an oil change at my friend’s place this Friday, about a 15 minute drive from me, but I don’t have a way to extract the excess beforehand.
In your experience, is a short drive like that likely to cause any issues, or would you play it safe and have it flatbed?
Appreciate any input.
Last edited by 3rd ID; Apr 14, 2026 at 03:37 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,855
Likes: 694
From: Lagrange KY
I certainly wouldn’t drive it that way. Not even to the end of the block. If you can’t get underneath to drain the excess, perhaps get one of those suction devices to suck out the excess? A lot of oil change locations are using those now. Do you have a wet or dry sump?
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Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2025
Posts: 18
Likes: 4
From: Clarksville, TN
I may have actually overfilled it by about 2 quarts. I know the proper procedure is to check it on level ground about 7–10 minutes after shutdown. When I checked mine, it read about 2 quarts low, so I added 2 quarts.
After that, it ended up reading well over the full line. The part I’m questioning is timing, I added the oil within the 7–10 minute window, but by the time I rechecked it, about five more minutes had gone by, so it was roughly 15 minutes after shutdown when it showed over the line.
So my question is: could that extra time (5 min) past the recommended window throw off the reading enough to make it look low initially or high afterward?
Also, what’s the best way to get it back up to temp to recheck it properly? Will letting it idle up to temp work, or does it need to be driven? I’d rather not risk driving it if it’s actually overfilled.
BTW, I ordered a pump on Amazon.
Appreciate any input.
After that, it ended up reading well over the full line. The part I’m questioning is timing, I added the oil within the 7–10 minute window, but by the time I rechecked it, about five more minutes had gone by, so it was roughly 15 minutes after shutdown when it showed over the line.
So my question is: could that extra time (5 min) past the recommended window throw off the reading enough to make it look low initially or high afterward?
Also, what’s the best way to get it back up to temp to recheck it properly? Will letting it idle up to temp work, or does it need to be driven? I’d rather not risk driving it if it’s actually overfilled.
BTW, I ordered a pump on Amazon.
Appreciate any input.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 462
Likes: 428
From: Massillon, OH USA
If you didn’t put more than 9.5 quarts total in the car, you should be fine. When you added the two quarts, I believe you need to run it again to circulate what you added. Hopefully someone else will confirm that?
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,015
Likes: 2,709
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
I once did a test on our 2017 z51. The oil level was set so that when warmed up to 175' and 7-8 minutes after shutdown, the oil was at the top of the Full hole on the dipstick.
Here are results after checking the oil level at different times after shutdown:
1 min after shutdown: 1/4" above top of Full hole
7-8 min after shutdown: at top of Full hole
13 min after shutdown: at bottom of Full hole
20 min after shutdown: 1/8" below bottom of Full hole
30 minutes after shutdown: 3/8" below bottom of Full hole
1 hour after shutdown: 3/4" below bottom of Full hole
Here are results after checking the oil level at different times after shutdown:
1 min after shutdown: 1/4" above top of Full hole
7-8 min after shutdown: at top of Full hole
13 min after shutdown: at bottom of Full hole
20 min after shutdown: 1/8" below bottom of Full hole
30 minutes after shutdown: 3/8" below bottom of Full hole
1 hour after shutdown: 3/4" below bottom of Full hole
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 49,286
Likes: 3,916
From: Best Island in the U.S.
St. Jude Donor '12 thru '17
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2025
Posts: 18
Likes: 4
From: Clarksville, TN
I already had oil in the engine, it was 2 quarts below the cross-hatched area, I added one court brought it to the bottom of the first line, I added another quart and now it appears to be 2 quarts over the line. In spite of me checking it properly, waiting 7 to 10 minutes after engine turn off, that's where I landed, hope that makes sense.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 49,286
Likes: 3,916
From: Best Island in the U.S.
St. Jude Donor '12 thru '17
Okay, let’s ask it a different way. Since you said you’re changing the oil, I assume you drained it first? How many TOTAL quarts of oil did you put in after you drained it and installed a new filter?