Engine Oil Level Over Maximum
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 4
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Engine Oil Level Over Maximum
I ordered a 2022 C8. When I received the new car from the dealer, the engine oil level was over maximum. I discovered this the second time I refueled, which was the first time I checked the oil level. The level was checked according to the instructions, at idle with engine warm. After that, the dealer has had a heck of a time getting the level right. On two out of three tries, the oil level after the dealer oil change was at a similar high level. The car has been driven a fair bit, including open road racing and HPDE events, with this high level and there are no apparent problems, but it is a concern to me, because I have heard of other engines that are damaged if run with too much oil. Has anyone else experienced this situation with the C8 Stingray?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2022
Posts: 1,047
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From: Western Mass
No experience with the overfill on my C8. Mine took 8 qts to get to full when at 175 degrees. It's not a good idea to run over the high mark especially when doing high rpm driving as the oil will froth from crank windage and can lead to lubrication problems. I'd dump the oil in a clean container, and put 7 qts in, let warm to 175 degrees and top off. Also, I let mine drain for 30 min (oil hot) which allowed to engine to take 8 qts to the full line. If it shows an 1/8 of an inch over, I wouldn't worry. But running a 1/2 to 1 qt over can cause issues at high rpm.
Update: See Kracka's response below. Overfill concern is for non dry-sump engines.....
Update: See Kracka's response below. Overfill concern is for non dry-sump engines.....
Last edited by Mark9; Mar 29, 2024 at 07:39 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 10,709
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From: Fulshear, TX
Dry sump, so you're fine (the oil doesn't sit in the pan to get churned by the crank). Worst case it burped some into the intake/intake manifold and it burned up. Nothing was damaged; this was actually common on early C7 Z51s.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2007
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I ordered a 2022 C8. When I received the new car from the dealer, the engine oil level was over maximum. I discovered this the second time I refueled, which was the first time I checked the oil level. The level was checked according to the instructions, at idle with engine warm. After that, the dealer has had a heck of a time getting the level right. On two out of three tries, the oil level after the dealer oil change was at a similar high level. The car has been driven a fair bit, including open road racing and HPDE events, with this high level and there are no apparent problems, but it is a concern to me, because I have heard of other engines that are damaged if run with too much oil. Has anyone else experienced this situation with the C8 Stingray?
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
The oil tank on the front of the engine, where you are measuring the level vents into the tops of the left and right hand rocker arm covers. In the first illustration it is tube #2 that goes between point 1 on the tanks, and points 5 and 10 on the rocker arm covers. There is a "centrufigual" air oil separator that keeps oil from spilling into that tube, but allow vapors to escape. If the level it gets too high, it will overflow though that connection to the top of the rocker arm covers. It does not vent directly to the intake manifold. The next illustration shows my guess at proper level of oil in the tank - its based on seeing where the dipstick extends beyond the dipstick tube into the tank, and estimating where the full mark is relative to that. It would appear that here is some headroom. I also show the other side of the tank, with the nipple for the vent tube.
One thing it shows is that the dipstick is at an angle. I did not mention it before, but the level is about 3/4 inch high on the dipstick. But because of the angle, the actual level is closer to maybe 1/2 inch too high. Probably not a big deal.
I will say I wonder how often owners are checking the oil level. With all the sensors in our other cars, I am not really in the habit of checking the oil in a new car.
