94 Civic Oil Level Check (overfill problems)

Dave Kelsen wrote in


> On 7/21/2006 7:42 PM dale.spencer DeleteThis @cox.net spake these words of
> knowledge:
>
>> After researching this topic after I got an oil change that
>> "appeared" to be about 3/4 quart over-filled, I've come to this
>> conclusion:
>>
>> There are hundreds of posts concerning Honda's being overfilled after
>> putting in the EXACT amount of oil the manual calls for.
>
> The manual gives a capacity. It doesn't tell you the EXACT amount of
> oil to put in. It tells you to fill it. You measure how full it is
> by using the dipstick.



Both the Owner's Manual and the shop manual are quite specific. They both
give an amount of oil to be installed in the engine after a drain and
filter removal. This IS the EXACT amount of oil to be installed when
changing your oil.

However...

Several points to be made here:

1) Oil change shops will often round up the amount they add. A car calling
for 3.8qt will usually receive 4.0qt.

2) Owners may check their oil level on sloped ground, while the oil change
place will have changed it on a flat concrete pad. You would be amazed how
few road/parking lot/driveway surfaces are actually FLAT and LEVEL. Most
are sloped to facilitate water drainage.

3) If the engine oil was barely warm when it was brought in for the change
and the tech did not let it sit for 15 minutes or a half-hour, there may be
lots of oil hung up in the galleys and on internal surfaces which will not
drain, but will get added to the new oil, resulting in a possible
overfilled condition. The safest thing to do is to drain the oil cold,
after sitting overnight, or drain it when hot, immediately after a minimum
half-hour drive.

4) Regardless of what the manual says, it is a terrible idea to check your
oil level "a few minutes" after shutting the engine down. The best thing to
do is to always check it during the identical same set of circumstances,
such as after standing overnight. Failure to allow sufficient drainage into
the oil pan will result in a falsely low reading, leading the owner to add
oil when none was needed.

5) The temperature of the oil in Item 4 is the critical determinant in oil
level and how long it takes for it to all drain back into the oil pan.
Engine coolant temperature cannot be used to determine how hot the oil is.
The oil takes much longer to heat up than the coolant does.

6) It is utterly stupid to fail to fully seat the dipstick when checking
the oil. The dipstick MUST be pushed in as far as it can go when checking,
and the level MUST be checked two or three times, wiping the stick before
each reinsertion. No exceptions to this rule. Period.

7) A small amount of overfilling (up to 1/8" over the top of the upper
hole) is quite acceptable and should not be of any concern. Any more should
be drained off.

--
TeGGeR®

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