Oil Purgatory

I recently bought a Toyota Tercel, 98 and brought it in for an oil
change and some new tires - other than that the car is perfect. After
the oil change, I took it for a test drive down the highway and the
next day I took my wife up into the mountains - all together about 200
miles. Anyway I loaded fuel and went to check the oil and this is what
happened:

First there was no oil cap so all the underside of the hood was
covered with oil. I checked the oil and wouldnt you know it, it was
way over full. I checked the receipt and instead of adding 2.8 Litres
of oil, the service center added 4.5 litres of oil. I understand some
severe engine damage can result due to overfilling - can someone
please walk me through the things I should look for?

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On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 13:35:59 -0400, pacde wrote:
[color=blue]
> I recently bought a Toyota Tercel, 98 and brought it in for an oil
> change and some new tires - other than that the car is perfect. After
> the oil change, I took it for a test drive down the highway and the
> next day I took my wife up into the mountains - all together about 200
> miles. Anyway I loaded fuel and went to check the oil and this is what
> happened:
>
> First there was no oil cap so all the underside of the hood was
> covered with oil. I checked the oil and wouldnt you know it, it was
> way over full. I checked the receipt and instead of adding 2.8 Litres
> of oil, the service center added 4.5 litres of oil. I understand some
> severe engine damage can result due to overfilling - can someone
> please walk me through the things I should look for?[/color]


Actually, you're LUCKY there was no oil cap, because that would have
pressurized the system and since oil acts like hydraulic fluid...

You're also lucky it was overfilled, since if it weren't, the engine may
have run dry.

Bring it back to where you had the oil change, show them the hood and make
a formal complaint. That way, if the rings should fail (I doubt a lower
bearing will fail; there was too much oil in the crankcase for this to
happen...) your 'butt' is covered if you need a costly repair. The engines
in these cars (1989-1993) were very susceptible to oil problems of any
kind, but the newer (5F-SE, I think...) engine was made more robust than
the 3-valve used earlier.

Bring it NOW! ;) Good Luck!

"HachiRoku" wrote:[color=blue]
>
>Actually, you’re LUCKY there was no oil cap, because that would
>have
>pressurized the system and since oil acts like hydraulic fluid...
>[/color]


Not really, what happens is the oil kinda whips up in a foam that
traps the air pressure that normally developes in the engine and can
start blowing seals if it get high enough in pressure


"HachiRoku" wrote:[color=blue]
>
>You’re also lucky it was overfilled, since if it weren’t,
>the engine may
>have run dry.
>[/color]

How do you figure that one?

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On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 19:36:06 -0400, SnoMan wrote:
[color=blue]
> "HachiRoku" wrote:[color=green]
>>
>>Actually, you’re LUCKY there was no oil cap, because that would
>>have
>>pressurized the system and since oil acts like hydraulic fluid...
>>[/color]
>
>
> Not really, what happens is the oil kinda whips up in a foam that
> traps the air pressure that normally developes in the engine and can
> start blowing seals if it get high enough in pressure[/color]

yeah, but with the cap off, the pressure can't build...[color=blue]
>
>
> "HachiRoku" wrote:[color=green]
>>
>>You’re also lucky it was overfilled, since if it weren’t,
>>the engine may
>>have run dry.
>>[/color]
>
> How do you figure that one?[/color]

Been there, done that. Went to GA for two weeks, let my dad 'use' the car.
He wasn't a car guy. When I came back the cap was gone and there was 1 qt
of oil in the crank. The car DID go another 70,000 miles before requiring
any work (My first car, a brand-new Lemon-Yellow 1200 Corolla...)

"pacde" <UseLinkToEmail@AutoForumz.com> wrote in message
news:1_646237_955456648790697ed470fbe56cc23e3d@autoforumz.com...[color=blue]
>I recently bought a Toyota Tercel, 98 and brought it in for an oil
> change and some new tires - other than that the car is perfect. After
> the oil change, I took it for a test drive down the highway and the
> next day I took my wife up into the mountains - all together about 200
> miles. Anyway I loaded fuel and went to check the oil and this is what
> happened:
>
> First there was no oil cap so all the underside of the hood was
> covered with oil. I checked the oil and wouldnt you know it, it was
> way over full. I checked the receipt and instead of adding 2.8 Litres
> of oil, the service center added 4.5 litres of oil. I understand some
> severe engine damage can result due to overfilling - can someone
> please walk me through the things I should look for?
>[/color]


Happened to my GMC Suburban at the local Wal-Mart. Damage showed up after 3
month.
The issue is that liquid is not compressible, and could even bend or break
internal parts like pistons, connecting rods, and/or the crankshaft. Other
issues would be spark plug fouling (it would miss), possible seal leakage
(hydraulic pressure from too much oil could damage/displace a shaft seal),
and mostly a mess from oil getting all over. Reset(drain excess) oil level,
make sure the air filter isn't soaked. Driving with foamed oil means little
or no lubrication and less engine lifetime at best. So get a written record
of this incident signed by dealer for possible future use.

"Herb Ludwig" wrote:[color=blue]
>"pacde" <UseLinkToEmail@AutoForumz.com> wrote in message
>news:1_646237_955456648790697ed470fbe56cc23e3d@autoforumz.com...[color=green]
>>I recently bought a Toyota Tercel, 98 and brought it in for an oil
>> change and some new tires - other than that the car is perfect.[/color]
>After[color=green]
>> the oil change, I took it for a test drive down the highway and[/color]
>the[color=green]
>> next day I took my wife up into the mountains - all together[/color]
>about 200[color=green]
>> miles. Anyway I loaded fuel and went to check the oil and this is[/color]
>what[color=green]
>> happened:
>>
>> First there was no oil cap so all the underside of the hood was
>> covered with oil. I checked the oil and wouldnt you know it, it[/color]
>was[color=green]
>> way over full. I checked the receipt and instead of adding 2.8[/color]
>Litres[color=green]
>> of oil, the service center added 4.5 litres of oil. I understand[/color]
>some[color=green]
>> severe engine damage can result due to overfilling - can someone
>> please walk me through the things I should look for?
>>[/color]
>
>
>Happened to my GMC Suburban at the local Wal-Mart. Damage showed up
>after 3
>month.
> The issue is that liquid is not compressible, and could even bend or
>break
>internal parts like pistons, connecting rods, and/or the crankshaft.
>Other
>issues would be spark plug fouling (it would miss), possible seal
>leakage
>(hydraulic pressure from too much oil could damage/displace a shaft
>seal),
>and mostly a mess from oil getting all over. Reset(drain excess) oil
>level,
>make sure the air filter isn’t soaked. Driving with foamed oil
>means little
>or no lubrication and less engine lifetime at best. So get a written
>record
>of this incident signed by dealer for possible future use.[/color]

Could you tell the oil was foamed up just from inspection? And did you
notice any leaks before the 3 months? my car really seems to run great
still, no sign of missing, no knocks or anything in the motor and no
oil leakage. My real concern is that like you, it will show up three
months later. I also didnt notice any blue smoke out of the pipe - but
that doesnt mean there wasnt any.

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Herb Ludwig wrote:[color=blue]
>
> "pacde" <UseLinkToEmail@AutoForumz.com> wrote in message
> news:1_646237_955456648790697ed470fbe56cc23e3d@autoforumz.com...[color=green]
> >I recently bought a Toyota Tercel, 98 and brought it in for an oil
> > change and some new tires - other than that the car is perfect. After
> > the oil change, I took it for a test drive down the highway and the
> > next day I took my wife up into the mountains - all together about 200
> > miles. Anyway I loaded fuel and went to check the oil and this is what
> > happened:
> >
> > First there was no oil cap so all the underside of the hood was
> > covered with oil. I checked the oil and wouldnt you know it, it was
> > way over full. I checked the receipt and instead of adding 2.8 Litres
> > of oil, the service center added 4.5 litres of oil. I understand some
> > severe engine damage can result due to overfilling - can someone
> > please walk me through the things I should look for?
> >[/color][/color]


If your engine oil level is high enough to cause damage it happens right away. What happens is the moving parts actually
hit the oil in the pan.

Something like that would most likely blow a hole in the block/ break a piston as soon as you drove it.

hope that's help full
Dan


BTW:) oil foaming means its spent/breaking down/old or whatever and needs to be replaced.


--end