Hi everybody,

I refilled my olds 425 with the right amount of oil. I filled it up just untill below the FULL mark (This was after all oil was drained and without running the engine). After driving 60-100 miles I checked my dipstick and I noticed that the oil level is much higher than the FULL mark, I would say an inch past the FULL mark. You would expect it to be lower. The car drives fine, but I am worried if this would harm the engine? Should I continue driving or drain a bit of oil? What could be the reason for the oil level to rise?

Regards,

Robert

 

Oil can't magically increase in the engine. How many quarts did you fill it with? Does it smell like fuel?

 

I filled it with about 5 quarts of oil and it does not smell like fuel.

 

Did you pull the dipstick, wipe it off, put it back down the tube, pull it again and then read it? I have to ask. If it does not smell like fuel or is milky brownish from water contamination, and you put 5 qts in, then I would say your dipstick is wrong.

 

Yes, I pulled it out, wipe it off, put back in and read it. With cold and warm engine. Does not smell like fuel and color is normal.

Thanks for the help. I think i will just remove a little bit of oil so it goes back to the FULL mark.

 

Something is very wrong.

Your engine takes 5 quarts of oil (with filter). Period.

Oil does not magically regenerate.

Until you figure out the cause of this (antifreeze leaking into oil, mis-marked dipstick...) you need to be very careful.

- Eric

 

Silly question on my part...Did you change the filter too or, leave the old one in. I only ask because the filter can hold a bit of oil too. This may be the reason I think or, I may be totally off base. LOL.

 

You're not off base at all. I thought of this, too. But if it was on the Full line when he first filled it, it should still be on the Full line after driving it.


OK, I'm game. How do you remove "a little bit" of oil? The only way I know to remove oil is to open the drain plug. In my experience, that usually means a deluge with no middle ground.

OK, so you can crack it open and get oil all over the drain plug and your hands as some drips into a catch pan, but how are you going to know how much to let out? Just let it run out for a bit, stop, and measure?

This is all very trial-and-error-ish, and it shouldn't have to be done, anyway. If you drain the oil and replace the filter, it should take 5 quarts, period. I have a '67 Delta 88 with a 425, and I've changed the oil on it numerous times in exactly this way and without incident.

If your oil level was on full right after you added the new oil but before you ran the engine and then is an inch above the full mark after 60 miles of driving, then something is getting into the oil, either water from the cooling system or fuel. There can be no other explanation.

 

Could some oil have been trapped in the heads by plugged drain holes and then by driving around loosen the debris plugging them to release the trapped oil? That is the only thing I can imagine that would trap oil inside the engine and then release it to raise the oil level. Just a thought.

 

I had a look yesterday again. There was whiff of fuel smell, but my entire engine/car smells like fuel, so I am not sure. The oil before the oil change was like sirop and you could say that the previous owner did not change the oil after the rebuild 6 years ago. Before I bought the car, the car stood still for 6 months.

Yes, I changed the filter as well.

I attached a picture of the dipstick.

The dipstick says 4 quarts, maybe the dipstick is not the correct one. Perhaps jaunty75 could confirm this?

 

Check the measurements:



- Eric

 

I wish I could, but when I bought my car, it did not have the correct dipstick, so I had to buy a generic one and place the cap the correct distance from the end as shown in the chart provided by MDchanic.

I would verify that you have the correct dipstick. If not, and if yours is not adjustable, get an aftermarket one that is and set it to the correct length. THEN you have to set the marks on it. The best way to do this is to do an oil change, but add only four quarts. Let the oil settle, insert the dipstick, and note the level. Scribe a mark on the dipstick at this point. Then put the fifth quart of oil in, let the oil settle, insert the dipstick, note the level, and scribe another mark.

However, this begs the original question. Regardless of what dipstick you have, the level of the oil should not change between when the oil is first changed and when you've driven the car 100 miles after the oil change. Until you figure out the cause of this problem, all the correct dipsticks in the world won't help you.

 

Couple things, you checked it with the engine off right? Stupid question I know.

Pull the dipstick and take a lighter and see if the oil on the stick will burn/ignite. If so, you are getting fuel in the crankcase likely from a faulty fuel pump.

By the way, I know it doesn't apply here (thought of it when you mentioned dropping a little oil) but if you ever need to remove the oil plug (maybe for replacement b/c it's stripped etc), attach a shop vac to the oil fill tube with duct tape (to seal) and turn on. The shop vac will not pull the oil out but will create enough vacuum to keep it in the motor to swap out a stripped/faulty oil plug.

Good luck.

 

That's cool.

- Eric

 

X2 That is a trick i never knew about.

 

I volunteer to terminate the idiot that thought measuring from the indicator seat to the END OF THE STICK was a good idea. Not to the F and A marks, which matter. oy vey.

 

Are all of the tubes the same length from the block to the top where the dipstick stops? The dipstick measurement length is not significant if all of the tubes are not the same.

 

Nope. They're different for different blocks, year ranges, and whether Toro or not.

- Eric

 

How about a list showing the upper length differences.

 

Harrumph.

At work.

I'll dig it out.

 

No hurry, just think it is as important as the dipstick measurement.

 

Do a search. I am certain I have seen similar pics of the tube dimensions multiple times on this site.

 

Okay, so the answer is that the CSM begins listing dipstick tube length in 1968, and the lengths are slightly different in different years after that.

Dipsticks from '68 on seem to all be 20½" for big blocks and 18" for small blocks, though, so 330 and 425 dipstick tubes are not the same length as the later ones.

If anyone wishes to post the straight-line length of his ENGINE's dipstick tube, from tip to stop crimp, feel free.


1970 Dipstick Specs:



- Eric

 

I forgot the measure the length of the dipstick, but I did try the lighter test. Fortunately nothing happened. So no fuel in the oil.

 

I wonder if the stop on the stick is moving and allowing the stick to go farther into the engine?

 

The stop on the stick moves about a quarter of an inch.