Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General oil overfilled perhaps?

Hey you's guys, I just bought a 1998 contour, and the dude I bought it from always had it serviced at the dealership he bought it from new. Anyway, he had the oil changed just before I got it, and after I got home I checked it and it looked a little overfull.

It was not on flat ground though, and I'll check it again tomorrow on flat ground, but what could be damaged from overfilling an engine?

P.S. Does it matter if I check my oil cold or do i have to warm it up first. The manual didn't seem to say, but I thought y'all might know.

Thanks in advance

-Pete

A lot of guys around here overfill the Duratec slightly. The manual calls for 5.5 quarts (IIRC) on my 96, and I put in 6.0. SVT takes a bit more, and guys put in just a bit more than that. There's an oil starvation issue with this engine that we're trying to protect against.

Now, too much of a good thing isn't good anymore, but a little more, .5 quart, is OK and might even be better.

For more on this issue, try searching for "oil starvation" probably in the Duratec Maintenance forum.

Thanks for the replies, and the welcome!

I forgot to mention, my car is a contour LX, 2.0L zetec.

I've never had my oil in any other vehicle changed by a dealer or a lube shop, so I guess i was curious if they would be that careless, or if it's just the slanted ground the car's on. It seems to be a decent amount over the top notch(I'm not overly impressed by the dipstick btw), but it may not really be as bad as it seems.

And if I did drive it home 50 miles with it overfilled, then my driving habits might help prevent damage, because i drive very easy, without revving it up high.

Either way, it's water under the bridge, and I'll check it tomorrow and find out for sure.

Also, on a slightly different not: The engine is sorta dirty/dusty and hasn't been cleaned since the cars birth. What's the best way to clean it?

Thanks
-Peter

I usually put 5.0 quarts in my zetecs, which brings the level to slightly above the full mark. Maybe 1/8 inch above.

I've run my contour and mystique both like that for 2-3 years, about 50k each, and I can't see any problem. Neither of them use any oil, and each has about 130k total miles now.

I finally got it on truly level ground and checked the oil.
It's about 1/4 inch over, which seems like too much.

I think I'll drain half a quart and see how it is. I take it the oil drain plug is the only obvious plug underneath the engine, there's no other drain plug under there is there?

I can't believe the dealership overfilled it that bad

the oil drain plug sticks out and then theres the tranny drain plug that you stick a ratchet into to get out. You shouldnt have any probs with the oil drain plug. Now if your looking for the rad drain plug that one tends to be a little tricky