[getmygoat]

Hi all,

I bought a car sight unseen a few months ago (76 cutlass salon) from a dealer in Florida. Ran good. I didn't even check the oil. Drove it maybe 100 miles. Leaking pretty good from the rear main, so I drained the oil and pulled the pan (can do in Olds unlike Pontiac) to replace the rear main seal. When I emptied the drain pan into some jugs, it turns out there was maybe as much as 10 quarts in that sucker.

Question is, was this conspiracy or incompetence? Could the dealer be overfilling oil like that to mask some type of engine problem?

I guess I'll learn the answer once I get it all back together but I'm doing a ton of greasy work on my back in a cold garage. Hope I don't end up with a knock or something on start up.

Thanks. Attached some pics just for fun

[wheels]

The dealers mechanic could be using a pump from a large barrel and over filling by accident. Plus they may never check the oil level....maybe going by the gauge on the oil barrel.

Over filling will cause higher oil pressure.....hiding something?

Or it could be complete incompetence.

[Joe's Garage]

I'd speculate that there was a bit of bearing noise and the dealer overfilled the pan to mask the noise. Ethical? No, but they're a used car dealer, so ethics are most likely NOT a priority.

Thirty-plus years ago, I had a friend's family that had an early 1940s Ford dump truck they'd retired and only used to help haul off yard waste and such things.

It knocked a little bit, but if they overfilled the pan by about five quarts, no knock (or at least no 'audible' knock).

The owner's son - my friend's dad - even cut off the dipstick, shortened it and brazed it back together to indicate the 'new' oil level, which was about at the pan rail.....

It also used quite a bit of oil, so when the family changed the oil in a daily driver, they saved it to recycle through the old Ford. Ran and ran and ran and ran.

One of those 'fill the oil and check the gas' deals.

I think they did change the oil filter every couple years.........

GOOD LUCK!

[misterp266]

My guess would be it was a mistake, no real way to know for sure.
Are you doing this in San Diego? Cold garage? My garage is 20 degrees today, how ‘bout yours?
Check ALL your fluids before you drive it again…..

[Goatracer1]

My guess. Someone forgot to drain the old oil before installing the new oil.

[getmygoat]

Originally Posted by misterp266

Are you doing this in San Diego? Cold garage? My garage is 20 degrees today, how ‘bout yours?
..

My location is out of date. Moved to Alabama last summer - but probably moving back to San Diego this summer!

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

My guess. Someone forgot to drain the old oil before installing the new oil.

Let's hope so!

[salem1912]

Possible oil not draining back from heads? Not sure how open the oil return is on a OLDs. Or like Goatracer1 say's forgot to drain old oil.

[Red80TA]

Olds have a fairly slow/restricted drain back from heads, opened up more for those who use HV pumps. Of course, that amount of oil would be finding leaking everywhere and from valve covers and main. Does it look like older oil? Can be hard to say, generally car dealers with give them a fresh set, especially if they know there's an issue. How about under neath, caked on with loads of old dried oil, or fresh weeping only? Look like chassis has been blasted for tidy-up? Perhaps they checked the oil with it running! Hopefully, a simple (not sure how) error and that it only exposed the mail seal on the way out anyway.

[steve v]

A bad fuel pump can pump fuel into the crankcase......you didn't smell any gas did you?

[Half-Inch Stud]

Put the right amount in, and calibrate the dip stick. Duh but you know thaat.

[4dblnkldude]

I bought my 71 TA from a dealer, got it home and started going over things. There was 9 quarts of oil in it not including the filter. The car smoked pretty good. I don't know if it was the oil but after an oil change and some best of my ability tuning she runs just fine.

[limejudge69]

The lube tech at any automotive related business is most often the least experienced, and lowest paid, of any position the shop. The result of that is overfilled, underfilled, wrong oil weight, stripped drain plugs, incorrect/loose/overtightened filters, etc. Drain, refill to the correct level per the mfg, and see what you have

[getmygoat]

Originally Posted by steve v

A bad fuel pump can pump fuel into the crankcase......you didn't smell any gas did you?

Fuel pump is new/replaced prior to my ownership. Didn't smell like gas. Hope it is just incompetence and not for a reason.

Otherwise I'll have the best looking oil pan for a motor with issues.

[burd]

Wrong dip stick

[Lightfoot]

Olds V8s of that vintage usually hold closer to 6 quarts full, so don't panic too much.
I'd say the drain-back holes are not likley to be plugged if it's a 'decent condition' or low miles engine. It would be sucking the oil through the valve guides and burning it, if that were the case. Anyway, a good look inside the rocker arm compartment should reveal any sludge problem.

Most likely, it was previous owner incompetence, or a sloppy quick lube 'mechanic' that caused an over full crankcase. I know there are still plenty of people out there who think it might be a good idea to add a quart of oil occasionaly, just because they have an old car, or that's what their grandpappy always used to say, etc. etc. etc.

[Dennis H.]

Originally Posted by limejudge69

The lube tech at any automotive related business is most often the least experienced, and lowest paid, of any position the shop. The result of that is overfilled, underfilled, wrong oil weight, stripped drain plugs, incorrect/loose/overtightened filters, etc. Drain, refill to the correct level per the mfg, and see what you have

This is so true! I worked in parts at a Dodge dealership for 20 years and saw so many oil lube guys come and go. Most all were incapable of doing a simple oil change correctly and I saw so many issues from them it was comical at times. They NEVER would check the dipstick before or after an oil change, only pump in what they thought it needed, and a lot of the time they did not even know the correct weight and capacity recommendations each engine took. Our dealership had to replace countless engines due to personnel issues at the oil change position. We even had a couple of lube techs would stash the oil filters in his tool box and never replace the filter! I would never trust any dealer or quick oil change place to ever change my oil, in my whole life I am the only one who has ever changed my own oil. And guess what, after over 56 years of driving I have never had a crossed or stripped oil plug, double gasketed filter, wrong oil type or qty issue ever. When I get too old to change my own oil, I guess it is time to quit driving or buy a Tesla!

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by Dennis H.

This is so true! I worked in parts at a Dodge dealership for 20 years and saw so many oil lube guys come and go. Most all were incapable of doing a simple oil change correctly and I saw so many issues from them it was comical at times. They NEVER would check the dipstick before or after an oil change, only pump in what they thought it needed, and a lot of the time they did not even know the correct weight and capacity recommendations each engine took. Our dealership had to replace countless engines due to personnel issues at the oil change position. We even had a couple of lube techs would stash the oil filters in his tool box and never replace the filter! I would never trust any dealer or quick oil change place to ever change my oil, in my whole life I am the only one who has ever changed my own oil. And guess what, after over 56 years of driving I have never had a crossed or stripped oil plug, double gasketed filter, wrong oil type or qty issue ever. When I get too old to change my own oil, I guess it is time to quit driving or buy a Tesla!

My father was a mechanic almost all of his adult life, he lived to be 92, and changed his own oil in his cars rougly up until he was in his late 80s. My mother then took their car to the dealership for oil changes, and later to a trusted local independant garage. This was also about the time he started with dimentia, so probably for the best. My parents lived in Prescott AZ, so there was only a car port for him to do the oil changes, lying on his back, that's dedication......

I also have worked most of my adult life as a mechanic, and can think of only 1 time when the thermometer was only getting to around 10 degrees during the daytime, and my garage had a dead car in it, so I would have been lying in the snow to change my oil before a lengthy trip to NC, that I allowed someone else to change my oil in my car.

I finally bought a lift last year, so I guess as long as I can remember to drain the oil first, and refill it, I extended my years of changing my own oil. Hopefully the climate zealots don't outlaw petroleum during the rest of my life, just turned 71 on Saturday...........

I also have seen the grease monkey in a shop screw up oil changes with disastorous results, many times over the years. Goes back to the ancient adage, If you want it done right, do it yourself............

Nice thing about using by pass oil filters is, the time you can safely extend oil changes, and put off buying the overpriced oil currently. The price on TP is still under a dollar a roll...........LOL

To the OPs question, likely a mistake. If the oil is up to the crank it's going to be whipped into a aerated smoothie, and aerated oil will cause as many problems as running it low for oil. I can't really think of any mechanical deficiencies that overfilling the crankcase is going to cover up. One of the first things I do when considering buying a vehicle is pull the dipstick out, and remove the oil fill cap to look at the bottom of it, and get a visual under the valve cover, if it's not baffled.

Olds engines of that vintage have a tendancy, to coke the oil under the valve covers around the heat crossover in the intake manifold, especially if oil changes are neglected, This will also plug up the oil returns in the heads. I've seen many Olds (260/307/350) with that problem over the years.

[poncho-mike]

This has been a number of years, but I had a friend from high school who managed one of the oil lube stores. He broke his right hand in an accident, but was able to still run the store. He asked me to come by after hours to change the oil in his car because he didn't trust any of the guys who worked for him with changing the oil in his personal car.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by poncho-mike

This has been a number of years, but I had a friend from high school who managed one of the oil lube stores. He broke his right hand in an accident, but was able to still run the store. He asked me to come by after hours to change the oil in his car because he didn't trust any of the guys who worked for him with changing the oil in his personal car.

Yiikes! I would stay away from that place. First class at Sinclair College, Introduction to automotive service. Every student goes through the process of changing oil and performing an undercar inspection properly. Then the class gets to perform that service on the 60 cars and trucks the school owns. So that's 4 cars each. This includes using a torque wrench on the drain plug. What they do on the job is up to the student's personal integrity. That can vary widely. At least they have been shown the right way numerous times. Some of the problem is what they are paid. $15.00 an hour or more to make a pizza, flip a hamburger at McDonalds, or take your money for a cup of coffee or a couple gallons of gas at the service station. $10.00-11.00 an hour to change the oil and filter on your $80,000.00 car.