Dandy. It may sound stupid, but I've heard of at least two instances where people severely over-filled the oil because they were checking it with the engine running.
First look at how much oil you drained out and make a guesstimate if that was close to six quarts. The things to consider include someone installed the wrong dip stick for your engine, the dip stick tube is not fully seated into the block, the dip stick has an "S"-bend in it that got squeezed tighter, you're looking up the oil fill capacity for the wrong engine or application, or your engine has an optional or non-standard oil pan that holds more oil than specified for an original pan.
6.0 quarts is the correct amount for a 4.3L engine, so I'd be looking for a dip stick problem. Be aware that if the oil was changed previously at a shop, very often the people are in such a hurry that they never check the level, so an incorrect dip stick might have not been noticed. They just dump in the amount called for and assume the level will be right. Every once in a while we read about engine damage right after an oil change where no one added the new oil. Often two or three people are working on the vehicle at the same time. One is underneath draining the old oil and greasing the grease fittings while someone else is up on top checking belts, hoses, and filters. Lack of communication can leave both people thinking the other one filled the new oil. That is proof that often the level isn't checked after adding the new oil.
Another problem to watch for is with some engine designs, the tip of the dip stick rubs against the webbing in the block, and that scrapes the oil off as you pull it out. You'll find in those cases the level shown is considerably higher on the other side of the dip stick.
Something else to look at is some dip sticks have a drop of what looks like black tar stuck on the tip. I don't know what that is for, but I've had to look closely a few times when the new oil was so clear, it was hard to see it on the stick. That blob of black stuff caused it to look like the oil was old and dirty, and only up to that level.
Also be aware for future reference, all engines today use a little oil between changes. To address the high number of complaints, dip sticks are no longer marked with "Add" and "Full". They're marked with "Min" and "Max". As long as the level remains between those two points, there is no need to add any. An unscrupulous oil changer might be tempted to put in only enough to reach a little over the "Min" mark. That will rarely cause a problem, but if you check the oil level regularly, you'll be left thinking your engine is using more than it should be.
Wednesday, October 16th, 2019 AT 6:11 PM
