Generally an engine will not be harmed by 1/2 quart over on an engine that size - it may, however, "adjust" the level by either burning some or spitting some out.
I have known several engines that, if filled to the full mark, would burn off half a quart in short order - but when down to the half-way mark (between full and add) would stay there for thousands of miles, or 25 hours of running, without the level dropping at all. Got to the point we just filled then to the half mark
The simplest way to get rid of that pint of oil if you are worried is to remove and drain the oil filter, then re-install it.
If you checked it right after it was running for a good while it could appear 1/2 quart low. After it sits for an hour and cools down the oil from all the passages and the top of the heads and oil filter will run back down into the sump pan and the level may check normal. This is one reason there is a normal band on the dipstick. I the level is below that band it's usually a quart low. If you are really worried drain a little from the drain plug. But first, consider the scenario I set and if it matches your turn of events, don't worry about it. If not, just drain a little out. And depending on the motor and length and width and depth of the oil pan 1/2 a quart over may not equal a significant rise in the overall level with the engine running.
Sounds like you checked the oil right after he parked it and the oil hadnt had time to drain into the pan. Half a quart is no big deal.
JImmie
That little bit is not worth thinking about. Find something else to worry about, such as your wife's relationship with your nephew.
Forget about it, 1/2 quart over won't hurt anything. Next time do not add any oil until it is a full quart low. (34 years experience on and off road vehicle maintenance)
If I check my oil and try to check it again I cant unless I wait a long time as the curved dipstick holder gets coated with oil and shows higher than it is, check it tomorrow and 1/2qt wont hurt anything, it might cut your milage a tiny bit, but to do damage you need to go more than 1 qt over, like 1.5-2 qts, and this depends on the motor, if its a big v8 it can hold 2 qts over alot easier then some 4 cilinder motors, the motor is just bigger and the oil wont raise up as much. You loose mpg when the crank gets covered, and damage occures when it slaps into the cilinders, but you might need more tha 2qt over to have that happen. Figure this, when motors all had carburators serious flooding could occur that could flood the motor with a quart of gas, sure it would cook off but it didnt kill the motor.
How can you over fill an engine. I fill it till the oil starts to overflow the fill cap and that's all that I can get into the engine.
An excellent point that others have missed. Even knowing the amount of the overage isn't enough - you have to know the total capacity of the engine to determine whether 1 quart over is a 20% overfill or less that 10%. In my small Honda one quart over would mean a substantial overage. In Metspitzer's truck (was it a King Cab?) probably not.
But the first order of business is to get a good read on level ground according to the manufacturer's directions. The second order of business is to not do fillups from a large, ungraduated container by eye. Not if you don't want to have to crawl under the truck with a wrench and an oil drain pan. (That means you M!) (-"
FWIW, when I've overfilled my Honda by 1/2 a quart I know it because of the blue cloud of smoke that I can generate with a hard rev. Useful for tailgater control but probably not good for the engine.
If it were my truck, I'd probably try to remove the excess if it was over
1/2 quart just because the cost of dealing with any potential problems far outweighs the time and effort it would take to remove the excess. In an engine with that many miles, there are probably already small clogs in the oil passageways and even if modern oil has anti-frothing agents in it, you still could have issues with oil not reaching every part it should. Better safe than sorry.-- Bobby G.
I've seen a few eps of Firefly. OK, but nothing I'd write home about. FWIW, you can usually clip everything after the first & and the URL will still work:
Learn something new every day. This URL works as well (sends you to Google images):
is now *&tbm=isch*
-- Bobby G.
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