Mkay, my friend has been having an issue with his 2002 Camaro and wants me to help. I know a bit about cars in general but my specialty is air-cooled Volkswagens, so Camaros are a completely new thing for me. The car in question has...er...well, he can't tell me what engine it has, but I know it's the biggest V-8 put in the car from the factory, with a 6-speed. I think that's the LS1? Forgive me for my lack of knowledge and proper terminology.

So, the problem. Last night my friend said that his "change oil" light came on, and that he smelled something burning, like oil. He had the oil changed 2 months ago, and has not had any issues until last night. I'm out of town, or I would have gone to see what was up and reported back here. After I explained to him how to check the oil, he said that it was about an inch above the "operating level" mark on the dipstick. So I would assume that the oil level is too high? If it is too high, what could have happened to keep anything from happening until now? Has it just taken that long for the extra amount of oil to do any damage? I guess I'll be stopping by his house later this evening to see if there's anything I can do for him...any suggestions on what to look for?

He has to drive the car to work today, hopefully he doesn't screw anything up doing so.

Thank you guys so much for your time and help.

Clark

 

Too much oil can cause foaming which will basicly add alot of air in the oil and that will not provide the engine with proper lubrication. Too much oil can also cause leaks where there were none before.

The Change Oil light will come on when the monitor feels it is time to change the oil. This will happen between 3000 and 5000 miles depending on the driving conditions. To reset it push the trip reset button in till the light blinks. (about 15 seconds). If you change the oil before the light goes on you can hold the trip reset again till the change oil light blinks and that will reset the timer.

Massey

 

An inch....that's about a quart too high. Some oil change places have presets that automatically puts in the amount of oil the engine is supposed to hold. If the oil place was trying to break a land speed record, they may not have checked the dipstick either. Or maybe they didn't really change the filter, which could also explain the high level. The easiest thing to do would be to pull the drain plug from the oil pan and let some oil out. But keep an eye on what the oil looks like as soon as it starts coming out. A higher than normal oil level could also mean coolant in the oil pan due to a blown head gasket, etc.

 

and adding to what the two above have said, i have seen the oil level go up from running to rich, so rich the fuel runs down the cylinder wall into the oil. smell to see if oil smells of fuel.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone! My friend decided to not listen to me at all...when he first told me that his light had come on and he smelled oil I said he was probably leaking oil and that he would need to put more in before driving anywhere. But when he checked it, he said the level was high. I said nevermind then, you have too much oil. So what did he do? He put more oil in today. I never quite understood why people ask me for advice, only to not to listen to what I have to say. If it wasn't overfilled to begin with, it certainly will be now. I'll check it out tomorrow after church...

Clark

 

I hope your friend wants to buy a new engine... Too much oil is just as bad as not enough. Too much oil will cause foaming which adds air to the system and that will reduce the amount of oil going to the bearings, that increases friction which causes bad things to happen. Ever wonder why there is a proper oil level? Hmmm well he may be right and it is leaking oil but if he is leaking fast enough to have to add +1 too many qts he has big issues going on there. Oh and I forgot to mention too much oil can also CAUSE leaks!!

Massey

 

Not only did he not believe what you had to say, he doesn't believe his dipstick either. Will the real dipstick please stand up!

 

Now that is not thinking with your dipstick... JIMMY!!