Can Oil Level Above Full Cause Blue smoke?

Can the oil level being slightly over full cause the excess oil to be burned
in the cylinders and cause heavy blue smoke?

I've got a low mileage ( 75k 0 88 Accord DX that I use to drive to work. I
know the mileage is correct. I've had it about 4 months. It runs great, no
problems. It has always puffed a little blue smoke upon startup.

Yesterday I changed the oil myself. Very easy on this car. The manual
stated that it takes 3.7 qts to refill if you don't change the filter, 4 if
you do. I changed the filter and loaded 4 qts in. The lever was slightly
above full. If the distance above the full mark equates the same as the 1
qt low mark, then it was about half a quart too full. I decided to leave it
that way. I have to add a bit of oil all along and I figured it wouldn't
take too long till it was down to exactly full.

I had to go to Home Depot, 10 mile round trip and drove the car. No
problems till I was almost back home. I live on a big hill, the last half
mile is pretty steep. Upon starting up the hill, blue smoke started pouring
out the back of the car. It still ran an felt fine. I checked and the
smoke was coming out the tailpile. I was not an oil leak dripping on
something hot under the car. Got it home, turned it off, waited a few
minutes, restarted and no smoke. In fact I've tried and can't make it
smoke any more. It appears to be back normal.

Any thoughts?

 

From what you said in your post ...If the distance above the full mark
equates the same as the 1 qt low mark... I'de say your 1 qt over full. Was
the vehicle on a level spot when you drained the old oil.

I would think one qt over full would cause the engine to smoke.I think that
the valve guides are in need of replacement ,the oil in the valve cover is
not returning to the pan, as fast as it should maybe the returns are
restricted, the valve cover is filling up with oil, and being sucked down
the intake valve guides.



Tom

 

just monitor the situation for a while before drawing any hasty
conclusions. shouldn't be over-full from what you say. don't forget,
when you change the filter, the system needs to refill, & the oil level
will go down a little after the motor's been run for a minute or two.
it should then be normal.

re blue smoke, it could be a number of things, some of which are
expensive, some not. again, just run the car as normal for a while
monitoring consumption & report back. there's nothing intrinsic in an
oil change that causes an engine to smoke.

 

You probably should drain off the excess as a precaution - I don't like to
run an engine with the level above maximum or below minimum.

Check for traces of oil in the hose that connects the PCV valve - I'll bet
you sucked oil through the valve and into your intake. That produces
impressive amounts of smoke, I assure you from experience! If you do find
oil there, you should clean the hose and valve with carburetor cleaner.

Mike

 

Yes this can cause this. I know from personal experience and just knowledge
of engines. My girlfriend "topped off" her Corolla a few years ago and we
then set off on a trip.

She did this on her own and was very proud of herself. She put a quart of
oil in when it didn't need it. I noticed right away the car seemed sluggish
and I didn't even know she had added any oil. A few miles down the road as
I was going up the pass huge amounts of blue smoke came out of the exhaust.
I thought the engine was toast and then I found out she had added oil. It
was a Sunday and there were no stores or shops around so I had to pull over
and drain a good bit of oil on the ground. It was that or risk ruining the
engine or wait for a tow truck as this type of thing is hard on an engine,
will cause foaming of the oil and as you found out, oil out the exhaust.
This is bad for other car parts also.

 

amen to that

 

how do u know it only has 75k? are you the original owner? i never heard of
a honda that old with that few miles.
if its blowing blue smoke out the back thats burning oil if you have to add
oil between oil changes thats burning oil .i had a toyota that did that and
when i put new oil in it, i think it smoked less til after i put some miles
on the oil. how much oil do you add between oil changes?

 

It has more to do with the owner than the car. I've had my '04 Accord for
14 months, and I only have 8.5k miles on it. Such is the life of a
non-commuter!.....

 

I agree w/ L Alpert. I just found (and bought) a '95 Prelude w/ only 36K on
the odometer. Judging from the CarFax report & the overall condition, I'm
confident that's accurate.

As for the blue smoke, you're probably looking at worn rings; possibly
valves. Overfilling the crankcase won't cause that. I have an old Camry
with badly worn valve guides; & I lay down a smokescreen everytime I start
up after sitting for a while; but it goes away in 10-15 seconds. If the
smoke is constant, my guess is rings.

JF

 

A 95 with 36k...I'd jump all over that, even if I didn't need it.......!