Am I really running 5 quarts high on oil?

No matter how you slice it, If you are on level ground, you have too much oil. Even if it is just one quart. The dipstick is not accurate, but even an idiot can tell that there is too much oil based on the accuracy of the dipstick pull and the photos.

To me it really looks like some oil in the tube that is dripping onto the upper portion of the dipstick as there is a gap between the actual reading.
Did you pull it out, wipe clean, reinsert then pull it out again?
Maybe pull it out and wait 30 seconds then insert see if you get any oil above the dot?
The other way to do it is do it quick. Insert and then pull out real quick. My FJ would do the same thing having oil above the measurement if I do it slowly.
I can't stop giggling when I type all this lol.

Ok as promised, I gave it another run tonight. I did both technique's mentioned in this thread, bending the dipstick to try to get it as much down the center of the tube as possible and removing it from the tube very quickly to not allow any oil (well, as little as possible) to accumulate on the dipstick. Looks to me on both sides of the dipstick that the oil level is just a smidge under the top hole. I'm vastly more comfortable with this set of readings than what I was getting last night. The pics below are from my 3rd check of the oil level this evening. Overall since last night I've checked the oil 15 or so times, 10 or so last night, 5 tonight. I got what seemed like 10 different readings last night, tonight all 5 were exactly in the same spot. I'm going to call this case closed.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their techniques, experiences, etc. and didn't just blindly tell me I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to check oil on a car. This is by far the most difficult process that I've ever seen in order to get a fair reading of the oil. Much appreciated everyone!

There you go. One side is normal and the other has the thin line covering one edge of the dipstick. Must have been residual oil in the tube from all of the checking??

Glad it is ok.

Now that looks more like a reading I'm familiar with seeing lol.

glad you didn't listen to all the xxxxx that told you in this thread that your engine is done.

Get engine oil to operating temp. Let car sit for ten minutes on a flat surface. Pull stick and wipe. Reinsert, pull, and read. Then report back.

Zombo said:

Let's assume for a moment that the engine is indeed overfilled with 5 or more quarts of oil (which I highly doubt). What catastrophic issue would that cause? I can see how the crank shaft sloshing through the oil would increase parasitic losses and reduce performance, but don't see how any failure is imminent. However, I'm open to suggestions?

Boy times have changed, but back in '85, I had a car with a top speed of 115mph. Not 114, not 116, 115. After it's first dealer service, it would only do 110. It turns out the dealer overfilled the oil by 2+ quarts. After it was corrected, it was back to 115. Nothing blew up?

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what happens during severe overfill is the crankshaft whips the oil around till it starts to aerate and form a foam, your oil pump sucks up this foam and sends frothy oil and air to engine components instead of solid oil. Oil pressure plummets because you are sucking up air. Air does not lubricate engine components well. Bye bye engine

You can overfill an engine slightly with no issues but not 5qts over like as as what was thought in this thread. Thankfully didnt turn out to be the case.

Lilby said:

Ok as promised, I gave it another run tonight. I did both technique's mentioned in this thread, bending the dipstick to try to get it as much down the center of the tube as possible and removing it from the tube very quickly to not allow any oil (well, as little as possible) to accumulate on the dipstick. Looks to me on both sides of the dipstick that the oil level is just a smidge under the top hole. I'm vastly more comfortable with this set of readings than what I was getting last night. The pics below are from my 3rd check of the oil level this evening. Overall since last night I've checked the oil 15 or so times, 10 or so last night, 5 tonight. I got what seemed like 10 different readings last night, tonight all 5 were exactly in the same spot. I'm going to call this case closed.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their techniques, experiences, etc. and didn't just blindly tell me I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to check oil on a car. This is by far the most difficult process that I've ever seen in order to get a fair reading of the oil. Much appreciated everyone!

Click to expand...

Ford has some shitty dipsticks. I have to straighten mine out a couple of times or it won't go down the tube smoothly.