Too much oil, too little coolant!!!

[Paul Holbrook]

Have had my 2001 for a week now, put on 800 miles. Happened to check the fluids and found coolant about an inch below the add mark and oil a 3/4 inch above the safe mark. Unfortunately the dealer is a three hour drive one way. Oil pressure's been running about 75-80, and manual doesn't say what normal is. What is normal???Manual just says don't run it above safe on dip stick. 800 miles with too much oil in a brand new engine. Any reason for concern????It's parked until I get the tool to remove the drain plug and put in the right amount of oil.

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

Paul: I would assume that it came from the factory with 11 quarts of oil in the crankcase; is it possible that the dipstick is off? Do you know anyone else with a CTD who'd come over & you could double check it with their dipstick? Then again, I do enjoy changing my truck's oil. As for the coolant, if it's between the Add & Full marks, I wouldn't worry about it, just top it off & keep an eye on it. When the engine is at normal operating temperature, turn the heater on, hot & high, then see if it goes down again.

 

[Barnstormer]

My 2001 HO Ram was delivered with about 3/4 inch too much oil on the dipstickjust, like yours. It was delivered in May 2000 and I drained and refilled it in August 2000 with the proper quantity of Rotella T. The engine has performed flawlessly despite the initial overfill. The dipstick is dead accurate and shows full when I add the proper amount of oil.

 

[redneckdr]

fluid levels

i agree that probably no reason for concern with the coolant--just watch it. as far as the oil, there are multiple posts about the inaccuracy of the dipstick. i changed my oil saturday and with the proper amount of oil in the crankcase, i'm about 1/2" below the full mark. i'd probably change the oil, put in the proper amount, check the dipstick, and mark it where full is. an early oil change on a new engine is a good thing, anyway. use the stratapore filter, but if you don't have one, you can get an after market filter to use temporarily, then replace with the fleetguard filter, LF3894, when you can get one. i had to use an after market filter and used a mobil one filter, i believe M1302 is the number.

 

[redneckdr]

oil smell

i forgot to warn you about the oil smell when you change the oil. the new oil will give you a smell through the ventilation/a/c for a few hundred miles. the smell is coming from the breather bottle, and is "normal". doesn't hurt to look for leaks, anyway. most people (including me) do away with the oem breather bottle. there are multiple posts about that. also remove the air hose from the filter bos to the turbo when you change the oil filter--makes life much easier.

 

[B.G. Smith]

I have run mine 3000 miles between changes with a little too much oil, now has 64000. If the oil does not look milky, just drain a little out, the tool to loosen (don't remove) the oil pan plug is a 3/8" drive breakover or ratchet. The torque on the drain plug is 44 ft. pounds. The manual shows that the oil pressure regulator opens at 65 pounds so your oil pressure should be ok. This is from a 99 manual. bg

 

[Bill Stockard]

High Oil Level

I am running my 3rd Dodge/Cummins, have been changing the oil myself in all of them, and put close to 100,000 on the first two. I use gallon jugs and use 3 each oil change which makes the crankcase a quart overfull. Never a problem!!! I'm not advocating running your truck overfull, but I have been since 1992 and never had a problem. I wouldn't worry about the truck crankcase being a little overfull.



The coolant level in the tank varies with the engine temperature. When the engine is hot the level will be higher than first thing in the morning when the engine has had all night to cool down. The changes in level is caused by the expansion and contraction of the water at various temperatures. The best time is to check the coolant the first thing in the AM before cranking the truck. Make a mental note of the level, or mark the tank, check the coolant each morning, and if the coolant level keeps falling, then you need to check fo leaks.



Bill

 

[redneckdr]

oil and water

after thinking, one word of caution: be sure oil isn't contaminated with water/antifreeze. it will be obvious from the appearance if coolant is getting in the oil--turns milky and sometimes you can smell it.

 

[BK]

When I do a normal oil change, I'm always a bit high on the dip stick. And after running the truck for a few years now, the antifreeze level in the over flow tank is all over the place...

But I never loose any.

 

[Archive]

The new engine could (probably) have break-in oil in it... and it probably will use a little oil until everything gets seated in... If the oil doesn't look bad... (milky or other) I'd leave it in and check it offen. . or drain it just a little...



A good tip listed above. . just loosen the plug and it will start to drain out. . do not remove the plug... it comes out fast... .



Bryan

 

[Royal]

PAUL:--I don't think you have a problem. I had the same readings on mine,it was at least a half inch over full when I got mine. Try this,When the engine is warm,shut it off,wait about 5 to 10 minutes,check the oil level. Next, let the truck set over nite and check again. I change my oil and put in exactly 11 US quarts. When I check it 5 min after shut down its on the mark. When I ck the next morning it will be 1/2 in. overfull. I bet yours will do the same.