Too much oil problem?

well don't run it until you determine why it is making oil. either fuel dilution or antifreeze. an oil sample will tell you. if you lost a half gal of coolant and it didn't leak out in the open you pretty much found your problem. ie headgasket or pitted liner or cracked head or bad liner O-rings to name a few.

 

Speedco can do an oil analysis.. I also have used black stone labs.

Get it done asap. You don't want to spin a bearing

 

First question. Are you sure your reading and checking the dipstick correctly?

I like to check my oil cold. Before I start the truck after it's set for the night, I pull the dipstick, and I don't even have to wipe the stick off. Just pull, check, add if needed, and start. Never overfill.

Second. Did you add oil when you saw it was short?

Either you overfilled it, or that lost coolant is in your oil pan and you need to drain. I'd just go ahead and change it, cheap insurance. When you drain, pull a sample and send it to a lab for testing.

 

Yes, only check oil at the start of the day/run when the engine is cold and the oil has settled. Oil will expand in volume when hot, so the level will go up if you recheck it when hot.

 

if there is a yellowish milky color on the inside of oil cap, then coolant is getting into the oil. on a detroit it is not uncommon for the air compressor head to go bad & put coolant in oil, I had a rebuilt air compressor do this less than 2 years after put on. this is very inexpensive to do, if that's it. it can certainly cause your symptoms.

 

Yea I would pull the pan and pressure test the system before I went to ripping bolts out. Water pump and air compressor are real common sources if it's determined to be coolant. Don't assume anything at this point. That will cost you

 

You can do a field test to check for coolant in oil.

Take either a spoon, half a soda can, small frying pan, (or similar metal container - make sure they are clean and dry) and heat until very hot. Drop a few drops of oil on it. If it crackles and pops, you have water/coolant in oil.

One alternative is to drop oil on hot exhaust manifold.
Still another is to heat dipstick with a Bic lighter (done away from truck).

These methods are not 100% perfect, but they can be done quickly in the field.
Also, I'm not suggesting these replace having oil checked by a lab.

 

Actual water in the oil is usually condensation and usually only very minor and will evaporate once the engine is hot. Seeing water drops on the inside of the dipstick tube or on the dipstick is normal from condensation. Fuel will be from an injector leaking. Coolant is normally from injector cups, but could also be from the oil cooler or liner orings or a cracked head. Coolant mixed with oil usually forms a greyish snot on the dipstick. Oil level going up due to coolant leaking internally will cause a dramatic change in the chemistry of the oil and should be very noticeable. Oil will change colour and smell weird. With the increase you describe, I would guess it is fuel leaking from an injector. There is a point where fuel will mix with the oil and still be hard to tell fuel is in there. Lab testing will confirm.