Help - Drained Transmission Oil and added additional 5.5qts to regular oil

You think you’d notice when the fluid “looked and smelled” different.

I literally watched as my brother removed the drain plug for the transmission of his wife’s Nissan Altama. I didn’t even notice it my self. Some of it was our own fault. We were too busy running our mouths and not paying attention.

We both caught it in time that not much came out. But it was funny in the end.
I told him he was a dumb ass. And he told me I was one too, since I stood there and watched him do it.

I will never be afraid to admit when I make mistake. Especially ones that are painful or cost a lot of money.

Most of my advice comes from experience. Some of which was learned the hard way.

 

It does, but I've found that my motor oil has a reddish tint to it using my brand of synthetic. Sounds weird, I know.. I could see how some funky old dark red t-fluid could look like old engine oil without good lighting. That being said, I've never made the mistake like the OP but see it's, unfortunately, a common occurrence!

 

Can we actually double up the volume of oil and it not overflow out of the dipstick or where we pour the oil in?

 

I asked that question above and never got an answer. I am not sure what voids there are that could accept 5.5 qts... except maybe in the oil pan with the oil level rising to cover the crankshaft.

 

This.

There is PLENTY of air volume inside the motor to hold another 5.5 quarts and much more. With the proper amount of oil in the motor its ALL below any rotating assembly. This brings up the inherent issue, another 5.5 quarts on top of whats already in there likely brings oil levels up to being smacked by the crank which is NO BUENO. This will cause aeration, dropping oil pressure SIGNIFICANTLY (air compresses, liquid oil doesn't) which could lead to lack of oiling in critical areas (main bearings, cams etc). The aeration paired with less air volume in the crankcase can also lead to blowing seals out due to the increased pressure within the crankcase.

 

So there really isn’t a need to measure out 5.5. Qts when refilling then. Just pour 5 qts in and eye ball half a quart and you’re good.

 

Nope no real need to measure. I personally dump "just" one 5qt jug in with a filter change cus screw buying single quarts and or having half quarts laying around. If you REALLY wanted to you would be able to get away with 6 full quarts without issue (a 5qt jug and a single).

Even with only 5qts vs 5.5qt specd with filter, after starting running (to fill the filter) and letting it sit for a minute or two I always read about 3/4 the way up between the full and low mark.

 

omg, you drove 450 miles? my 2.7L has a tiny oil pan compared to the transmission and i can see how you could be confused if you don't know what to look for. the clutches are probably smoked and the valve body worn out in the transmission. you could have blown some gaskets in your engine as well. i'd check for leaks. and most importantly, do not even start the engine until you have the proper fluid levels.

 

my 2.7L says it takes 6.2 quarts with filter but i put in 6 quarts (still a few drops left in the bottle) and it's over the max full line on the dipstick.

 

Yes. You can fill the engine with 11 quarts of oil. It’s been done, more than once.

What I haven’t seen is someone drive 450 miles with 11 quarts of oil in the engine. Well, not until now.

Again. No hate OP.
It happens. We all make mistakes.

 

So I guess it’s better to overfill to 6 at than underfill to 5qts then, huh. Since the engine has plenty of room to hold. For some reason I always thought it was a much tighter container, like max 6qts or the timing seals would start leaking due to the pressure.

 

Short answer - Don’t over think it.

I am not guy you want to ask about oil.
But my opinion is, any where from 5 to 6 quarts is fine.


Long Answer -

1/2 quart of oil (either way) isn’t what will have caused your engine to blow up.

There is a difference between “Low” and “Full”.
Low is NOT “anything blow the top dot”
Low is “at, near or below” the bottom dot.

That said, I do fill mine to the “Top” dot.
I would not add any unless it got to about 2/3 way down from the top dot.
Not unless I just had a quart of oil handy. (Which I don’t)

Dot-to-Dot is 1.3qts.
So, if you want to get technical, 1/2 quart “low” is still closer to the top dot.

 

The OP will probably be posting 400k miles on a high mileage thread sometime down the road cause these trucks are so damn bulletproof and can take a beating. 1.5 tanks of gas with 3-4 quarts low on trans fluid and it’ll probably be ok

 

with drained transmission oil no less

 

I just dump in the 5 quart jug and call it good. When I check level afterwards, I'm always about even between the dots.

 

I wondered about this too, until I saw an oil change video by Amber Dee and she indeed crawled under the truck from the side, behind the front tires. I had to re-watch the video a few more times just to sure, though.