So my maxima is pretty high mileage, and as told by the previous owner has a small oil leak and I imagine the motor may burn a small amount as well with 160k miles. I checked the oil this morning before going to class and it was almost off the dipstick it was so low. I added about half a quart, I just eyeballed it. It read really high but I needed to get to class and just went ahead and drove the 15 miles there and back. I let the car sit for a couple hours and checked the oil again. It seems to be really high still, around the dip in the dipstick past the markings. It ran completely fine so I'm curious as to how bad it might be to let it go as it's going to use up the oil anyways. I understand how bad high pressure can be but it seemed fine earlier.

 

a little bit past the full mark on the dipstick is fine, when you overfill by a litre or more is when youre starting to risk blowing seals

usually on dipsticks its 1.5L from the edge of the very bottom of the dipstick to the full line, i dont understand how the level jumped from barely on the stick to past full if you put half a quart in only

 

first, the 'low' line is indicating you're a quart low, halfway between 'full' and 'low' indicates a half quart low. off the dipstick is at least 2 qts down.

That said, you should wait about 10+ minutes after filling (or turning car off) to check oil level in these or you'll get an inaccurate reading. oil lingers in the dipstick channel and can cause it to read 'over full'. check it again after its been sitting a bit (before starting or adding any more). pull the dipstick, wipe clean, re-insert and pull again to check your level.

 

THIS. After driving for about 10 mins, turn your engine off and let it sit for at least 15-20mins should be enough. Then check and see. if you have oil all over your dip stick wait a little longer

 

How high would the level need to be to start doing any kind of damage?
2+ quarts over?