2007 5-speed Hatch Oil Change. . . Smoke!!!!

So I have done hundreds of oil changes for myself, family, and friends. Last week I did an oil change on my 07 Aveo. Everything was fine, nothing out of the ordinary during the change. . . until I tried to drive it. Smoke everywhere! The filter is fine. The plug is fine. The only thing I can think of is that I poured in the whole 5 quarts instead of 4 as I have just read is the proper amount. Is that the culprit? Is my engine shot now? I'm planning to go home today to drain it and only put 3 quarts in this time. That said, that would mean I have oil all up in the pistons now most likely. Will I have to wait for it to burn off? Where do I go from here? Scrapping is an option is necessary. I can't afford to rebuild or replace the engine...

I recommend just letting 1 quart drain out, and then monitor the dipstick, adding additional oil if necessary. I doubt the engine is shot, but you may very well be needing a new cat in the near future.

overfilling by a quart can be bad, but i don't think it will cost you an engine. Drain some out, run it a little and it should return to normal. The smoking is bad for the cat, hopefully you didn't foo enough driving to ruin that. But if you putt enough oil in to damage the engine, it will typically hydrolock. Smoking is just blowby for too much, but not necessarily immediate damage. (I would not leave it that way though).

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

overfilling by a quart can be bad, but i don't think it will cost you an engine. Drain some out, run it a little and it should return to normal. The smoking is bad for the cat, hopefully you didn't foo enough driving to ruin that. But if you putt enough oil in to damage the engine, it will typically hydrolock. Smoking is just blowby for too much, but not necessarily immediate damage. (I would not leave it that way though).

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Thank you. I don't think I got 100 feet before realizing what was happening, then pushed it back to my driveway. Fingers crossed!

maybe you spilled some oil near the exhaust? that will tend to smoke. Its a different story if smoking out the back.

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Originally Posted by Newborn

maybe you spilled some oil near the exhaust? that will tend to smoke. Its a different story if smoking out the back.

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It was smoking out the back. It was definitely overfilled. That said, I was able to drain it and refill with only 3 quarts. Still getting smoke but not as much as before. It is much much less now. Some smoke comes inside the car but not much. I am wondering if I am screwed or if it will eventually burn off\out and stop smoking for good. This is so frustrating.

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Originally Posted by QPCloudy

... I am wondering if I am screwed ...

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You will be if you run with only 3 quarts of oil for any significant length of time.

Any update, QPcloudy?

Could be Head-gasket.