I recently bought a 99 Mirage with 99K miles on it. First time I checked the oil I noticed the dipstick showed 1/2-qt or so OVER full. I assumed the last mechanic just overfilled it, but it wasn't smoking or anything and seems to run great, so I figured I'd change the oil next time I get a chance and not worry about it.

So today I changed the oil, and discovered the oil pan is bashed in from underneath, probably enough to displace around 1/2 quart. Sure enough, I put in 3 quarts (the specs call for 3.33qts) and the dipstick shows slightly over full.

There don't seem to be any moving parts colliding inside the oil pan (no noise), so I'm thinking if I'm reasonably careful with the oil level I should be okay, right?

As for crankcase level, should I go with the dipstick level or the manufacturers specified capacity, or some compromise between the two?

Or is there any critical reason why I should go to the expense of replacing the oil pan?

Anything else I should worry about here?

Thanks!
~kyle

I have an oil pan from a 97 Mirage