Too much oil

TT&TO

I've put too much oil in...way over the dip stick max - is this a big deal? I have a 00 Hyundai Accent.

congo_90

you sure you checked the levels correctly?
Can't comment much on a car but afaik from overfilling non fuel injected engines they smoke a bit through the exhaust. drain some if ya can/know how to just to be on the safe side.

colm_mcm

Yes it is a big deal. you need to drain some out via the sump plug ASAP, and please don't drive the car in the meantime. You're asking for crankshaft or oil seal problems otherwise.

L-M

colm_mcm wrote: »

Yes it is a big deal. you need to drain some out via the sump plug ASAP, and please don't drive the car in the meantime.

+1

It's as bad as having too little oil in the car. Get it sorted asap.

BoardsRanger

Make sure you dip it correctly first. Take out the dipstick first and wipe it, then re-insert it and get your reading. If its still high, just make sure you dont drop the sump plug into the bucket! ha

Johnny Utah

Would this be bad on a diesel engine too (320d)?


I think some useless tosser in a main dealer put too much oil in, just before Christmas, when I went in for a free Winter Check....

I think what happened was that the engine was warm when he checked the oil as the car was only in there for about 45 mins max. I think that the warm engine may have, therefore, given an incorrect oil reading, so he topped it up with a bit of oil. I checked it when I got home, when the engine was cold, and the level was over the max mark. I asked my Dad, and he said it wouldn't make much of a difference to a diesel engine, and that it would be more serious for a petrol engine.


I haven't noticed any difference in driving the car tbh, and I've probably only covered about 2,000 miles since then. I checked the oil there yesterday, and the level is still over the max level, so it's not burning oil anyway.


What do you think, would this be very bad for a diesel engine?

Overheal

Oil?

>_>

Oil?

<_<

Did someone say oil?

/Another false alarm. Damn yankee stereotypes...

Johnny Utah

Any opinions on my post (#6) above ^^

Darragh29

Limerick man wrote: »

+1

It's as bad as having worse than having too little oil in the car. Get it sorted asap.

Your lucky that your car doesn't have splash guards under the engine so the sump nut is easy to remove. Just let out a bit and be careful topping it up next time...

If access to under the car is an issue OP, you can loosen off the oil filter and let some out there and tighten it up again and that will sort it out for you...

Darragh29

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Would this be bad on a diesel engine too (320d)?


I think some useless tosser in a main dealer put too much oil in, just before Christmas, when I went in for a free Winter Check....

I think what happened was that the engine was warm when he checked the oil as the car was only in there for about 45 mins max. I think that the warm engine may have, therefore, given an incorrect oil reading, so he topped it up with a bit of oil. I checked it when I got home, when the engine was cold, and the level was over the max mark. I asked my Dad, and he said it wouldn't make much of a difference to a diesel engine, and that it would be more serious for a petrol engine.

I haven't noticed any difference in driving the car tbh, and I've probably only covered about 2,000 miles since then. I checked the oil there yesterday, and the level is still over the max level, so it's not burning oil anyway.


What do you think, would this be very bad for a diesel engine?

Oil volume doesn't really change at all with temperature.

peasant

Doesn't matter if its diesel or petrol, what does matter is how much too much is in there.

Worst case scenario, the bottom end of the piston (or the counter weight) hits the oil surface on every rotation. As hitting a liquid at speed is almost as hard as hitting something solid, you can imagine how long your crankshaft and all the attached bits will stay solid (the answer is ...not long)

Bad scenario is that the rotating crankshaft just skims the oil surface and frothes the oil over time and your oil pump pumps foam instead of oil around all the critical parts ...end of lubrication ...high engine wear ...premature engine death.

Other scenario (if only a bit overfilled): the extra oil finds a way out somewhere that creates a bit of smoke and does no real damage ..or nothing happens at all.

A dipstick isn't exactly a scientific precision instrument. A few millimeters over max won't normally kill the engine.
On most engines i know, the difference between min and max is about 1 liter.
Putting in 1.1 or 1.2 liters instead of one shouldn't do any harm ...but after that I would suggest draining.

Johnny Utah

Thanks for the replies.

On the report, all it says is: "took 1/2 of engine oil"


Tbh, it's only a couple of mill over the max mark, and the level hasn't changed since it was topped up at the Winter Check- I've been checking the oil dipstick regularly. The engine sounds very healthy at the moment. There's no smoke at all either- I had the crankcase breather replaced last summer.



Access under the car is quite difficult as it's coupe, but I'll be a getting a full service (with a trusted indy) at the end of the month, so I'll probably leave it to him. Was just worried that it might have caused serious damage.

Delta Kilo

@ Johnny Utah,
If its only a few mill over the mark I wouldn't be too worried, some recommend doing so if it is a car with a long service interval because after a few thousand miles the oil will be down to the correct mark. The marks on the dipstick are engineered so that the low mark is higher than it has to be and the full mark is lower than it should be.

As regards the oil level changing with temperature, temp doesn't make a difference. In fact, most garages will leave the car running for a few minutes to heat up the oil because it flows better when it is hot and therefore will come out easier. What could have happened was there was still oil in the system i.e. up around the turbo etc that had not seeped back to the sump when they emptied it.

It's marginal anyway, I wouldn't be overly concerned.

Johnny Utah

No, they didn't empty it or change the oil. It was only in for a free BMW Winter Check, so he just topped up the oil (to what he thought was the correct level anyway).

The reason I mentioned the temperature, was because I'm genuinely confused how the mechanic could have mistakenly filled it over the max mark. The car was in for a service a couple of months before the Winter Check, and I regularly check the dipstick, so the oil level should have been perfect- right at the max level. I can't see why he would have had to add more oil, unless it was burning oil, which it isn't because having checked the dipstick since, the oil level hasn't dropped. Maybe he was a junior mechanic?

Delta Kilo

Again, there could have been oil up around the turbo when he dipped it. The next time you go on a long journey, dip it once you stop and you will see that the level will be slightly down on what it was. I reckon that would have been the reason why they topped it up. I wouldn't worry anyway.

bushy...

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Would this be bad on a diesel engine too (320d)?


I think some useless tosser in a main dealer put too much oil in, just before Christmas, when I went in for a free Winter Check....

I think what happened was that the engine was warm when he checked the oil as the car was only in there for about 45 mins max. I think that the warm engine may have, therefore, given an incorrect oil reading, so he topped it up with a bit of oil. I checked it when I got home, when the engine was cold, and the level was over the max mark. I asked my Dad, and he said it wouldn't make much of a difference to a diesel engine, and that it would be more serious for a petrol engine.


I haven't noticed any difference in driving the car tbh, and I've probably only covered about 2,000 miles since then. I checked the oil there yesterday, and the level is still over the max level, so it's not burning oil anyway.


What do you think, would this be very bad for a diesel engine?

Can be very bad for some diesels , some can suck in engine oil and run on it when overfilled.
Since its not governed , it will rev way way higher than it was designed. Unless it has an air valve in the intake ( some things do ) turning off the key switch will have no effect.
It will probably break something before it stops siphoning oil , can be dodgy in town traffic and/or fun to stop it in time.