Oil level over the limit, is it too much?

[HasanCreed]

Hi, the mechanic that added the oil during an oil change, added 0.5L extra to the engine. Is this amount dangerous or i can leave it as it is.
The measurement on the picture has been taken in the morning when engine is cold.

Oil required: 6.5L
Oil added: 7L

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome

Yes, can be very bad for the engine. I’d suck the extra out of the dipstick tube and not start the engine until it is at the correct level

 

[mioba]

The max mark is there for a reason.

what car have you got, the oil sensor should tell you its overfull.

3/4 to the max mark (cold) is where I am happy.

 

[Botus]

whats the point of the pointy out bit of the dark red plastic piece (that the oil level is just below)?

 

[mioba]

Maybe that is the max min indicator. Whats the manual saying OP

 

[HasanCreed]

I drove already over 200 miles. But going to remove the excess tomorrow

 

[Wighty]

Hi, the mechanic that added the oil during an oil change, added 0.5L extra to the engine. Is this amount dangerous or i can leave it as it is.
The measurement on the picture has been taken in the morning when engine is cold.

Oil required: 6.5L
Oil added: 7L

The level will be even higher when the oil is hot , I would suck out the excess as well

 

[Botus]

I suspect we have two posts that are a little overly cautious

if you put two liters too much in and rev it to the limiter you could ruin the engine, as the pistons bounce up and down they displace air beneath them exactly by the size of the engines capacity and the oil moves about

- if the oil level is very high you could restrict the ability of the pistons to come down instantly smashing the engine to bits - but I suspect that would need 5 to 10 liters extra

- if you have 2 to 3 litres extra - it could cause oil to be forced up past the rings and if unlucky could break one and it may encourage an oil leak or 2

- if you have <0.6 of a litre extra it would be best to keep the revs down from max by 2000 rpm from the red line - if worried lower it

I'll give an insight - my v twin 805cc motorbike bike dumped 6 litres of petrol in the sump that already had its recco 2.4 litres of oil - I revved it to 5000 rpm and petrol went everywhere - drained and refilled and it seems OK its not burning oil

 

[LostKiwi]

I suspect we have two posts that are a little overly cautious

if you put two liters too much in and rev it to the limiter you could ruin the engine, as the pistons bounce up and down they displace air beneath them exactly by the size of the engines capacity and the oil moves about

- if the oil level is very high you could restrict the ability of the pistons to come down instantly smashing the engine to bits - but I suspect that would need 5 to 10 liters extra

- if you have 2 to 3 litres extra - it could cause oil to be forced up past the rings and if unlucky could break one and it may encourage an oil leak or 2

- if you have <0.6 of a litre extra it would be best to keep the revs down from max by 2000 rpm from the red line - if worried lower it

I'll give an insight - my v twin 805cc motorbike bike dumped 6 litres of petrol in the sump that already had its recco 2.4 litres of oil - I revved it to 5000 rpm and petrol went everywhere - drained and refilled and it seems OK its not burning oil

Excess oil level can create damage one of two ways:
1. Forced past the rings to create diesel runaway where the engine consumes its own oil as fuel.
2. Aeration of the oil as the crankshaft hits the surface causing the oil to foam reducing its ability to lubricate. Aeration also causes the level to rise aggravating the problem.

 

[HasanCreed]

The car runs butter smooth and the engine sounds like brand new. I will remove the excess tomorrow. I like perfection and in future i will change oil and all filter by myself.

 

[HasanCreed]

The level will be even higher when the oil is hot , I would suck out the excess as well

That's exactly the case. I don't want to ruin my engine so will be taking out the excess asap.

 

[Submariner1]

Excess oil level can create damage one of two ways:
1. Forced past the rings to create diesel runaway where the engine consumes its own oil as fuel.
2. Aeration of the oil as the crankshaft hits the surface causing the oil to foam reducing its ability to lubricate. Aeration also causes the level to rise aggravating the problem.

This is exactly what a really good senior technician told me.
He also said certain engines have a sump shape, that particularly ”beats” the excess oil, generating a foam up to 3x the excess capacity in volume.
In summary this can be really bad for an engine. I think he said on mine 1 Ltr excess would become bad for the engine. Re latter qty I did not pay too much attn. ; as I decided I would always check the level was spot on, and syphon off any excess from the dipstick tube.

 

[Botus]

you need to be over by >1.5 litres on most cars before it would notice anything

 

[Jim2]

Personally, I'm happy if the level is within 1/8" of the max......but decidedly unhappy if its 1/8" ( or more ) over the max. Out with the Lidl 12v pump, and out with the excess.

 

[Exp21]

Hi, I had issues in the past with my w245 B-class with dpf regens and often I found oil level half a liter over the max. I made a lot of miles in that condition, no damage fortunately. And warning on dashboard never came up. I think it's dangerous when you exceed of a liter or more. But it depends on engine design too. Be also careful to read properly the dipstick on the 651 engine. When you extract it, the face towards the rear of the car is the one giving the level, the other face gets wet with oil when you lift it and it reads a higher level (at least on mine). Hope it helps

 

[Jim2]

Hi, I had issues in the past with my w245 B-class with dpf regens and often I found oil level half a liter over the max. I made a lot of miles in that condition, no damage fortunately. And warning on dashboard never came up. I think it's dangerous when you exceed of a liter or more. But it depends on engine design too. Hope it helps

What did you do every time you discovered that the oil level was too high? Just remove the surplus, and drive on, or do a complete oil change?

 

[Exp21]

I did my calculations, I'm maniac about this things I had timing chain replaced so I needed the oil to be at the best condition to make the engine last. When diesel contamination was above 5-6% I changed the oil. Then I found what the issue was and I solved. Level raised very quickly, about 0.5L in 1500 miles.

 

[Jim2]

I did my calculations, I'm maniac about this things I had timing chain replaced so I needed the oil to be at the best condition to make the engine last. When diesel contamination was above 5-6% I changed the oil. Then I found what the issue was and I solved. Level raised very quickly, about 0.5L in 1500 miles.

You solved the issue? Can you explain please?.

 

[Exp21]

I found the problem was a bad ground in an EGT sensor. The sensor was giving strange values to the ECU, so dpf regens were too frequent and too long. So diesel contamination was really bad and fast

 

[Jim2]

I found the problem was a bad ground in an EGT sensor. The sensor was giving strange values to the ECU, so dpf regens were too frequent and too long. So diesel contamination was really bad and fast

Did this show during a scan or how did you find it? Normally, frequent failed regens show in increased engine oil levels. I'd say that it could be a more common problem than thought , because not everyone is as meticulous as you and most forum members are. Currently, a problem that I have is with the coolant. Every 3000 klms, it needs a top up of between 120-200mls. The fuel filter housing has already been replaced, and there's no obvious signs of any leaking, and no codes showing when it's scanned.