Oil *slightly* overfilled...
Discussion
Afternoon all
Feel like a bit of a dipstick, I've overfilled the oil by about 400ml on my E36 328i (M52 engine)
Now based on the fact that I need to do 340 motorway miles in the old girl tomorrow, do I get my hands dirty tonight and drain a wee bit?
I'm guessing the main adverse effect of this will be increased oil pressure, but I don't imagine the oil pressure being all that high cruising down the M1?
Opinions?
Dan
Feel like a bit of a dipstick, I've overfilled the oil by about 400ml on my E36 328i (M52 engine)
Now based on the fact that I need to do 340 motorway miles in the old girl tomorrow, do I get my hands dirty tonight and drain a wee bit?
I'm guessing the main adverse effect of this will be increased oil pressure, but I don't imagine the oil pressure being all that high cruising down the M1?
Opinions?
Dan
s m said:
Do you know anyone with one of those dipstick oil drain tools?
I don't, I have a hand pump I could probably use, but if it came to it I'd just loosen the sump plug and drain a bit out that way. My question was mainly out of interest, and if any serious engine harm could be avoided that'd be great.
How about if the oil level is too high it will be whipped up by the crank resulting in the oil being all bubbles which when it gets sucked up through the strainer will result in oil starvation and engine failure?
(no idea if that is possible or likely but it would worry me enough to do something about it
)
(no idea if that is possible or likely but it would worry me enough to do something about it
)
Toltec said:
What exactly do you mean by overfilled by 400ml?
400ml more than the service book says, topped up to the max on the dipstick then added another 400ml or something else?
What level is it showing?
It's maybe 5mm above the max400ml more than the service book says, topped up to the max on the dipstick then added another 400ml or something else?
What level is it showing?
What I did was, as it was dark (<thats the excuse), I was expecting it to register on the top half of the dipstick, not between the two tiny slots.
Two questions:
Did you change the oil, or were you just topping up, and exactly how much oil did you put in?
How do you know it's 400ml over?
If you changed the oil, then you can work out exactly what percentage your overfill is, and if it's a low percentage compared to the capacity then you'll be ok.
If you had to top up, then the engine must be using oil between services, and the extra amount will burn off in time anyway.
Did you change the oil, or were you just topping up, and exactly how much oil did you put in?
How do you know it's 400ml over?
If you changed the oil, then you can work out exactly what percentage your overfill is, and if it's a low percentage compared to the capacity then you'll be ok.
If you had to top up, then the engine must be using oil between services, and the extra amount will burn off in time anyway.
A common recommendation for trackdays is to overfill the oil a bit so at only a few mm over you will probably be fine.
An alternative to pulling out the sump plug would be to take the oil filter off and empty it. Run the engine for a few seconds and do it again until you have taken out as much oil as you want. Does depend on if your filter retains oil of course.
An alternative to pulling out the sump plug would be to take the oil filter off and empty it. Run the engine for a few seconds and do it again until you have taken out as much oil as you want. Does depend on if your filter retains oil of course.
DanielJames said:
I'll drain some tonight.
So simple to write My experience of sump plugs is that they have to be all the way out before any significant flow happens. Getting it located and the thread caught with oil pissing out is easier said that done.
My advice would be to have a clean container and expect to drain all the oil. You can then put it back in minus the excess.
Good luck.
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