Member Since: 13 Apr 2009
Location: North Wales
Posts: 23
Too much oil? What are the symptoms?
VHi I bought my D3 two weeks ago. Since then I've been trying to work out if the funny noise coming from my engine is normal for a diesel, or indeed a fault. Anyway, I dipped the stick today and it seems as if there may be too much oil in it. Unfortunately it's hard to tell as oil seems to only cling to the plastic lumps on the wire and not onto the wire itself. There's one plastic lump much higher up the dipstick than the maximum fill level and this has oil on it. But I suppose this could have come off the sides of the dip tube.
Anyway this got me thinking that the funny noise could be gurgling. Now would this be a symptom of excess oil?Honi Soi Que Mal Y Pense
16th May 2009 8:49 pm
SJR
Member Since: 09 Aug 2006
Location: East Manchester
Posts: 4030
Are you still in warranty?
If so I would get the dealer to double check for you!
If not I would pay the dealer/qualified independent to check for you!
I overfilled a car with oil once the repair bill was very expensive
I believe that every human has a finite number of heart-beats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises.
Buzz Aldrin (1930 -
Years ago, my partner 'topped up' the oil in her mini. Not knowing about a dipstick, and not having a clue about how much to put in, she emptied a whole 1 gallon can (yes - it was that long ago ) into the poor old engine and then went on a 200 mile journey.
She knew something was wrong by the way she couldn't see following cars in the smokescreen she was leaving behind her but didn't relate this at all to her 'topping up' procedure. On the premise that the car was still going, just smoking a bit, she ploughed on.
She was lucky - it was an old mini and the engine was that worn that eventually it burnt up the excess oil and the smoking stopped.
Don't do this with a modern engine though - manufacturing tolerences are much better these days than in the sixties. There will be nowhere for the oil to go and you will cause severe damage to the engine.Now an ex-D3 owner after 7 happy years. Miss the car but not the big bills
18th May 2009 8:22 am
Disco_Mikey
Member Since: 29 May 2007
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Posts: 20732
Excess oil may cause:
Poor running
Oil leaks
Excessive smoking when running
Possible turbo failure
Just the most common
A bit of extra oil will do no real harm, we are talking about litres and litres overfilledMy D3 Build Thread
Member Since: 11 Sep 2006
Location: Swine Town
Posts: 2330
From my memories of some advice given to me by an old mechanic:
If you've got high levels of overfill (litres more oil than you should have), you're in danger of the pistons slapping down into a big bath of (relatively stationary) oil with the consequence of a kind of hydraulic lock ripping the engine apart. I saw the results of this on a straight four at a garage once, hence this conversation with the mechanic. The owner had been told to top up the oil every week, so they did The mechanic was amazed that the engine had started at all with so much oil in it.
That engine had vertical pistons, but I don't know if this can happen with a V engine; does the slope of the piston mean it just drives the oil aside? Or is it still kaboom time when the con-rod gets ripped off the crown and driven through the block?
Medium levels of overfill just mean that the crank is working extra hard and slamming hard into the oil, and also the pistons may be actually kissing the oil surface; this shock loading of the components does nothing for performance or longevity and can crack the seals at the gaskets causing leaks, and drive oil back up into the combustion chambers. This could be a high enough level to allow a feed of oil to occur through the PCV system, taking oil into the combustion chambers. If you're lucky the amounts are low enough that it's all burnt off, otherwise the surplus can build up and lead to a hydraulic lock occurring.
Lower levels of overfill just mean the crank has to splash a larger amount of oil around with the resultant loss of performance from the extra work involved. This can cause poor idling too. As long as you're not driving steep hills which could cause all the oil to run to one end of the sump and making the above possible, then I'm led to believe it's not a major issue.
Oh, and when the garage forget to put in the drain plug during a service (as happened on one of my mum's cars many years ago) the engine is especially loud and smoky
Disco_Mikey; what contributes to the turbo failure? Is it the burning of the oil affecting the exhaust vanes with sticky soot or something to do with the oil flow?Dr. Ian Malcolm:
"Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
Transgenic tomato anyone?
19th May 2009 12:05 pm
Disco_Mikey
Member Since: 29 May 2007
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Posts: 20732
It is because the oil can't drain properly from the turbo, essentially back-filling the turbo with oil, and 'popping' the seals.
If that happens the turbo draws the oil from the engine and pumps it straight into the cylinder, and causes it to 'run on' (basically)
If you cant get it shut down quick enough, its bye bye engine as it revs faster and faster until a con rod tries its best to escape through the block My D3 Build Thread
Member Since: 11 Sep 2006
Location: Swine Town
Posts: 2330
Thanks DM; but if the engine is running away, turning off the ignition isn't going to stop it as the fuel is coming from the sump; what's the recommended action in this case? Try and stall it by running into something?Dr. Ian Malcolm:
"Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
Transgenic tomato anyone?
22nd May 2009 1:12 pm
alanwxr
Member Since: 19 Nov 2006
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 306
When my old 300TDi head gasket went it did that and ran on engine oil. I jammed it up to the Armco on the hard shoulder of the motorway and stalled it, that was fun! Although I was stationary it still took some stopping and bent the Armco. Also goosed the clutch!
Glad it was a company car!
22nd May 2009 3:20 pm
Disco_Mikey
Member Since: 29 May 2007
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Posts: 20732
^^^^ Pretty much. 6th gear, and hope the clutch lasts and stalls the engine...
If its an auto, Park/Neutral/handbrake and run like
Had a turbo fail on me in a Shogun, it went like f k until i realised what had happened My D3 Build Thread
Member Since: 02 Nov 2010
Location: Nairobi
Posts: 62
Or you can starve the engine of oxygen to achieve the same effect. Halon fire extinguisher works quite well apparently, I imagine a foam type wouldn't do the engine much good though. Certainly on the bigger engined Toyota VXs (4.2l turbo diesel) they just eat the clutch, hence the fire extinguisher method...
3rd Feb 2011 8:27 am
kim0785b
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: London
Posts: 126
Oil overfill when checking oil level on startup?
The oil overfill indicator shows when leaving the car overnight and checking oil the next morning. After driving until the engine oil temperature reaches the correct temperature and then checking the oil level it shows it at full. Is there a chance it is overfilled? Or is it just something which shows when checking at cold?Discovery 4
Oct 2015, 2016 build
SDV6 Santorini Black SE
New engine at 42k
Car camper
21st Jul 2023 4:27 pm
Gary_P
Member Since: 03 May 2016
Location: Kent
Posts: 1523
Is your overfilled message new? Was it ok but has recently started showing?
I ask because mine was fine and started showing overfilled and soon after started showing service required. This was only about 6 months after the previous oil and filter change. The oil level had been showing full and OK up to that point. This was an indication that diesel had diluted the oil following some incomplete DPF regenerations. ( This is not uncommon if you do more shorter journeys - plenty of info on this forum about it).
On the other hand, if it has had oil added recently, it may have been overfilled . Maybe some other problem, worth a search on here, but it shouldn’t be showing overfilled and you should investigate and rectify it quickly.
Good luckGary
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the repair bill was very expensive 
) into the poor old engine and then went on a 200 mile journey.
The mechanic was amazed that the engine had started at all with so much oil in it.
Although I was stationary it still took some stopping and bent the Armco. Also goosed the clutch!
Certainly on the bigger engined Toyota VXs (4.2l turbo diesel) they just eat the clutch, hence the fire extinguisher method...
