Danger of too much oil?

[gaston]

Oh wise ones, can anyone share with me the impact of too much oil in an 07 MCS? Just got back from my trusty oil change place and I see the level is too high. Is it safe to drive? And should I have the excess drained?

[COR BLMY]

How high in your dipstick is the level ?

I think "Too Much" to be an issue would have to be WAY too much . like filled to full.

If it was really full you would actually start pulling oil / heavy vapors through the PCV valve, and burn it.

I run 1/2 qt higher when on the track, This can help for scavaging and, I feel that I don't want to use oil and run low.

[chiliredr56]

Way too much could also cause a bent rod . A small amount will not hurt a thing , as COR BLMY said

[Robin Casady]

Another reason not to use quick oil change places. What did they do, not change the filter, or put in 5 qts.?

There was some debate on this earlier. You might be able to find the thread.

[smackboy1]

The answer depends on the design of the engine. I do not know the answer for the MINI. In general for most cars, overfilling the oil by say less than a quart is no big deal. IIRC 1" on the dipstick is about 1 quart. The problems arise when the oil level gets high enough so the crankshaft touches the oil. This may cause the oil to be whipped up into a froth which doesn't really lubricate as well as liquid oil. Not to mention the extra resistance for the crankshaft. If it is too high, the easiest fix is to suck the excess out of the dipstick tube.

[VelvetFoot]

Has anyone sucked the oil out through the dipstick tube?
It seems like it has a lot of bends in it.
Really hard to read the dipstick, no?

[tjtull]

Originally Posted by VelvetFoot

Really hard to read the dipstick, no?

It is hard to read looking straight at it but if you look down the dipstick, you can pick up where the oil is on the ridges. Or you can lay it on a paper towel and see where the oil mark is.

[VelvetFoot]

Yeah, I kinda rubbed it on a towel to get an idea.
The car only has about 2500 miles on it, so the oil is still clean.
The gap between high and low is larger than I've seen in any other car I've had-I know oil pan geometries are different, etc, but I wonder if it's because of the long factory oil changes.
Sorry this is getting off topic, but does the car have a low oil level warning?

[smackboy1]

Originally Posted by VelvetFoot

Has anyone sucked the oil out through the dipstick tube?
It seems like it has a lot of bends in it.
Really hard to read the dipstick, no?

I use Mityvac fluid evacuator to change my oil. 1/4 " polyethylene tube (from Home Depot/Lowes) will fit down the dipstick tube. It works best when the oil is warm, but not at full operating temp, which may melt the plastic.

[ENGINE 58]

yeah i found out today that i had half a quart too much put in the other day by a vendor that i trust and i just drained about half a quart out . he told me the kid that does the oil changes put in 5 quarts and that he thought the new minis took the same amount as the r53. so thats what i get for not making the time to diy . just got my 27mm socket today too so this will not happen again. lil maggot got oil all over the place too.

[chakraj]

So what is to much. Mine is just over the top nub?

[MINIdave]

Originally Posted by VelvetFoot

Sorry this is getting off topic, but does the car have a low oil level warning?

Yes, it's called a dipstick!

[Ken G.]

Chakraj: your level is OK. Just over the top nub is only a small fraction of a quart and I've heard of plenty of MINIs operating with a lot more than that in their engines. The space between the low and high nubs represent a quart of oil.

[TheBigNewt]

My dealer routinely uses 5 qts, and "full" is about 4.5 qts. 5 qts puts you about 1/2" over the full line on the stick. I don't think that matters at all, and my dealership stated that was fine when I questioned them on it because I was worried about something being damaged.