what's the worst thing can happen if you overfill the oil engine even a little?

gavros777

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96 passat b4v tdi
i let my brother to change my oil and he messed it up by overfilling it, what's the worst thing it can happen?
 

dieseldorf

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You're going to drain or suction a little out and get it down to the correct level.

Make certain you know how to check the oil level in the car.
 

gavros777

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96 passat b4v tdi
it should be between the lines or little box with xxs right?

my car was sitting for 4 hours and when i checked it, it was over the lines above the bent point also.
 

40X40

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2013 Passat SEL Premium
gavros777 said:
it should be between the lines or little box with xxs right?

my car was sitting for 4 hours and when i checked it, it was over the lines above the bent point also.
Well, RTFM again.

Warm engine, check oil 3 minutes or so after shutdown. There is a picture in the manual...



Bill
 

otm646

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1998 AHU Jetta.
Depending on the level you could foam the oil, leaving to low oil pressure. You can see where this goes.....

Or you could just have a run away, that is always a fun one too.


I once changed the oil for a friend. He calls panicked, "you did not put oil in my car!", I responded "I am looking at the 5 empty bottles right here, where are you checking the level?"

He replys "I'm looking in that plastic cap on top and I can't see any of it"

Doh.

You are not that guy, it is a good day. Just drain a little out to adjust the level, if you don't have a Pella.
 

ruking

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gavros777 said:
it should be between the lines or little box with xxs right?

my car was sitting for 4 hours and when i checked it, it was over the lines above the bent point also.
Technically the correct way is to know and follow the oil dip stick measuring procedure (or whatever it is referred to) in your MY Golf owners manual.

Loosely (since I do not have your owners manual in front of me), wait for several minutes after shutdown. The manual does not specify this (hence sometimes the confusion) but it is good to standardize (on say 2-3 mins). Then take a dipstick measure. The level should be between the min and max lines (or as you say xxxx)

This second way is NOT the technically described procedure, but is just as valid if you happen to like to measure when it has sat overnight.

To address your 4 hour measurement (to overnight), if it is @ or slightly over the bend point (1/8 in over the bend point) you are just fine. Even if it is 1/4 in over the bend point, again you are just fine. Over that I would remove the measure of oil needed to fall within "full" parameters.

So to establish a base line, what I do is to do the oem recommended procedure and see where the level is when the oil is at the top or" full portion" of the lines. Then over night, (no start/run) take a measurement and make note of where that is on the dipstick. So now you have two measurements where the oil is correct for each situation: correct procedure, and so called overnight.
 

Powder Hound

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How much is it overfilled? 1 qt? Just above the bend, maybe 1/8"?

If it is more than that, maybe you'd worry about sucking out excess. Otherwise, you won't have to add any when you check it for a while.

Worst case:
If you are really a/r or OCD, then yes, you'd better fix it right away by draining it completely and refilling in this manner:
1) add 4 new quarts (no re-using what you just drained, and I don't care how long it was in there);
2) start the engine, run it for 2 or 3 minutes (OK, 2:35, exactly)
3) stop engine
4) wait 5 minutes (exactly)
5) check oil and top off to exactly the top of the hash marks. If you overfill by even 1mm over the top of the hashmarks, start over at step 1 again.

Again, that last one was the OCD procedure. Me, I like to sleep comfortably at night.
 

dieseldorf

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Gavros, you're method of checking is incorrect and leads to a false high reading:

Listen to Bill, please:

40X40 said:
Well, RTFM again.

Warm engine, check oil 3 minutes or so after shutdown. There is a picture in the manual...



Bill
Check the oil within 3 - 5 mins after a hot shutdown.



 

ruking

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In 126,000 miles, and 7 model years, I have never read or heard it addressed EXACTLY how much oil to add when it hits the "minimum line" on the dipstick !!!??? (given of course the correct measuring procedure)

Indeed when I have had to top/add/ make up (4 to 8 oz. est'd) every 20,000 miles or so, I just keep adding a small amount and then just keep measuring till it hits the top of the xxx line or no more than the bend in the dipstick. Now, I do get it dead nuts on, but the described procedure HARDLY encourages precision !!??? After all, while I and hopefully anybody else understands the concept of "add a little bit" it is FAR from saying 8 oz for example.

Again another VW rocket science endeavor???? Almost any other vehicle you add a quart when it hits the min line and upon measurement a quart tops it to the FULL line !!??
 
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Powder Hound

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OK, what's the absolute worst that could happen? As was mentioned before, foaming oil and windage losses from the crankshaft and con rods splashing through too much oil on every revolution they make.

More oil than that: well, eventually, you're going to overwhelm the CCV system and blow lots of oil out that tube. This is if you haven't already started blowing oil out various seals due to excessive internal crankcase pressure.

More oil than that: you overwhelm the oil control rings and break them as well as the rest of the ring pack, oil hits the combustion chambers, and you have a runaway. That is, if the engine still runs. I'd bet on a hydrolock condition before that.

When do these things happen? Who knows. I don't know any manufacturer that has published information on how much excess oil it takes to destroy their engines. Maybe they have that info, just so they'd know what caused the problem they're seeing when they look at a blown up engine on a warranty problem. But nobody's published such info that I've heard of (admitting here that there's a lot I haven't heard of).

I think VW (nor any other engine manufacturer) just doesn't want you to think 'more is better' and try overfilling it.
 

Powder Hound

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ruking said:
In 126,000 miles, and 7 model years, I have never read or heard it addressed EXACTLY how much oil to add when it hits the "minimum line" on the dipstick !!!??? ...
You could just wait until it hits the bottom of the hash marks, and then measure how much it takes to hit the top of the hash marks, and then you'd know.

Post it here; you'll be famous.

For 15 minutes.
 

ruking

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Powder Hound said:
You could just wait until it hits the bottom of the hash marks, and then measure how much it takes to hit the top of the hash marks, and then you'd know.

Post it here; you'll be famous.

For 15 minutes.
Given this crowd it would be less than 7.5 mins each: half famous/ half vilified; net. net., NADA:

1. that is only anecdotal information ( as if anecdotal information is totally false)
2. Did you do a 15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0 min wait period
3. Did you try it during the "overnight" period
4. ETC.:p

;)
 
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otm646

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1998 AHU Jetta.
It is "four and a little more" quarts.

4 quarts + about 12oz or 350 ml, this is running the larger Mobile 1 M1-301 filter.

This puts the level right at the top of the hash marks.

from the bottom to the top of the hash marks is about 750 ml, I know this because my golf leaks, alot.
 

gavros777

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96 passat b4v tdi
dieseldorf said:
Listen to Bill, please:



Check the oil within 3 - 5 mins after a hot shutdown.



i just did a hot check and it's still over the bent point

is there a way to do a cold check, i used to drive a 7ton turbo diesel and the dipstick had two marks one for hot check and one for cold check.

i don't remember good if the cold check was always lower or higher than the hot check?
 
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dieseldorf

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Gavros, no, not really.

I can say that the cold level should appear slightly over-filled or right at the MAX mark...then you'd be OK.

I aim to keep the level in my vehicles right around 90% of MAX. I make it a point to check the oil over a couple of days and top off as necessary. Draining out oil due to over-fill is really lame.
 
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tditom

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sounds like you need to pull a little bit out to be "legal".

if its just over the bend i wouldn't worry about it.
 

tditom

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ruking said:
In 126,000 miles, and 7 model years, I have never read or heard it addressed EXACTLY how much oil to add when it hits the "minimum line" on the dipstick !!!??? (given of course the correct measuring procedure) ...
i estimate 500mL to bring the level from the bottom of the hash marks (not the lower bend) to the top of the hash marks (not the upper bend)
 

ruking

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tditom said:
i estimate 500mL to bring the level from the bottom of the hash marks (not the lower bend) to the top of the hash marks (not the upper bend)
Thanks for the heads up Tom. Perhaps in another 7 years and @ 252,000 miles cummulative, I will get to know the TDI.... better. :eek: :D :p

This probably sounds a tad weird, but during that time and miles 7 years/126,000 miles, the most I have ever added was 4 oz (or so) to top (8 oz in 20,000 miles).

So since I don't normally think in (500) ML's, if I did my conversion math correctly (.5 L= .1321 gal * 128oz) , that is 16.64 ozs or app half a quart/liter. ;)

BLUE !! BRU?
BREW? !! BLUE !!

CLOSE ENOUGH !!
 
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Lex4TDI4Life

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tditom said:
sounds like you need to pull a little bit out to be "legal".
Am I the only one with my mind in the gutter on this one? :p

I check my oil every time I fuel up. Its usually about 3-5 minutes from the time I shut the engine down to the end of the fill up, so i get an accurate reading.. A little over the bend is really no big deal. I think constantly running with a small overfill might shorten the life of your cat conv.
 

Germaniac

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I overfilled on my last change. I just pulled the filter out and dripped some oil. Easier than getting under the car, removing belly pan, drain plug...
 

TornadoRed

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If only slightly above the bend, I would just leave it. Maybe if you put in six quarts/liters instead of 5 or 4.5, then it could do some harm.
 

POWERSTROKE

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I have always checked mine dead cold and it is right atthe top of the bend. If you do that 2-3 minute thing with a chronograph after shut down, this same cold level will have you in the hatch area.
 
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