Oil overfilled?

[DMNewton]

Hi Folks, I have fitted a 1275 midget gold seal engine to my '58 minor, and all seems to be going well so far. (Thanks for previous advice -this is a great forum!). The donor 1275 didn't have a dipstick, so I just used the one out of my 948 engine. It was a bit 'rattly' so I've put a couple of o-rings under the collar, held in place with PTFE tape to make a nice snug seal ( a tip I saw on this forum i think). I also thought it best to check that the dipstick was reading correctly, so I checked the position of the min/max marks based on the measurements I found on a midget forum thread. All were exactly in the same position: marks in the same place, collar in the same place, metal dipstick tube sticking up out of engine block same height etc. To be doubly sure, I decided to err on the side of caution and drained the sump and oil filter and re-filled with the requisite 6.5 pints, which I understand is common for all A-series engines.

However, now my oil level is at about 3/4" above the max mark on the dipstick. From reading other threads on this forum, I think that much overfilled will lead to trouble, but I'm now unsure again whether I should trust the dipstick or my 6.5 pint filling. Could there be more oil in the system somewhere that isn't drained when I remove the sump plug and the oil filter ( oil filter is the type that sits inside an external canister).

Any advice would be much appreciated, as the engine seems to be pretty good, and I don't want to cause any unnecessary damage.

Thanks in advance.

[les]

If you drained the oil when hot, and let it stand for a while to completely drain,( on level surface) then filled with the correct amount. I would suspect the dipstick.,

[DMNewton]

Hi Les. Thank you for the reply. It wasn't hot when I drained the engine but I did let it drain for 15 minutes or so. Is there any way that over filling would present itself that I could see before it causes any problems?

[les]

Well not really, it might tend to cause oil seals to leak a bit and the crank scroll seal, actually I'm not sure the 1275 has this scroll.
Even drained when cold would not leave enough oil in to cause a 3/4 inch overfill. Double check the dipstick. I think I have one to measure if you have problems. Best not run it too much if it overfilled. Another thought some engines have a plastic furrule pressed into the dipstick hole, if yours should have and it's missing, that would raise the dipstick a reasonabl amount,

[Trickydicky]

As long as you only put the correct stated amount in, it won't be a problem. Maybe you should try and get the correct dipstick for the engine just to be sure your not overfilling it in future.

[bmcecosse]

IF that is overfilled - it's only by a small amount, and won't do any harm whatsoever.

[ManyMinors]

IF that is overfilled - it's only by a small amount, and won't do any harm whatsoever.

Quite right. Bear in mind that some modern cars don't even HAVE a dipstick(!) so all a garage can do is what you have done: drain the old oil and then refill with the recommended quantity.

Out of habit, I still check the oil level on my modern car even though it never requires topping up between services. Just habit really, but some modern cars do use oil.

[panky]

If you are sure that the right amount of oil is in there you could always cut another notch on your existing dipstick where the level is.

[bmcecosse]

Are you sure some moderns don't have a dipstick? Seems unlikely. Mine is attached to the filler cap.

[ManyMinors]

Many newer BMW and Audi cars are no longer supplied with them. No doubt others will follow.
Seems mad on the face of it.....

[aupickup]

a friend of mine has a bmw without a dipstick

[les]

Wonder why they have a maximum mark on a dipstick.

[greendefender123]

Wonder why they have a maximum mark on a dipstick.

Some dont have sump plugs aswell, they just suck out what they can. Tho thats for another thread.

[bmcecosse]

Have the Beemer owners checked under the fill cap? I know many moderns give an oil check reading - but I'm surprised they don't have a physical 'dip stick'.

[simmitc]

Going back to the original question, does the lump you have allow the filter to be attached when full? If so, did you take the amount required to pre-fill the filter out of the 6.5 pints that you used? If not then you will have slightly overfilled, but nothing to worry about.

[les]

3/4 inch higher than max would mean that level over the entire area of the sump; quite a bit of oil. It is surely the dipstick sitting too low or the wrong one. The max mark is not there for decoration, it's not a ceremonial item!

[DMNewton]

Hello again. Thank you for all the replies and advice. Even the little detour about BMWs was interesting. So, I have solved the mystery, and as usual, it was a very simple thing. Unfortunately a bit embarrasing too. I managed to convince myself that all was correct with the length and positiion of the dipstick and its markings, so I thought the only thing to do was to check how much oil was in there. Now here' s the embarrasing bit.....apparantly I can't count. I had filled the engine with 7.5 pints, not 6.5 pints! I am really sorry if I have wasted everyone's time

The only redeeming factor I can think of is that I can categorically say that the dipstick and oil caacity of the 948 engine and the 1275 are identical! I hope that sometime in the future someone finds this information useful!

Thanks again for all your help folks. As ever, you are most helpful.

Until the next time....

[panky]

Oops