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Is a high engine oil level bad and/or dangerous? :eek:

37K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  Commanderfish 
#1 ·
Hi everyone!

I've had my Brera 2.2 SV for 2.5 weeks and about 900 miles. I've checked the oil a few times and it is high - about 4 inches ABOVE the maximum level. I got the manual out yesterday, and it is a translation from Italian into pigeon English, but I think it's saying you should NEVER run the engine when the oil is above the maximum level!!

Questions:
1) Is this normal for a brand new car?
2) Could it be causing lower mpgs? I'm only getting 23 in traffic and 26 on the motorway!
3) Should I get the dealer to fix ASAP? :confused:
 
#2 ·
Adherance to the lines on your dipstick will depend on many things so millimetre accuracy is impossible. Ambient temperature being one thing to affect it. BUT 4 inches is way way way too much chap and I would advise you to have some taken out. Overfilling could be seen as a sacking offence when I was doing my apprenticeship.
 
#4 ·
Are you are certain you are reading the dip-stick correctly and its not only the oil being dragged up when you remove it from the tube?

If it is 4 inches over that is far too much oil and needs partially draining now.

The problem with over-filling is that the crankshaft will be submerged in the oil. This churns the oil up and causes frothing putting air in the oil.

I doubt it will seriously affect fuel consumption but engine life will be affected.
 
#5 ·
Thanks guys, yeah that's what I thought! Surely the engine must be fighting really hard against all that excess oil! According to the manual, the 1 inch or so gap between max and min = 1 litre, so my engine is overfilled by 4 litres!!!! Could that be reducing MPGs and even power?
 
#11 ·
Over filling of oil can lead to gasket/seal failures due to increased pressure !! :(

In the extreme cases it can lead to Hydraulic locking of the engine !! :eek:

As Gibbo said whoever filled your motor up wants sacking !! :mad:

Excellent linky PP BTW ;)
 
#16 · (Edited)
Good question. I noticed when I got back from hols and the car had been standing for a while - having been serviced just before I went away - that mine was over the max mark too, but not to this level - maybe half an inch, and from the fact I supplied my own oil it looks like .6l too much went in. For a car with quite a large capacity and sump, and oil cooler etc - i.e. a lot of places for the oil to go - I'm not too bothered but am being even more careful than usual on a cold engine especially. The mpg is identical to before so I know nothing major is going on.

Overfill of the degree you have is a problem for sure, as others have pointed out, and quite possibly is causing mpg issues!

Annoyingly, I have a hand pump for oil/other fluids with a thin tube extension for putting down the dipstick tube and pumping out oil, but when I tried it it didn't work, I don't think the tube was going right into the sump :(
 
#18 ·
Overfill of the degree you have is a problem for sure, as others have pointed out, and quite possibly is causing mpg issues!
Interesting. I've never had a brand new car before and didn't quite know what to expect, but just from the feel of the engine and from watching the 'Current MPG' counter I really thought the engine was fighting harder against something than it should, and yet remaining smooth and powerful. I think an extra 4 litres has to have a negative effect.


But hey lets' look on the bright side; it's done 900 miles of fairly gentle cruising, there are no indications of engine damage, and if 4 litres is drained out tomorrow, whatever nasty metal shavings that have come off during these initial miles should get drained out..?
 
#19 ·
The extra oil will cause drag on the crank as it rotates (As said above it will be submerged), hence your poor fuel consumption.
 
#20 ·
Yep that's essentially what I was thinking. Which begs the question; could some of the Brera 2.4 and 3.2 owners be experiencing the same problem?? There are a lot of threads about low Brera MPGs in general, I know it's not necessarily down to one thing, but this could be a contributing factor...
 
#21 ·
Crazy stuff this! If they can't get the basic stuff right,just give up I reckon:(: Changed the trans. oil for fully synthetic recently, measured the amount I drained, it was about .6 of a litre short!:(: No, there were no leaks at all, engine and transmission were spotless too! Just as well I did that replacement.:):
 
#25 ·
Exactly mave! Nowt' came out of the filler/level plug when first checked, and showed it was well down with my flexible aluminium, bendable,brazing rod DIY dipstick!:(: Jacked her up, drained, then inserted a thin flexy tube to the lowest point, with a syringe attached, to suck virtually zero out. Put her on a level keel, filled up with the requisite amount, just dribbled out of the level plug/filler, smiley chappie bin' I:):
 
#26 ·
I've been running around for the last year or two with my oil level about 1cm above the max/full mark. This is because I usually change the oil before track days, and Alfa club guys advised me to over-fill the sump before going on the track. This is so there's always oil there for the oil pump to pick up, even when I'm going around corners and it's all sloshing to one side of the (boxer) motor.
And then after the track day, taking the extra 600ml of oil back out of the engine is too much of a hassle when the next track day might not be far off!
The car has not broken so far.
I have wondered whether the extra oil means the oil level reaches the crankshaft and pistons, but I think if that were the case, the oil would be all foamy.
*crosses fingers*
 
#27 · (Edited)
Ok guys took the car into HRO today.

I may have been wrong about it being overfilled - when left sitting overnight, it has 4 inches of oil up the stick above max. Wipe that off and check again, and there's still oil up the stick, but not much. Also the stick is doing its funny bendy routine. Probably me being a numpty then. So I took it in and explained to the service manager, he wasn't 100% sure either, so gave it to the engineer. He reckons it was fine, but just to be sure, he drained all the oil out and replaced it with exactly the right amount, FOC.

They also replaced a broken foglamp glass which could have been caused by a stone chip. They also checked my steering and suspension because when I reversed with near full wheel lock on their soft factory floor I had noise and shudder, but apparently this is normal on their soft factory floor, and I have only had one (much more minor) experience of this phenomenon, also on non-tarmac. All fine.

Result - fully functioning car, free oil change at 1000 miles (GREAT for my engine, the excess metal from running in will be gone) and a replaced foglamp glass. Oh and I got to see a lot of Ferraris, Lambos and Bentleys. Still prefer my Brera! (Though I suppose I would swap here for an AM Vantage/DB9 and nothing less, but don't tell her that ;) )

A very happy Fishy.

WELL DONE HROWEN!!
 
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