Over filling a bike with engine oil

[OzFighter]

A dopey friend of mine changed his engine oil and accidentally filled his bike up 1 & 1/2 litres over the maximum capacity limit and now the bike is running pretty bad. He only rode it for about 15 minutes, but in that time the engine got to near boiling point (but not over, though enough to cause radiator fluid to pour out of the overflow pipe) and now when backing off the throttle the engine braking feels like the brakes are being applied. When applying the throttle the bike hardly builds up any speed and sounds like a sick lawn mower.

I did some research for him and found that it is very bad to run a bike with too much engine oil as all the moving parts whip the oil into a frothy mix and it can be just as bad as running a bike with no oil at all. It can cause things like blown spark plugs and leaking of oil from all seals - most likely damaging them in the process. Apparently some bikes have an oil overflow chamber or something, but i dont think this one does.

I told him not to ride the bike until he drains the oil to the right level and to possibly get it checked by a mechanic asap, but what im wondering is if any critical damage may have happened in those 15 mins of riding. The bike sounds and feels shocking at the moment but will it go back to normal once the level is down?

Cheers guys

[Captain]

I overfilled my car once, and phoned my mechanic and he insisted I don't drive it, he came over and drained it for me (I could have done it, but we give him lots of work so he was happy to). In his opinion you can do HEAP of serious damage. I wouldn't have thought so ... at worse the big ends splashing about at little, but apparently so.

I guess the best thing is for your mate to drain the oil (I'd drain it all and see if any bits of metal come out) then fill it and see. What else would a mechanic do? open it up and inspect? I'd hate to have a hairline crack somewhere and not know aboit it, only to have the engine seize at high speeds ... maybe it is best to get some professional advice.

[Turtle]

Start it with the filler plug out.....that will soon get rid of some.........or most......:lmao:

[hoffy]

i had a mate who blew gaskets and shit due to over filling the oil, it can create too much oil pressure and blow gaskets.

In your case maybe damaged bearings, but im no mechanic.

[oz r1]

It blocks the crank case ventilation , builds up engine pressure and then blows seals out , it tends to leak oil then , lots.

[OzFighter]

That's what i was thinking. Nothing blew and there was no oil leaking but im wondering if the heavy engine breaking was the pistons grinding inside the housing or worse.

Id say cars can be a little more forgiving as they rarely go over 5-6k rpm. Bikes on the other hand sit on 6-8k rpm just cruising, so the time it takes to start damaging critical parts are greatly increased due to the rpm being 2x or 3x faster.

Oh well, fingers crossed and lessons learnt!

[RIPPERTON]

As an Apprentice I used to think the high oil level would undo the big end nuts but not so sure now.
I think it would clog the oil control rings but it wouldnt have an effect on oil pressure

[wade193]

How much over is considered dangerous? Obviously 1.5L over is, but just curious how much margin for error there is. (no i haven't overfilled anything :))

[holdontight]

If it started and ran for 15min its not to bad or as bad as it can be. If it was to full it will not start and can compression lock. But as it started and ran i'd say he maybe lucky. Drain and look for any bits and if theres nothing there refill and bring bike to running temp. Listen for any new noises rattels clunks. If theres nothing there and you have a stand lift it up und run it in gear jentley run it through the gears and listen for new noises. take for a short ride nice and slow and see if you can here any new noises. if its nice and quiet than i'd say no damadge done. but better to spend the time and go through it in stages than to have it lock up at speed.

[OzFighter]

Thanks for all your responses. I called him earlier and he had already drained the oil and put in the right amount back in. He thinks no damage is done, but there is a very slight new 'grinding' kind of sound. He reckons the bike runs better than it did before, so...guess he's lucky this time. Told him to get it to a mechanic for a once over just to be safe.

As for safe levels, i once over filled one of my bikes by about half a litre. Seemed a little sluggish and there was some oil leaks around the top of the engine block seal, but i just drained a bit out and retightened the bolts and it was all good.

Im pretty sure if there is too much pressure in the engine due to too much oil, the force of it can push on all the bolts as it gets hot. One the engine cools down the bolts will be loose due to the expanding and contracting effect of metal. I usually check all the engine bolts every few months just to make sure they are all tight.

Id say anything under a quater of a litre overfill is ok. Not great as it should be exact, but 1/4 of a litre is ok i guess. Anything over and you will get problems.

[hoffy]

Id say anything under a quater of a litre overfill is ok. Not great as it should be exact, but 1/4 of a litre is ok i guess. Anything over and you will get problems.

Mate, NO ! you fill to the top line on the oil window at Max, no more !!:spank:

:dancesmiley::stirthepot:

[Birdman45]

I put 5 litres of oil in a ford escort I had when I was 17. LOL Fuk me if I didn't drop the hugest cloud of crap all over Camden as I drove home. Thought I was on fire. LOL Ah, thanks for reminding me of the younger days.....

[trumpst]

Son (Not mentioning any names johnb!!!) put 4 litres extra in a ford Laser becuase the oil was new, he looked on the dipstick and thought it must be empty. Smoke and oil came out of every hole possible.(Drove about 20 km!!) Drained all out, put correct amount oil in and the car been going fine past 3 years now!:ayyy:

[Captain]

I put 5 litres of oil in a ford escort I had when I was 17. LOL Fuk me if I didn't drop the hugest cloud of crap all over Camden as I drove home. Thought I was on fire. LOL Ah, thanks for reminding me of the younger days.....

lol .... I had a ford escort, 1973 model, it was my first car. Something like this :lmao:

http://www.nextcar.com.au/e.i.2006.mfs.ford.escort.tc.1968.yellow.3998.r.00. 60.JPG

I also had one of these:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/2715491342_7c0fb5f50e.jpg?v=0

Which of course has absolutely nothing to do with the thread ... sorry :lmao:

[Johnny]

Mate, NO ! you fill to the top line on the oil window at Max, no more !!:spank:

:dancesmiley::stirthepot:


Stunters usually put that bit extra in ( upto 250ml), as doing wheelies for long durations at balance point, can starve top end of oil.

What Ive been told anyway, as I still cant wheelie, just wanted to throw a spanner in the works lol :lmao:

[Birdman45]

well some racers use a lil less oil, like just in the window, to provide max power, so there's another spanner for ya. Hahaha

Nah Clarkey, I had the later model, like this:

http://www.allford.net.au/Ford%20Escort%20Restored.jpg

Then I graduated to this:

http://www.britishtaxdiscs.co.uk/gallery/Ford%20Escort%20Van.jpg

and then this:

http://www.moparmuscle69.com/130403_OzHemi1_Valiant.jpg

[James]

and then this:

http://www.moparmuscle69.com/130403_OzHemi1_Valiant.jpg


:drool: :drool: :drool:

[holdontight]

Then I graduated to this:

http://www.britishtaxdiscs.co.uk/gallery/Ford%20Escort%20Van.jpg



I had one the same. trimed the rad support pushed back the firewall & droped a 2ltr into it. I loved that van. I rolled it but i loved it.

[Birdman45]

:drool: :drool: :drool:

I've had 3 of them.... the first one was awesome, won a couple of show awards etc, the 2nd one was just like the one in the pic, but silver and black, stock as a rock, hit a pole head on at about 80k's, fukt it (and myself), the last one I had was orange, was pretty good, just didn't have the time to drive it, and anywhere to put it when I had it, so sold it before it started going down hill. I love Chargers. Fav Car.

[James]

I've had 3 of them.... the first one was awesome, won a couple of show awards etc, the 2nd one was just like the one in the pic, but silver and black, stock as a rock, hit a pole head on at about 80k's, fukt it (and myself), the last one I had was orange, was pretty good, just didn't have the time to drive it, and anywhere to put it when I had it, so sold it before it started going down hill. I love Chargers. Fav Car.

Yeh they are awesome I had a Bathurst LJ XU1 and mates had Chargers and GTHOs - so got to play around with them and race against them often.
I do have an Autoart model of the E49 in my lounge room :ayyy:

[Birdman45]

This was the beast, pics are crap, pic of a pic, but you get the idea.

[Birdman45]

Crashed one bent the steering column up and snapped the wheel off the spokes of the steering wheel, derailed the seat......... not pretty .LOL

[triumph]

a wast of a good car .

[Birdman45]

got that right.

[James]

Ah the memories come flooding back. I love that sound of a high revving 6 with triples. Nice webbers there :ayyy:- 45s??
I had triple Strombergs on my beastie

[jace]

Hello Charger...:mod_smilie_rockwoot

remember that one ?


.

[trumpst]

My first car was an ex police charger- put a holly carburetor on it- great touring car- sold it when the little squids arrived! Still regret it! (not having the kids- selling the car:n:)

[Grunta]

you should really put in what the manufacturer recommends 1.5 lt over is not good. It would definitely be sluggish bordering on blowing seals and hopefully not bending some things.

[triumph]

Hello Charger...:mod_smilie_rockwoot

remember that one ?


. hello what??? its more like hey charger . with the peace sign .

[jace]

Hey.......Hello......Farrrrrk too long ago to remember.....:confused1:

Forgive me, I was still in nappies If born at all......

.

[James]

This one?

[Birdman45]

hahaha I was gonna say.... "hello Charger?" I used to get people doin that all the time in the city especially..... like they were the first and only to think of doin it. LOL

They were 48mm Delortos on the blue one, not webbers.

[James]

I blame the photo quality for the miscall :lmao: IMO the Italian Carbs were always slightly better than the German made Webbers. A mate used Delortos on his Mini Cooper S and use to swear by them vs. both SUs and Webbers

Ah a trip down memory lane.....

And sorry Ozfighter :threadjacked:

[Captain]

This one?

Drove the famous E49 once .... still remember that :)

[Johnny]

hahaha I was gonna say.... "hello Charger?" I used to get people doin that all the time in the city especially..... like they were the first and only to think of doin it. LOL

They were 48mm Delortos on the blue one, not webbers.

Dude, them things used to be called wog charriots back then :lmao:

Me, being a wog, and my brother owning one, I never lived it down, and I swear to god, each time I had to get in it, I had to hide in fear of being seen in it :lmao: .
Now thats a trip down memory lane, and a little more accurate one at that :)

[Birdman45]

Never got that, most wogs I knew drove Monaro's, and maybe the Valiant Pacer......... but Chargers got stuck with it, whatever, I just loved them coz they were the under rated inline 6 that held the standing quarter record for how freakin long??? beating the Phase III's, Toranas, even the 5l injected commodores and the like up until how long ago?? not that long. LOL

[DAVID]

Start it with the filler plug out.....that will soon get rid of some.........or most......:lmao:

:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::stirthepot: