Checking Oil Level

[TypeRice]

i was told that when u check the oil level, the oil level should be just abit below the dot..

that is the best level apparently..

but when i got my car serviced.. i cheked the oil level at home.. and it is like 2cm ABOVE that dotted line !!!!

so its like i have Twice as much oil in there than i should !!!

does it matter???

or should i take it back and tell em to leak some out so make it below the dot??

[Honda Enthusiast]

i was told that when u check the oil level, the oil level should be just abit below the dot..

that is the best level apparently..

but when i got my car serviced.. i cheked the oil level at home.. and it is like 2cm ABOVE that dotted line !!!!

so its like i have Twice as much oil in there than i should !!!

does it matter???

or should i take it back and tell em to leak some out so make it below the dot??


To be honest, I am a noob myself...but I've been told again and again by so many people - never overfill oil as it will leak or cause some problems... the mark or dot is there for a reason... I don't know about you, but I sure don't wanna experiment with my car to see what it'll do if i'ts over...I would just ask the mechanic over the phone mate and she what he says, then you can check back with us or something as a point of reference but yeah, I would keep it was prescribed.

[aaronng]

I noticed that the dealer tends to do this too. I had1.5cm over the dot. I got under the car with an oil tray, took off the drain bolt and let some of the oil drain out and then put the bolt back on. Make sure your engine is cold when you do this and that you are wearing latex/nitrile gloves.

Of course, if you are not familiar with DIY, then get the place that changed your oil to drain it for you. Free of charge of course!

[aimre]

Im sure when honda design there engine, they allow for some error. Its called a factor of Safety of FoS. Everything got it. When they build a swing, no person will be over 150kg but they would design it to carry 200kg.

Although our engines would have this, you shouldnt rely on it and should keep between the two holes on your dip stick. but a little over wouldN'T do harm


Edit: Spelling

[aaronng]

Im sure when honda design there engine, they allow for some error. Its called a factor of Safety of FoS. Everything got it. When they build a swing, no person will be over 150kg but they would design it to carry 200kg.

Although our engines would have this, you shouldnt rely on it and should keep between the two holes on your dip stick. but a little over would do harm
Some error is probably 2cm above the top hole. If you go higher, Honda tries its best to design for stupidity but they can't design to accomodate all kinds of stupidity, especially the extreme ones.

[JasonGilholme]

Make sure you check it when your engine is cold otherwise you wil get an incorrect reading.

[aaronng]

Make sure you check it when your engine is cold otherwise you wil get an incorrect reading.
It's pretty much the same. You wait about 1-2 minutes when warm. The oil left in the galleries will offset the expanded volume of the hot oil. If you check when it's cold, the oil in the galleries would have drained back down into the sump, but the smaller volumer because of the colder temperature would compensate for that. Between the two, the error would be about 1-3mm.

[mastcell]

In general, you should avoid having excessive amount of oil above the 'Hi' mark on the indicator stick. This is because the excess oil will slush around when the engine is running and it will eventually leak pass the rear main bearing into the gearbox. If the car has a manual gearbox, a lubricated clutch is a bad, bad thing. The front main bearing will also fail, and the leaked oil will be thrown everywhere in the engine bay by the belts and pulley. Basically, a potential disaster.

[TypeRice]

alright .. thanks guys for da replys i am taking it back to da mechanics and gonna tell em to leak some oil out so that the level is right..


=)

[DOHCVTEC]

i was also told by honda dealers that overfilling by a little is good, it prevents it from dropping oil pressure during a high G corner

[AsH_]

does 2 much oil create too much pressure???

[EG5[KRT]]

um.. i have never had a problem with slightly too much oil... ive run oil 1 cm about the high dot and it has been fine... if you have tooo much oil the crank will hit the oil and cause it to foam... causing the consistency of the oil to b not as efficient in lubricating....

[OHH NO]

mine is about 1/2cm above the dot, no probs so far

[czy_sol87]

a little bit over the line isnt that bad, and is done by alot of mechanics to older cars, too much oil like 1L too much will do damage, but an extra 100-200ml should be fine

[Rice_4_life]

a bit over isn't a problem if you're still concerned either drain a bit out or burn some off :P
And most of the time mechanics do this is because they dont hav time to sit the car on the hoist for lik 20 mins and let all the oil accumulate bak into the sump then do a correct measurement. No biggie unless it's ridicously over the limit

[TypeRice]

is 2cm over the dot too much ??

ive been driving my car hard lately to hopefully burn some oil
but its still 2cm above da dot
is dat regarded as okay? or too much ?

[Spunkymonkey]

2 cms is way too much. Take it back and get them to drain it for you. Otherwise if you know a bit about cars, you just need to drain a little from the bottom.

[mastcell]

2cm may be too much. Drain some out yourself or take it back to where you had it serviced and ask them to do it for you. Stick to manufacturer's specification and sleep well at night.

[Limbo]

2cm is quite abit of oil.
The min level and the optimal level is only like 2cm.
a few mils over isusually fine.

Also the reason that they mechanics say that extra oil is better is cos they are lazy to actually start stop the car, then remeasure and slowly pour until you get the level right.

Also the other reason is that if your car is burning oil, it stops the chance that your oil will get to empty before your next service, and that you might need/want to sue your mechanic over not having oil in your engine.

Note: the recommend way that you check your oil is that you are supose to let the oil sit until the oil goes into the galleries. Usually start the car let the oil run around. Then let it sit for like 5min. Then measure the oil level and top up as required. Some of the mechanics say to wait overnight to check the level but i think that's overkill. 5mins is plenty.

You can undo the bolt at the bottom yourself, its easier and you know that it will be done properly

[TypeRice]

so wats a good method to burn the oil...

is it changing gears at higher revs???

[JasonGilholme]

You don't want to burn oil. Burning excessive amounts of oil is bad for your plugs. It also means that your clearences in your head or out.

Just empty it through your drain plug. Thats what its there for.

[bennjamin]

You don't want to burn oil. Burning excessive amounts of oil is bad for your plugs. It also means that your clearences in your head or out.

Just empty it through your drain plug. Thats what its there for.

The engine will naturally burn oil via the cylinder walls and also thru the PCV system too - alittle extra is fine. But as mentioned , if its OVER topped drain it !

[TypeRice]

how long would it take to drain it?

[aaronng]

how long would it take to drain it?
:eek: What kind of question is this?!?!?! Just drain it into a container and when it's about the amount overfilled, you stop. Take out 200ml first, close up the bolt and check the level. If it is still high, drain some more.

[mrwillz]

how long would it take to drain it?

lol
i can see u need to b taught inch by inch

[JasonGilholme]

The engine will naturally burn oil via the cylinder walls and also thru the PCV system too - alittle extra is fine. But as mentioned , if its OVER topped drain it !

Obviously. But if your car is burning oil to the extent of being able to loose 1 - 2 cm on the dipstik in a short period of time you've got a bit of a problem on ya hands.

[aaronng]

Obviously. But if your car is burning oil to the extent of being able to loose 1 - 2 cm on the dipstik in a short period of time you've got a bit of a problem on ya hands.
Not really. When overfilled, the excess oil tends to go into the intake manifold through the PCV and gets burnt. It does so pretty quickly without needing to have your oil control rings and what not worn out.

Of course, burning oil leads to spark plug fouling, a gunky piston head and combustion chamber as well as shortens the lifespan of your O2 sensor and cat.

[TypeRice]

alright guys.. all fixed up now..

my oil level is like half a cm above dat dot now
which is better than 2cm above..

[Rice_4_life]

do it urself or go bak?

[TypeRice]

took it back to da mechanics..

they also bolted my front bumper on tightly for me.. coz my front bumper was a bit loose.. and dey even put 2 extra long plate thingys (dunno how to explain) at da bottom of da front bumper to secure it.. so it wont move..

and didnt charge me for it..

so nice of them =))