slight oil overfill - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

steve adams · 25th March 2002, 03:02

recent oil change by dealer put in the 15w-30 ... they overfilled according to dipstick by about maybe 1/4 qt ... worth taking back in for adjustment to oil level?

thanks ..

atomic80 · 25th March 2002, 03:06

Before I knew how to read the oil dipstick properly I would unknowingly overfill my oil. When one of the service technicians checked the oil, he showed me how to check it properly. He even was nice enough to drain the excess oil quoting that it was not good for the engine to have too much oil. It might be worth a trip to the dealership.

greg · 25th March 2002, 03:12

quarter of a quart shouldn't be any problem.

atomic80 · 25th March 2002, 03:18

I should have noted that I had about 1 quart too much oil at the time!

Jim Dolan · 25th March 2002, 05:04

How to read your dip stick is in the owners manual. It is important to not overfill but a 1/4 of a quart shouldn't be a problem. Too much oil can cause pressure on seals and gaskets and force oil into the cylinders.

Noka · 25th March 2002, 05:12

Owner's manual says let idle for "at least 15-sec" and then after "approx. 1-min" pull dipstick and check. What happens if you wait 1-hr or 1-day before you pull dispstick? I tried it a couple of times and didn't really notice a difference as I recall. Would it perhaps read too high if you wait longer?

Rdgs,
Norm

TCM · 25th March 2002, 05:35

Noka:

I beleive the only reason they say to let it idle for a couple of seconds is to get the oil circulating to get an accurate measure. If you check it when the car is cold all the oil has drained back down to the engine base and you will not get a correct measurement. I do not think driving it around for a long time would cause any difference in oil level from the 15 second idle.

Bart Carter · 25th March 2002, 06:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Noka
Owner's manual says let idle for "at least 15-sec" and then after "approx. 1-min" pull dipstick and check. What happens if you wait 1-hr or 1-day before you pull dispstick? I tried it a couple of times and didn't really notice a difference as I recall. Would it perhaps read too high if you wait longer?

The purpose of the procedure is to measure the oil when warm and when it has time to drain down properly.

I would guess that BMW felt having a procedure to check the oil when warm was better than checking when cold.

This is best accomplished for me when getting gas. I have the timing down so close when I go to the pump that I don't even bother counting seconds anymore.

Noka · 25th March 2002, 06:52

Thanks for the replies. Not sure I understand the concept behind it ... but will comply, of course.

Rgds,
Norm

steve adams · 25th March 2002, 08:55

thanks for the advice .... it looks like about a 1/4 qt over .... i need to stop by the dealer on monday anyway ...

hendrick bmw in charlotte has done a pretty food job of service on the M5 ... they had to replace the brake rotors and disks twice and the car has only 6K mi. on it ... I have not driven it excessively .. no track time ... seems the first set of brakes had the disk pads misaligned from the factory .. they are not sure what caused the problem the 2nd time ... but have been very helpful in repair under warranty ..

the clutch is starting to slip a bit... they are recommending waiting till the slipping really becomes obvious ... probably not wanting to raise a flag with BMW NA on warranty repairs on this car ... they'seem like good folks ...