Guys,

Let's start with a confession... I've been a lazy boy.

I hadn't topped up my oil for over a month. Primarily, this was cos I wasn't doing that much driving. Then I actually did a lot of driving and then I remembered...F**K! I haven't filled it in quite a while!

So I went to my local garage and the guy gave me a 5liter can. I poured 1liter into a spare can I keel as a top-up in my boot (trunk) and began to top up the oil. The engine took the full remaining 4 liters! Is this normal?

The car feels better at moderately high revs now, no rasp, more "fluid", for want of a better term. But once I'm idling (which has dropped to about 800rpm from over 1500rpm) and when I take off in 1st, the engine feels gritty and chuggy (excuse the onomatopoeic adjectives!).

I'm kinda worried about all this so if anyone could get back to me I'd be really grateful.

Cheers,

dzm

 

If it took 5 liters to raise the level to the top mark on the dipstick, there was WAY too little oil in the engine and you may have done some damage. How many miles did you drive during the period where you didn't check the oil? I can't believe the car would use that much oil unless you drove it 10K miles or more without checking it. If it used that much oil in less than 10K miles (not kilometers), there is something else going on with the car. Maybe not enough oil was added at your last oil change?

 

Hey Go48,

Thanks for the reply.

I drove less than 1000 kilometres I'd say. No more than that and possibly quite a bit less. Say 800km or so. (500miles)

I'm just a bit worried that it took so much oil in the first place. It has always driven well and performed well. That chugging at low revs is what's worrying me.

I'm not due a service for another 2500 miles/4000 kms. Reckon I should get it checked earlier?

dzm

PS - The low oil light never came on

 

This is a real puzzler. Let me get this straight. You checked the oil at some point and it was at the F mark on the dipstick, and then drove 1K km or less and then needed to add 5 liters to bring the level up to the F mark? With all due respect, that doesn't really make sense.

There is no way that you could have consume that much oil in 1K kilometers without the telltale signs of smoke, a puddle of oil under the car, or the low oil warning light illuminating. The oil low light should have come on when you were about 1-1 1/2 qts low (or thereabouts). So there is something else going on here, possibly with respect to how the 5 liters of oil was added to the engine, possibly the result of adding insufficient oil at an oil change.

Did you add the 5 liters yourself? And if so, did you add a little oil at a time and check the dipstick each time to ensure that you hadn't overfilled the engine? Are you sure that the engine is NOT overfilled at this time?

As far as taking it in for a check, I'm not sure what they would check at this point. If you tell them you had to add 5 liters of oil in 1,000 km, they will probably question that. I would advise you to try to figure out if there was a procedural problem with adding oil rather than the engine consuming the oil. Good luck!

 

The engine will hold MUCH more oil than it needs, be sure you didnt over fill it.

You added 5L and that brought it up to the F mark right? you didnt just fill it with 5L till it was coming out the fill spout i hope.

 

I understand that! It's not making much sense to me.

Yes

No sir.

Not at all. In fact, what would that mean? How would I rectify that issue?

Looking more and more likely...

Thanks for advice dude. I realise how rudimentary a mistake this may have been and hope there's no lasting damage.

A grateful Irishman,

dzm

 

Check the oil using the dipstick. Verify that the level is well above the F mark. If it is, drain some oil from the oil pan (might as well do an oil change while you're at it) or purchase a small hand pump with a small diameter hose that you can feed down the dipstick hole and pump out some of the oil. Periodically check the oil level as you remove oil. If you drain all the oil from the pan, add about 3 qts of oil and then add a little at a time, checking the level each time until the level reaches the F mark.

Better do it as soon as you can. Not good to run the car with that much extra oil in the engine. Read the comment on that specific issue in the owner's manual.

 

Thanks so much Go48. I'll take care of that tomorrow.

I really appreciate your assistance today. This is one of the best and most helpful sites I've ever visited.

Cheers,



dzm

 

Glad to help. Let us know how it goes. Erin go Bragh!

 

I had my first oil change done at Burt Mazda in Denver a three months ago. They overfilled the thing a bit but other members said that was ok. I kind of wonder now, anyway the level is accurate now although after only 1,000 miles on the oil it sures looks darker than I am used to with piston engines. Guess that is normal since the dealership do not drain the oil cooler. Mine is an auto.

 

Normal but not very comforting, for sure. The oil turns black shortly after it is changed due to the amount of old oil remaining in the system (as you know) and mixing with the new oil as the engine is run.

Unfortunately, it's not practical to drain the oil coolers and lines. Best you could do would be to, as has been discussed on the forum, drain what you can from the oil pan, add 3 qts or so, run the engine for awhile, and then drain it again. At least one forum member indicated that he does that, and I have considered doing it, but haven't yet. Lab analysis of my used oil shows that all the parameters are within expected numbers, so I guess color doesn't necessarily mean much. I think that as long as you change the oil frequently--like at 3K intervals--there should be no oil-related problems.