overfilled engine oil

[hrscrk]

stopped snowing for a day so i started her for the first time in 6 mos and had lowlowlow indication on oil level

added a quart

no change

added another

now i'm overfull by a qt or more

how big a prob to drive it?

or drain it?

tx, gentlemen.

[JerryL]

It may get messy, leaking, will most likley smoke, I would pull the drain plug and let "some" out, eyeball it into a container and put the plug back in. No reason for a complete drain and refill.

Regards

[kidrock]

+1

[Forza]

And judge the oil level at the dipstick rather than the gauge on the dash ... hard to overflow that way! Warm her up, drain a bit, and when the dipstick level is halfway between the low and high mark when idling, you'll be good to go.

[brads911sc]

No. Dont warm the engine if you want to drain alittle out. If you warm the engine, you will let out the entire contents of the tank. It will be way to hot to put the plug in. Ask me how I know.

Let out about a quart... cold... then warm and check again. If you need to let more out, you will need to let it get cold again.

Originally Posted by Forza

And judge the oil level at the dipstick rather than the gauge on the dash ... hard to overflow that way! Warm her up, drain a bit, and when the dipstick level is halfway between the low and high mark when idling, you'll be good to go.

[Jerome74911S]

Rather than letting "some" out via the drain plug (a mess), try syphoning a bit out of the tank using some tubing. You and everything else will remain cleaner and you can be more accurate about how much you remove.

[Vincent Hill]

Originally Posted by Jerome74911S

Rather than letting "some" out via the drain plug (a mess), try syphoning a bit out of the tank using some tubing. You and everything else will remain cleaner and you can be more accurate about how much you remove.

Been there and done that! The problem for me is mine will not run with the Cap off of the Oil Tank! My 1976 ran perfectly with the cap off?? I have a Vacuum container that I use tosuck up a little out of the tank. The crazy thing is the Huge space between the Top and Bottom mark is about 1 Quart and mine being on the Tip at the Bottom I KNEW it would take 2 Quarts! If you have no Sipon or vacuum can then leave the engine cold and using a big pan that you have marked where 1 quart will fill it to, then drain the Oil for a very short period of time.

If you are too high in Oil the Excess oil will go into your Airbox under hard cornering and you WILL see SMOKE! You just reminded me to post about the engine stopping when I remove the Oil Cap.

[brads911sc]

If you install the proper restrictor ($14 from our host), you will be able to check your oil with the cap off.

Originally Posted by Vincent Hill

Been there and done that! The problem for me is mine will not run with the Cap off of the Oil Tank! My 1976 ran perfectly with the cap off?? I have a Vacuum container that I use tosuck up a little out of the tank. The crazy thing is the Huge space between the Top and Bottom mark is about 1 Quart and mine being on the Tip at the Bottom I KNEW it would take 2 Quarts! If you have no Sipon or vacuum can then leave the engine cold and using a big pan that you have marked where 1 quart will fill it to, then drain the Oil for a very short period of time.

If you are too high in Oil the Excess oil will go into your Airbox under hard cornering and you WILL see SMOKE! You just reminded me to post about the engine stopping when I remove the Oil Cap.

[tshih]

Always just drain from the engine sump (3 qts at most) drain plug. If you try to drain from the oil tank near the wheel well 9-10 quarts will gush out. That's why they call it a dry sump!

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Forza

And judge the oil level at the dipstick rather than the gauge on the dash ... hard to overflow that way! Warm her up, drain a bit, and when the dipstick level is halfway between the low and high mark when idling, you'll be good to go.

Yeah, think with your dipstick.

[Vincent Hill]

Originally Posted by brads911sc

If you install the proper restrictor ($14 from our host), you will be able to check your oil with the cap off.

Not to Hijack the thread, But I took a 10 minute look and could not find what you are talking about?? Maybe a few other do not know either??

[brads911sc]

930-107-289-00-m260

Enter it in search on parts section of Pelican. Its $14.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearch/pel_search.cgi?please_wait=N&forumid=&threadid=&command=DWsearch&description=930-107-289-00&x=18&y=8

Originally Posted by vincent hill

not to hijack the thread, but i took a 10 minute look and could not find what you are talking about?? Maybe a few other do not know either??

[Steve@Rennsport]

Originally Posted by brads911sc

No. Dont warm the engine if you want to drain alittle out. If you warm the engine, you will let out the entire contents of the tank. It will be way to hot to put the plug in. Ask me how I know.

Let out about a quart... cold... then warm and check again. If you need to let more out, you will need to let it get cold again.

Excellent advice!!

Check oil levels on the dipstick and only when the oil is hot,.......hot.

Don't run the engine until you do this, otherwise you leave a big thick layer of carbon on the pistons and combustion chambers that doesn't burn away.

[rgrimm]

One of those dirty (literally) secrets that all of us who have "been there, done that" hate to admit.

Try using a flexible tube to syphon some of the oil out. You should be able to work the tube down the filler next (I did have the dip stick out and it was relatively painless to get a quart I needed removed out).

A less dirty mess than taking out a drain plug. But if you to take out a drain plug, remove the sump, not the oil tank...much less oil to catch.

[Noah930]

Out of curiosity, those of you who recommend letting a little oil out, and then quickly sticking the drain plug back into the drain hole: How do you do that? I mean, how do you do that without making a ridiculous mess trying to plug the hole while all that oil is still gushing out? How do you not scald yourself on your oil, which is now nice and hot after you've run the car around a bit to bring up the oil temp to allow you to confirm via dipstick that yes you've really overfilled it?

Personally, I'd go for the draining of the crank/sump 'til it's empty, then refilling what you've overdrained as necessary.

[brads911sc]

LOL

On mine, I ran it until Hot as part of the oil change, noticed that it was 1 qt over... i let it cool overnight, drained 1 qt out. problems solved. I didnt make a mess at all...
If you do it hot, you will drain it all as there is NO way to get the plug back in.

Originally Posted by Noah930

Out of curiosity, those of you who recommend letting a little oil out, and then quickly sticking the drain plug back into the drain hole: How do you do that? I mean, how do you do that without making a ridiculous mess trying to plug the hole while all that oil is still gushing out? How do you not scald yourself on your oil, which is now nice and hot after you've run the car around a bit to bring up the oil temp to allow you to confirm via dipstick that yes you've really overfilled it?

Personally, I'd go for the draining of the crank/sump 'til it's empty, then refilling what you've overdrained as necessary.

[Zeke]

It 's not that hard to reinsert the plug when oil is flowing out even if it's quite warm. And real hot could be handled with some chemical gloves which you should have on hand if you clean parts in solvent.

[brads911sc]

I tried that one other time on a previous 911... Not as easy as it sounds at full operating temp... trust me.

Originally Posted by milt

It 's not that hard to reinsert the plug when oil is flowing out even if it's quite warm. And real hot could be handled with some chemical gloves which you should have on hand if you clean parts in solvent.

[Vincent Hill]

Originally Posted by brads911sc

930-107-289-00-m260

Enter it in search on parts section of Pelican. Its $14.

Pelican Parts - Automotive Parts and Accessories - Porsche & BMW

Thank YOU! I am glad someone knows about this!

[hrscrk]

thanks for the input gents

a: solved the prob using your suggestions

and

b: don't feel like such an idiot for having screwed up in
the first place. misery loves company