Oil Overfill - Urgent Help Required

If you are certain there is too much oil in the reservoir:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Grocery store?

 

Looks like a turkey/chicken baster to me.

 

Checking California oil level is very specific, have you followed the instructions in the manual? If you're just checking it cold it's probably not giving you a true reading

 

A litre over is a bit much, problem is if it comes up the breathers it can end up in the inlets and mess up the Maff and air filters (this happened to my 599)

Having said that the 599 is dry sump where the California is a wet sump, not sure if that makes a difference and unfortunately can't advise whether you should drive or not.


Whereabouts in Europe are you?

 

Antony- You can get it out very slowly by just using a piece of hose, dipping it in and then putting your thumb over the end. Repeat multiple times. Might be a bit messy, so use some rags and have a container near the filler for the oil.

 

I have attached a drawing of the F136 engine of your car (courtesy of Ricambi). From this drawing you can see the dip stick tube is indeed the best path.

If you can get a turkey baster, it may fit the tubing and you can use it to draw a larger quantity of oil. I would save the extracted oil in a clean plastic cup in case you take out too much and have to add some back, if you don't have engine oil with you.

Hopefully you can find a hardware store/supermarket that carry the items you need.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I overfilled my oil not knowing what a dry sump was and ended ups using a Turkey Baster to resolve. Here's the blog post that details my idiocy.

http://blog.lovethe355.com/2013/11/wet-and-dry.html

If you can't get a Baster the you need something to syphon the oil out. Another maybe to call your local road side service. They may be better equipped that you are?

 

At many auto part stores you can buy a kit to change your oil thru the dip stick.

There is a large syringe with a pump which can be used to extract the oil. It might be helpful to warm up the oil a little so that it will actually flow. If the oil is too hot is will melt the rubber valves and connectors. You should be able to extract the liter you want.

The dark dip stick in the Cali is a hard read. Also the engine needs to be off. This is the opposite of a 360 or 458 where the oil must be read with the engine running.

Good luck!

 

This will probably my not help
The OP but I have used my vacuum bleeder for the brakes twice now when changing my oil and having added to much.

 

You probably have already dealt with your problem but surgical tubing and a large irrigation syringe will also work and can be found at any Doctors Office, Hospital, Clinic, Pharmacy, Fire House, Veterinarian, etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Additionally if you are near any Marine Supply or Marinas it's a common practice to change oil through the dipstick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hi All,

Thanks for the great posts on this subject!

I am the proud new owner of a 2003 360 Modena F1 Coupe for about 3 weeks now and am absolutely loving it!

While I did spend a lot of time reading the owners manual, I unfortunately neglected to follow the instructions to check the oil level while the engine was running. While filling up the car at a gas station a week ago, I took the opportunity to check the oil and while it was up to temp, it showed low so I added a quart out of concern. I then drove the car home (less than 2 miles), re-read the manual as well as a few websites, and realized the possible error of my ways! I restarted the car (for the first time since that) yesterday in my garage and allowed it to get up to temp in order to check the actual oil level. It was indeed above the Max. mark (by about the same as the difference between the Min and Max mark on the dipstick).

Thanks to this post, I think I am comfortable using a large syringe and hose to extract the extra oil (my service shop said they could perform the service using a similar method - hose and electric pump).

Two questions though:

1. Is it possible that the issues that can result from overfilling could have occurred with that amount of overfill and within 2 miles, driving normally?
2. Since the gas station did not have any 5W-40, I used a quart of Mobil 1 5W-30 instead. I realize that has probably lowered the viscosity slightly but should I just have the oil replaced?

Thanks again!

 

First of all Shawn, congratulations on your beautiful "new" ride. Is she a redhead?

Regarding the oil, to be safe I would remove the excess oil before driving the car again but my experience is only with wet sumps while I believe you car has a dry sump.

My understanding is that oil overfill issues with wet sump engines occur when the oil level in the crankcase is high enough to allow the oil to get picked up by the crankshaft and cause frothing (foaming). There will be a puzzling loss of power as throttle is increased. Damage to the crank seals can occur in severe situations. But again, this is with a WET SUMP engine.

I believe dry sump engines keep their oil in a separate oil tank, not at the bottom of the crankcase. But I wonder if there would be an issue if the overfill is enough to cause an overflow somewhere. When you had the hood up did you notice any oily smell? Perhaps someone knowledgeable on dry sump engines can comment on the effects of oil overfills.

As for the 5W-30 oil, unless you track the car or drive it heavily I believe you can replace it with the factory-recommended grade when it is convenient to do so. I understand the higher summer viscosity number (40 vs. 30) is intended to provide better engine protection when you drive the car hard, sustaining higher engine temperatures over long distances. If in doubt, give your service shop a call.

 

Michael,

Many thanks for the quick reply and feedback, and yes, she is a redhead . I will definitely not drive the car until the excess oil has been removed. From other info I've found, cars with dry sumps can also experience issues, albeit different from those with a wet sump. I will check with my service shop as to the cost to get the car over to them and the excess oil removed (assuming I don't plan to attempt it myself). Regarding the oil viscosity; I don't plan to drive it hard in the summer or at high temps for long periods of time and I definitely don't plan to track her

Side note: Apologies for discussing a 360 in the California section. It was the subject that caught my attention.

 

Well, your discussion of oil overfill is partially relevant so it's not really off-topic IMO.

Regarding the overfill, I imagine you can just drain a quart from the sump if you can jack the car up sufficiently to reach the plug. Here is a view of the sump from the Ricambi America website. And attached below is the schematic, #10 is the plug.

If you've changed the oil from cars before maybe you can post some questions on the 360/430 thread and ask for simple advice on how to let out the right amount of oil from the sump.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I have overfilled mind and used my vacuum bleeder to siphon the excess works great. It is also an easy way to do your brakes. Handy took if you have an air pump.

 

Michael - thanks again for the very thorough reply! I have changed car oil before albeit many years ago. However, before I go that route, I'm going to try the method suggested by Bob and others - using a pump to remove it from the oil inlet on top. I've ordered a suction gun with hose that is designed for the removal and addition of automotive fluids. Since I only need to remove a quart, it should do the trick. Will post the results!