HELP....My buddy put too much oil in his F355

My buddy is not a member but I am so I thought of posting this for my buddy.

This evening he called me in panic and said his F355 has black smoke coming out of the exhaust. The poor guy had a fire extinguisher in hand already just in case. First thing I told him is to shut the engine off and let it sit but watch the engine bay just in case. I asked him what he did as he is a new Ferrari owner he did not know about the dry sump that you check the oil when the engine is hot. He poured in three quarts of oil thinking it was low when the engine was cold (common mistake for alot of NEW Ferrari owners. AS I always say, when in doubt ASK!!!

Anyways, I instructed him that once the engine was cold enough to touch (not to get burned that is) I had him jack up the car and drain the three quarts of oil he put in draining it from the sump plug underneath the car which he did. My question is this.

Is there anything else that he may need to do before he fires up that Ferrari engine again? I had him check the MAF sensor and air intakes and he said no oil or residue is on it but I had him clean the MAF with a MAF cleaner and the K&N filter with the K&N cleaning solution anyways just in case.

Any suggestions from anyone would be great since I cannot think of anything else but what I mentioned. I know he will NOT sleep a wink tonight for he is so worried.

Thanks for helping !

 

Welcome, Ed.

Looks like you have had a few cars!

I am sure some of the 355 wizards should be able to help out here.

 

turkey baster also works, but with 3 qts it might be faster draining it.

 

Greg,

You have been most helpful. Thanks for your guidance on how F-Chat works. Us new guys have to learn this real fast if we want help the right way. I will check out your web site to place an order on the mats real soon. Until then, thanks again.

Regards, ED

 

Say.......I never thought of that. Great idea. Its better than getting underneath the car but three quarts I think your right about draining it the right way. Thank you for that info.

 

Garden hose also works. If you can whistle, you know how to work it.

 

Old post....but adding to it anyhow. Yes, check/ replace air filters and spark plugs, correct? If there was too much oil, would it not affect both of the aforementioned components? Blue or black smoke would confirm the oil overfill....ok, so does that mean there might be significant damage to anything other than the plugs and air filters? I'm here posting because I checked my oil 4 days after buying a 355, (97, 14,500 miles, and quite clean.) I bought the car , drove it home 500 miles after flying out inspecting and purchasing.Checked it after oil was quite hot, turned off the car, immediately unscrewed the cap, wiped the dipstick clean, screwed it back in, checked it...and it was ABOVE the max level, climbing up the dipstick about 1/3 an inch, on the circular part, not the flat part. It freaked me out. SO, I turkey-basted out a quart. It was brown, but not black, and needs a change. REchecked it again after temp was brought back up, still seems high. No smoke from exhaust. Oil pressure is 20 at hot idle, 65 at 6000 RPM. While driving, the oil pressure usually sits at about 11 o'clock, or 60, maybe 65 by the gauge . Power is immense, idle is smooth with a slight occasional dip to 900Rpm from the usual 1000 RPM idle. A throttle-blip cures that. Everything feels right. All three gauges (2 temperature, 1 oil pressure) seem to always remain at the 12 ish position (straight up, more or less.) No red lights but the check-engine light is ALWAYS on. The SLOW DOWN light blinks every time I start it from a cold start, but goes away after spirited driving. A new battery was installed last week by the owner, and its questionable whether or not the ECU was reset properly. Concerned about all of this, and would LOVE some feedback. I want to fix all of this ASAP. Tanks in advance! -Brian

 

The only thing I know about over filling oil in an engine is that one of the big dangers that can occur is when the the oil level in the oil pan gets high enough, the crankshaft will touch the oil. When you run the engine, it's like running a mixer to make whipped cream. It will whip air into the oil which detracts a bit from its lubricating abilities, as you might imagine.

 

If I understand correctly, you have had the car for only a few days? If so, there may be several unrelated issues to look at. The CEL and the SDL lights may or may not be related.
I presume you have done an ECU reset?

 

Depending on how much oil. This could end up on the top of the piston causing a rod to bend.

 

ROTFLMAO!! . Don't know were to start on that one.

 

Nevermind. Nothing to add here.

 

Most of the Ferraris, at least the F355 have a dry sump lubrication. Most of the oil is kept in the tank which level you measured. Oil is pumped into the engine and back from the oil pan into the tank. If the pumps are running correctly the crankshaft can't splash into oil.
I have a Maserati 4200 (thinking about buying an F355) which also has a one quart or 1cm too much oil in the tank. I asked a technician from a Maserati dealership. He told me that I can ignore it, if it's only one quart to much.
If somebody has a drawing of the tank, we could find out how much overfill would be possible. My personnel opinion: one quart too much would be ok, if it would be more I would remove it.
You could also check this FC thread from 2010: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355/294849-over-fill-95-355-oil.html
Could the CEL be caused by a contaminated MAF?

 

Really ? I once had a shop that put twice the amount of oil in the engine than required. They started it up and bent a couple of rods. Subsequently they put forward a claim to their insurance. It was a diesel however.

Saw the same thing with some cars that had fallen on their sides.

I'm going to assume you know that fluids cannot be compressed ?? In which case overfilling with pistons going down, the engine is able to pump the oil upstairs, which the engine is then trying to compress...

 

Yea, I knew you would come on trying to defend what you said . First from the get go, I know that this maybe can happen on some other make of car. But we are talking about the f355, right? In this case with an over fill of just 3 quarts.
Any how, you say a Ferrari shop you.know (we are talking about a f355 engine now arnt we), that put in 18!!!!liters of oil into the 355 engine, This caused the engine to bend a couple of rods.....really? Oh and and you have seen a 355 that have fallen on its side and that to caused rods to be bent, I assume the oil doubled in capacity to to fill the bore. Is that right?
But this being fchat there will no doubt be some one coming along to say they have a Ferrari 355 in there workshop right now that A) was over filled with 18 liters of oil and has bent a rod. Or B) Has fallen on its side and magically produced extra oil that cause the rod to bend. Of that I have no doubt But I bow to your experience in these matters of 355s over filled with 18 liters of oil. Please some one post pictures of this phenomenon.
However my original response was due to the fact that the original posters mate will be ok with just 3 quarts of extra oil in this case. He's 8 liters short of a double over fill, so his rods are going to be ok. Phew
Now i remember one time when I left of a dust cap from my front wheel, which caused my gear box to fall of, now that was a funny day. But I digress

 

Great guy you are mister wise guy.

An engine can be damaged by an overfilled engine period. A dry sump pan is a shallow pan, period. Any dry sump pump will leak oil past it into the pan. If you don't believe that, ask the racers why the need to turn the pump with a drill previous to a start. Maybe Ferrari has a valve in their lines, I do not know, but an overfilled engine poses a risk period.

But in all of your Godgiven wisdom : tell me why the oil level on a Ferrari needs to be check with the oil warm. Why is it so crucial then .

Maybe, just maybe, if you overfill the reservoir and nothing can be added anymore, subsequently the pan floods ?

 

Oh so there are no 355s that you have seen lol
Yea I know all about the 355 engine, I have only just completed a rebuild from the crank up
But come on, 3 quarts of oil and your trying to scare the guy
Now about this Ferrari you saw that had double the oil capacity and bent a rod. I can't find any info on google about it. Can you help with a link?

 

Can you read ? Apparently not.

Overfill a reservoir of a F in cold condition. I bet my ass there is oil drained to the pan. This oil gets pumped to the oil reservoir pronto after starting. But the reservoir is already overfilled. What happens ?

 

Now are you being cryptic again
Oh wait a moment, you were giving scare mungering advise to a guys mate who acualy owns a ferrari, when you don't? Cool

 

put your brain to work and you will figure it out.

 

I did an ecu reset overnight with the headlight switch turned on AFTER I turned the battery "off", so to speak, by twisting the black knob. (Someone said that the ECU needs to reset properly by also turning on the headlight switch and turning off the interior components. (question: is AUT on the vent fans the same as off? I put the fan to "0" and put the vent to "Aut" after 1 min, realizing I forgot to turn off the interior components.)

No luck with the engine light or "slow down" light. I let it idle for 17 min, the fan came on, it almost stalled at one point but it caught itself and the idle seemed to stabilize. went for a drive, the oil pressure light flickered twice, and it stalled as I was pulling in for gas. Wonder if removing a quart of oil dropped the pressure? I was under the impression that it would not drop the pressure. Thanks for your help! -Brian

 

The ECU reset is done with everything off and the engine at idle. All switches, including the lights must be off. You say vent fans - I presume that you mean the A/C rotating switch. Never mind that, it is the button to the left which must be in the "off" position. The button is marked "stop". On most models it must be depressed (and lit up) to be off. I know, it's a strange system. In any case, the A/C system must be off for the reset.

The amount of oil in the lubrication system, if within normal limits, should have no influence on the oil pressure; the pump just needs to have "access" to enough oil at all operating conditions.
As for the warning lights, they are there for a reason and you should have the cause checked out by a Ferrari dealer with a systems diagnosic unit. It will cost you a few dollars but it's certainly money well spent.

 

Dino have you ever put 3 quarts extra in your 355?

 

Going back along time a go when i had my first 355. I did accidentally over fill my tank by two litters. It only dawned on me a few days latter when I realised what I did after reaserch. It certainly did not fill the bores with oil and brake a rod. Has anyone had a broken rod because of this on a 355? I also personally know of a couple more 355 owners that have not understood the procedure of how to read the 355s dip stick and over filled there cars with oil.
So I kind of get the gist of what you are implying Note that at no point did I say that it was a good idea to drive around in an over filled car, before any one accuses me of saying that
To explain my original response of ROTFLMAO. It seems that every time someone posts a problem/query, there's always some one who postes an over the top extreme case scenario. That's why I laughed because I knew that was coming. I am not the only one who feels that way, it's just that I posted and expressed it with a ROTFLMAO and this
But please, prove me wrong and tell me about when this has happend to a road going 355.

 

As you will probably know, a dry sump is the same, whether a Ferrari or any other car. Nothing magic in that respect.

Here is a service bulletin for a LS7 engine (dry sump)

05-06-01-032B: Information on Over-Filling Dry Sump Oiling System and Maintaining Proper Oil Level on LS7 Engine - (Feb 28, 2008)


Subject: Information on Over-Filling Dry Sump Oiling System and Maintaining Proper Oil Level on LS7 Engine


Models: 2006-2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with 7.0L V8 Engine (VIN E - RPO LS7)

This bulletin is being revised to add 2008 model year and add information on checking Z06 engine oil. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 05-06-01-032A (Section 06 - Engine).


The 2006 through 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is equipped with a dry sump engine oiling system. When adding engine oil to the LS7 dry sump oiling system, care must be taken to avoid overfilling the system.

Caution: Overfilling may cause over-pressurization to the system which may result in damage to the engine and emissions system components.

The capacity for the LS7 oil fill (with filter) is 7.6L (8 qts). When checking the Z06 engine oil level, follow the service instructions in this bulletin.
However, if the amount of engine oil in the system is unknown due to repairs or other causes, the entire system should be drained and refilled with the correct amount of engine oil.

Checking Z06 Engine Oil

It is a good idea to check the engine oil level every time you get fuel. In order to get an accurate reading, the oil must be warm and the vehicle must be on level ground.

The engine oil level indicator handle is a yellow loop. The level indicator is located on the dry sump engine oil tank. The location of the dry sump engine oil tank is on the passenger side of the vehicle.

Z06 models have a dry sump engine lubrication system. This high-performance system operates differently than a standard engine lubrication system and requires a special procedure when checking the engine oil level. Follow this procedure closely when checking the engine oil level.

The engine oil level must be checked when the engine is warm. Cold oil level in the dry sump tank may not indicate the actual amount of oil in the system. With this system, engine oil is contained in an external tank, separate from the engine.

Under normal operating conditions, the oil pan under the engine does not store any oil.
If the vehicle has been parked for an extended period without the engine being started, some oil will seep back into the oil pan, reducing the amount of oil held in the dry sump tank and there could be no engine oil at all showing on the level indicator.

This is normal since the level indicator is designed to read engine oil level only after the engine has run long enough to reach normal operating temperature.

Do not add engine oil based on cold engine level indicator readings. The engine oil level on the level indicator will also be inaccurate if checked while the engine is running.

To obtain an accurate engine oil level reading, warm up the engine to at least 175°F (80°C). Cold oil will not give a correct oil level reading.

Once the engine is warm, turn off the engine. Checking the oil while the engine is running will result in an incorrect oil level reading.

Wait at least five minutes (but not more than 20 minutes) to allow oil to drain and settle in the engine.

Remove the level indicator from the external engine oil tank and clean it with a lint-free paper towel or a cloth. Re-insert the level indicator into the external oil tank, pushing it all the way in until it stops.

Remove the level indicator from the oil tank and read the level on the cross-hatched area. Oil levels that fall in the cross-hatched area are normal

Do you see the lean with the CAUTION. It says overpressurization in the system.

Continue to excercise your brain and you will get there.