Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, I am very new to working on my Van and am learning a lot. I gave the van a service yesterday with the help of a friend. I did an oil and filter change on my 2.1 petrol. I refilled with 4.2l of oil, was told it needed 4.5l, however it is about 1cm above the max level on the dipstick.

I did drive the van and the level is still reading over. Will I have damaged it with too much? Do they really need 4.5l, should I drain and refill.

Sorry for all the questions I am still learning and don't want to ruin my van

unlikely you will have done damage but do drain some out, don't need to drain the lot, just loosen the plug let some out and get it back in.

I never fill by No of Litres, keep filling slowly and checking the dipstick

Worth noting 2 things on this subject, one is that it does not take much oil to go from minimum to maximum on a T25 dipstick, iirc it is less than half a Litre. Secondly, when checking the level, T25's seem to be more sensitive to being on a level surface, (both front to rear and left to right) than other vehicles I have worked on.

Thanks for the reply's, the van was on a level surface so it looks like i have overfilled the oil, i will remove the sump plug and remove some oil out. I drove the van for 10 miles hopefully i didn't do any damage

I don't think 1cm will have done any harm, it will still be below the level of the pistons (thank goodness ). You would know by now if any harm had been done. Lesson learned though

Strange....my 2.1 MV takes a little over 4.5 litres to hit the max mark on the dipstick (with oil filter change).

Such a small amount over the mark isn't going to cause issues, personally I wouldn't bother draining as it will burnt this excess off quite quikly.

Obviously not good practice especially if excessively filled..a litre or more overfull.

Martin

Thanks for that, i did change the filter as well. I will double check the level tonight after it has stood for a while and see if it has changed.

I am still getting to know the van, it didn't have a lot of history when i bought it a couple of weeks ago.

It is now that you work your way through the van, checking and writing your list as you go. Once you have established what needs doing, you can prioratise doing the important things first.

Antifreeze change
Brake fluid change
Gearbox oil change
Front brakes.....metal & flexi pipes.
Rear brakes
Fuel tank & lines
Bushes & mountings.
Tyres & exhaust.
Steering & suspension.
Wheel bearings.
Battery/alternator/earth points
Wipers/horn
Lights
Engine belts
Coolant leaks
etc etc.......

Martin

It looks like i will have lots of bits to learn but its all part of the fun thanks for the help

I inadvertently overfilled my DG engin with oil when I first got it.

The sump plug was rounded off, so I bought a Pela pump to suck the old oil out until I could get the sump plug sorted.

I changed the filter and oil, measured the oil in and sucked some out to what looked right on dipstick.

It must have still been overfilled as it blew some out through the oil pressure relief valve and into air filter box where it then dripped down onto exhaust and burned off.

No lasting damage was caused.

Chunksta wrote: It must have still been overfilled as it blew some out through the oil pressure relief valve and into air filter box where it then dripped down onto exhaust and burned off.

Just so you (and other "readers") know, I think you mean it ejected some of the oil through the oil breather tower. The oil pressure release valve is a different thing, in a different place (and has nowt to do with how much oil is in the engine).

Thanks Ghost, that's the one!