Re: Overfilling motor oil

[Mike Wilkens <wilkens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Alan, thanks for responding.  I am not stressing over a dealer overfilling by
1/2 liter, but I am curious.  Regarding the apparently common practice of overfilling
M3s, I do not race, so I don't need to worry about oil starvation.  Nor does my
car have noisy lifters.

The service manager volunteered that they use two oil spigots, one for Porsches and
one for BMWs.  I think you're right that they squirt some chosen amount of oil in
and don't bother to check the level.


Mike wrote:
>> My dealer has apparently overfilled the motor oil twice.  (98 3-series.)
>> In both cases I had
>> checked the oil the morning after, and the level was above the dot, which is 
>> above the upper
>> notch.  The first time, I drove back, they said they redid the oil change,
>> and when I checked,
>> the level was right at the upper notch--right where it should be (I think...).
>>
>> Now they overfilled again: it's above the dot, which is at least 1/4 liter above the upper notch.

Alan wrote:
>Are you actually stressing over this?  1/4 litre is nothing.  Most people
>who autox or track E36 325/328/M3 overfill it by a quart on purpose to help
>ensure that the oil pickup doesn't suck air on hard cornering.


>>The upper notch is the fill-to point, right?  Why would a dealer
consistently make this mistake?

It probably actually takes a fraction less than a specified number of
quarts, so they dump them all in and not worry about it.



- -- 
Mike Wilkens			
Manager, Platform Development
Inxight Software, Inc.
Tel (408) 969-7455

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