Can too much oil cause damage
 

Hi guys.

Christmas eve the oil light came on, it was late and dark and I was miles from anywhere, so I pulled over. Got the trusted bottle out the boot and fumbled around like a blind man in a dark room attempting to get some oil in the hole I couldn't see.

Anyways, checked the oil today and it is about 1.2cm OVER the MAX LINE!! Panic .... will get some drained off ASAP ... but will running the Rotaty for this length of time with TOO much oil!?!?!?!

Dan

Does a bear $hit in the woods?

J/K!

I don't think it will do any major harm. There are some other threads regarding this issue, so you may want to do a searh. I think one is: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/can-you-have-too-much-oil-20651/

Several of us have had the oil overfilled by our Mazda service guys- so don't feel bad :)

Mine was overfilled over a year ago by about 3 cm and I have had no
ill effects from it.

I was overfilled pretty badly on my last oil change...I ran the car for nearly 2500 miles before the oil finally dropped back down to the full line. Didn't seem to have any ill effects on the car though.

Here you go, try this thread.

Gomez.

What size bottle were you pouring from? the distance from "low" to "full" is well over a quart (or litre). I wouldn't expect to end up far over the full mark with just adding one bottle upon seeing the "low oil" light.

There was an issue with early production that caused the oil light to come on prematurely. A TSB covers replacement with an improved oil pan. Don't know if this applies to you but thought I'd bring it up in case you weren't aware.

Overfilling in a piston engine usually causes the crank to whip the oil around, draining performance, and causing the oil to "froth"...or turn into foam. When oil's in an oxygenated state (think beer head), it doesn't lubricate.

However since the 8 doesn't have a big crank whipping the oil around, I'm not entirely sure what the actual physical effects would be in the rotary engine.

Was a five litre bottle, but only about have full when. Reakon probably about 2L went in.

Dan

Cheers for the replys guys. Got a day of today so gonna drain some off!! Then fit me new neons :D

Dan

I think you did more damage letting the warning light come on, than overfilling:rolleyes:
And then you checked 20days later. Too bad, I check once a week, and refill before it reaches bottom line.

Also keep in mind, total oil the car is carrying is 3.5L and difference from bottom line to top line on the dipstick is 1.7L (1.8quarts)

My understanding...
 

I am no expert on the rotary engine so the following statement comes from my experience with piston engines. From what I understand overfilling a car with oil will generally cause you to blow a seal. The extra oil increases the pressure on the system and it will pop at it's weakest point. In the case of piston engines the weak point is a relatively inexpensive seal that any mechanic could put in.

So to answer your question, no it’s not good. At the same time it’s not like your engine would explode, so not that big of a deal. In my circumstance I overfilled my Dodge Daytona by a whole lot, and nothing serious came of it. I would relax, drain it if you can, and start carrying a flash light.

Nope. According to the shop manual, the total oil capacity of the "standard" engine (automatic tranny) is 5.8L, the "high power" engine is 6.7L. When draining the oil for an oil change, about 3.3-3.5L will drain out, leaving the remainder in the oil cooler(s) and oil lines. See the attachment.

Note: I have found that if you raise the drivers side of the car with respect to the passenger side (side of the pan where the drain plug is located) while draining the oil pan, you will drain significantly more oil.