Oil level is ridiculously high, please help!

[arcticspark]

Hi Everyone, thanks for checking this post.
I have just done an oil change on my ds3 thp 155.
I removed the sump plug and let the car drain for around 3 hours (whilst I went out and found a 27mm socket for the oil filter!). When I returned the oil had completely stopped emptying. I started filling up the new oil and added in about 3.8 liters before checking the dipstick. (I believed the fill level was 4.2 liters)
It showed around 2 inches above the highest fill mark. (yes I cleaned and rechecked) Obviously this is quite worrying, I drove it to work the next morning and checked after letting it go cold through the day and the oil was still the same level. my question is, is there anything additional that I need to consider when changing the oil, like an oil reservoir somewhere? or is my dipstick too long?
Should I dump the oil and refill using the marks?

Any advice would be very appreciated as i'm quite worried about it!

Luke

[Chris_Blue]

If it were me would either get one of those machines that drain oil out through the dipstick access, or drain all out and put back in at correct amount. Can only think you've made an error on filling(Easily done)

So long as it was drained OK. Maybe leave the car overnight for the engine to drain of oil

Think about a magnetic sump plug as a replacement too- catches all the minute metal fragments
Don't forget to change the sump plug washer

[Czar]

If it were me would either get one of those machines that drain oil out through the dipstick access, or drain all out and put back in at correct amount. Can only think you've made an error on filling(Easily done)

So long as it was drained OK. Maybe leave the car overnight for the engine to drain of oil

Think about a magnetic sump plug as a replacement too- catches all the minute metal fragments
Don't forget to change the sump plug washer

Think about that statement, if you've to rely on a magnet to catch ferrous metal fragments, what is the oil filter not doing, and what component is disintegrating to produce the metal fragments in the first place, that the oil filter can not entrap !!!

[Jan79]

Think about that statement, if you've to rely on a magnet to catch ferrous metal fragments, what is the oil filter not doing, and what component is disintegrating to produce the metal fragments in the first place, that the oil filter can not entrap !!!

Such a magnetic plug isn't used to replace the filter but to give you a warning. Metal on the magnet -> something is going wrong. If the filter catches these metal parts you won't have a warning.

[Chris_Blue]

Think about that statement, if you've to rely on a magnet to catch ferrous metal fragments, what is the oil filter not doing, and what component is disintegrating to produce the metal fragments in the first place, that the oil filter can not entrap !!!

Yep- we have had this debate before Czar, understand what you say, but for £20 think I would rather have one collecting fragment's, than not and have those fragments circulating.

Its another small safeguard which may just help....

[Czar]

Such a magnetic plug isn't used to replace the filter but to give you a warning. Metal on the magnet -> something is going wrong. If the filter catches these metal parts you won't have a warning.

Have a think about what you've wrote too, the oil filter is in place to entrap particles suspended in the oil, the paper element of the oil filter will entrap particles as fine as 5 micron, when you change the oil filter you should check it, it's very easy to do.

Now, the magnetic sump plug attracts ferrous particles, the particles do not stay attached to the sump plug under pressure from constant wash movement, whilst the engine is in use, any particles which do attach, only do so once the oil is stationary.

Now think about this, you say ferrous particles attached to the sump plug, are a warning, once you've got ferrous particles in the oil, it's already too late as a warning, a component has already started to disintegrate, upon removal and visual inspection of the oil filter, will give you all the necessary information, the ferrous and non ferrous particles, glisten like glitter in the light.

Final note, how many of you with magnetic sump plugs, take any necessary action about the ferrous particles attached to your magnetic sump plug, I will answer that for you, that will be a BIG fat ZERO. !!!

[Chris_Blue]

Final note, how many of you with magnetic sump plugs, take any necessary action about the ferrous particles attached to your magnetic sump plug, I will answer that for you, that will be a BIG fat ZERO. !!!

Well- every 3 months when I did an oil change I wiped the small amount of iron filings of the sump plug. It was more like dust and sludge TBH. If your analogy is correct, if there were some metallic residue in the oil due to component breakdown, it would be collected at filter anyway, so you wouldn't know you had a component breakdown.

The sump is also constructed so that the sump has a convex recess in it anyway..... to collect crap.

[Czar]

Well- every 3 months when I did an oil change I wiped the small amount of iron filings of the sump plug. It was more like dust and sludge TBH. If your analogy is correct, if there were some metallic residue in the oil due to component breakdown, it would be collected at filter anyway, so you wouldn't know you had a component breakdown.

The sump is also constructed so that the sump has a convex recess in it anyway..... to collect crap.

LMAO, oh C'mon Chris I expect better from you, the recess is there to add strength for the plug hole on an otherwise flat pressed steel sheet and to aid draining.

[Chris_Blue]

LMAO, oh C'mon Chris I expect better from you, the recess is there to add strength for the plug hole on an otherwise flat pressed steel sheet and to aid draining.

I'm sure you know better than me- but as a layman i'd remark that it did well to collect sludge and debris
Can quite see it would add strength- my point is that it had an additional benefit

if in doubt- get one!

[Jan79]

I've never opened a filter cartridge after replacing it and just looking into I won't see nothing.
If you find metal parts you can inspect your engine and find the faulty parts before a major damage is caused by this single faulty part or you drive your engine until break down and get a new one.
It always worked on our race car and didn't do any harm and also did not cost a fortune.
I can assure you that magnetic particles won't be washed away by the oil. They will stick to the magnetic plug. First hand experience!

[Czar]

I've never opened a filter cartridge after replacing it and just looking into I won't see nothing.
If you find metal parts you can inspect your engine and find the faulty parts before a major damage is caused by this single faulty part or you drive your engine until break down and get a new one.
It always worked on our race car and didn't do any harm and also did not cost a fortune.
I can assure you that magnetic particles won't be washed away by the oil. They will stick to the magnetic plug. First hand experience!

Hmmmmm interesting, a little physics to be going on with, magnets are dipoles, they have opposing charge fields, with a given magnetic direction at each end, with the alignment of the molecules in the same direction, at room temperature, now, when we heat a magnet the molecules loose their polar alignment direction, this variation or random change of molecule direction, reduces the strength of the magnet, the more we heat a magnet, it becomes less magnetic

Hence why I can factually state, that during engine use, ferrous particles will be less likely to stay attached to the magnet given the inefficiency of the magnet, from the hot oil and engine working temperature, which under pressure wash and surge, will wash the particles off the magnet, once the engine is switched off, and as the engine and oil cool, the molecules of the magnet begin to realign increasing the magnetic field, attracting suspended ferrous particles.

[Jan79]

I really doubt that i achieve the curie temperature inside the oilsump of my engine.

[Czar]

I really doubt that i achieve the curie temperature inside the oilsump of my engine.

Then as you reach the curie point 1417°f or 769°c your magnet is no longer a magnet, and your oil will be way beyond its shear point, rendering it useless with no protection, dishwater comes to mind.

[cyclone]

In aviation industry we rely on a chip detector in components that are filtered and also in unfiltered gearboxes. A chip detector is a magnet and when a metallic particle of a certain size sticks to the magnet it completes a circuit illuminating a warning light. It is also a regular inspection to pull these chip detectors, inspect them for smaller particles. There is always always what we call fuzz that is minute particles that are part of normal wear and what would normally be caught in an oil filter. Often will be metallic particles visible as such that are to small to set off the warning light. So Yes magnets do catch and hold metallic particles.

Do I use one in my car No that's what the filter is for and it does its job well.

Regardless we seem to be straying from the original posters problem. You do not want to be driving around with that much oil in the engine. Would drain the excess out. If worried then complete drain and refill. No need to wait hours or anything like that before refilling.

[arcticspark]

Thanks for the replies, didn't mean to open a can of worms! I drained and refilled, was just human error and all seems to be fine now.