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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

engine oil overfilling --- is the level alive?


JohnA

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Thats a bit excessive is'nt it John....is that needed,

It depends on the pattern of usage.

If you only do 1000miles in 6 months and those miles are mostly full boost blasts, then the oil has got to go.

 

If you do daily mild motorway miles then after 5K miles the oil will still be useable.

 

(these are two extremes)

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... so I guess it doesn't blow the oil seals out straight away....

It's not excess oil that blows the seals, rather excess *pressure*

My first suspect would be crankcase pressure though, hence my obsession with keeping the stock crank ventilation setup.

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ahhh ok, thought excess oil might tend to excess pressure, silly me.

 

I looked at the oil left, I had 2*10l cans and now there is 4.25l left so no more than 5.75l can have gone in there (for full oil + filter change). I checked the oil level after parking it on more level ground yesterday and it's only reading a little over max now, so I think it might be ok.

 

very strange that the level moves like that. My suspicion is what you mentioned, that maybe the sump changes shape causing readings slightly above max to look way over max, i.e. the scale goes totally non-linear.

 

anyway I'll keep a close eye on it and if another reading shows it way above max again I'll be sure to drain some out, just not worth the risk otherwise is it

 

cheers for the help

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JohnA

 

Have you thought about spectroscopic oil analysis instead of throwing your fully synth lube out every 1500 miles?

 

Its half the price of an oil change or less, it shows you exactly how the engine is wearing, how the oil is doing, its suitability for the job, when it needs changing & even how effective the air filter is! Also it can be a good record of service & maintenance. What better way to prove the integrity of the engine to a prospective buyer than tens of thousands of miles of data showing how the engine is wearing.

 

I've done it on my 93 spec TT for the last 2 services & all's well in the engine. If something starts to go off, say a stuck or broken piston ring I'll see it in the wear metals & contaminants. Useful & cost effective!

 

I once wrote an article about oil analysis on LPG powered cars that shows how in depth it can be:

 

http://www.lubetrak.com/newsletter/May14HTML.html

 

If anyone's interested mail me direct.

 

Steve

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...Have you thought about spectroscopic oil analysis instead of throwing your fully synth lube out every 1500 miles?

maybe on a freshly-rebuilt engine.

Mine is over 100K, stem seals leak, turbos leak, not many surprises in store;)

 

even how effective the air filter is!

The stock filter changed regularly is as effective as it gets mate:D

Also it can be a good record of service & maintenance. What better way to prove the integrity of the engine to a prospective buyer than tens of thousands of miles of data showing how the engine is wearing.

What prospective buyer, I paid almost trade price on it and don't really expect surprises on depreciation either. It's hit rock-bottom by now.

The oil I buy cheap in bulk anyway, so it's better to dump it before it's totally knackered.

I've done it on my 93 spec TT for the last 2 services & all's well in the engine. If something starts to go off, say a stuck or broken piston ring I'll see it in the wear metals & contaminants. Useful & cost effective!

It's good in catching engine wear trends, just like leakdown tests.

Hell, even compression tests every time the sparks plugs are out can give an idea of engine wear. Free, too.

I once wrote an article about oil analysis on LPG powered cars that shows how in depth it can be:

 

http://www.lubetrak.com/newsletter/May14HTML.html

That's quite interesting actually.

How about you wrap it up in a document and submit it for the Tech FAQs of this forum?

I'd be interested, and so would be several others here...:)

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Well, sort of - there's also an oil/filter only change every 4,500.

 

Actually there isn't but so many people on here do it that its become part of Supra lore.

 

The service book specifies that the 4500 mile interim oil change applies to 4WD vehicles only.

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Slightly OT, but my Mum's friend was told the other day that she needed to top up the oil in her Punto, so she did. Right up to the top of the rocker cover. Needless to say, it was a little smoky. The AA man was amused though :)

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Never saw that thread before!

 

Anyway, attached are the relevant pages from my service book - this is a June '95 vehicle.

 

Well, bugger me backwards. I stand corrected.

 

Even more confusingly It looks like there is at least three different versions of the service book in circulation (plus, of course, the pre-1994 one(s) with the 6000 mile interval)!

 

Out of interest, what does it say on the front of yours? Mine just says "Petrol vehicles" or some such.

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