[nickw]

Hi, sorry if posted in the wrong area.

I checked my oil yesterday whilst filling up at a petrol station approx 5 miles up the road, I know I should of checked whilst cold. Anyway the reading showed the oil was below the min line, which worried me as it had an oil service in October by BMW. I do short journeys in the week, could this burn the oil faster ??? so I bought 1 ltr from the garage, I asked which one to use and the guy chose one for me as recommended by BMW suited to the mini, so that was ok as I had no idea (complete novice). I poured the whole lot in and carried on with my journey which was only another 10 miles. After 2 hours I checked again and the levels seemed ok above min, however the dipstick isnt the best thing to read, so I checked again in the morning today and now the level seems to be above the max line, but Im not to sure how much over, as it is hard to see on the dipstick. As mentioned I only do short journeys in the week and try to blast it as the weekends but not all of the time, what effect on my Mini is over filling on the oil. Will it damage anything ? Any advice would be appreicated.

Thanks
Nick

[Roadrunner_1]

Hi NickW, overfilling your car can cause oil to come in contact witht the crankshaft.....but this would need to be a serious overfill.... because the crank is spinning at many rpm it can cause the oil to froth, and the oil pump struggles to push it through the filter. To be honest I have overfilled my car before slightly and had no problems. As you only bought one litre I do no think it will be overfilled by much if it was below the min line before you topped it up.

Does this help?

[Richard Crofts]

as long as its not registering over the top of the yellow blob....not on the actual stick bit then you'll be OK. its unlikely to cause a problem and it sounds like your car is a bit of a burner anyhow so you should drop to normal levels soon.

[nickw]

Quote: Originally Posted by Roadrunner_1 (original)

Hi NickW, overfilling your car can cause oil to come in contact witht the crankshaft.....but this would need to be a serious overfill.... because the crank is spinning at many rpm it can cause the oil to froth, and the oil pump struggles to push it through the filter. To be honest I have overfilled my car before slightly and had no problems. As you only bought one litre I do no think it will be overfilled by much if it was below the min line before you topped it up.

Does this help?

Hi Roadrunner, thanks for the information. Does doing short journeys burn the oil faster than say doing longer journeys daily. You mention frothing, when I took the dipstick out there was a small amount of white substance and on the oil cap, is this becuase I do only small journeys. Is the oil filter changed on the service, I had the last service from the TLC carried out in october the car had done approx 40k.

Cheers
Nick

[nickw]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Crofts (original)

as long as its not registering over the top of the yellow blob....not on the actual stick bit then you'll be OK. its unlikely to cause a problem and it sounds like your car is a bit of a burner anyhow so you should drop to normal levels soon.

Hi Richard, You got me thinking so I just went out to check the my oil level. My mini has been standing still for over 4 hours on a flat surface. Now the reading has concerned me as the whole of the yellow dotted area is covered and the rest of the yellow blob. Checking with white tissue paper I would even say there is oil present beyond the yellow blob, hard to say by how much but definetely oil present. I performed this 4 times and all was the same, oil became present on the tissue before the yellow blob ie on the stick. Now I am wandering if the oil was low at all when I checked it yesterday (as it is hard to read on the dipstick) and I just panicked, I only put 1ltr in and like I said it had an oil service mid October by BMW. Lets assume my car hasnt burnt too much oil since then and now I have topped it up with another 1ltr what damage could this do or am I worrying about nothing. Like I said I dont do alot of miles in it more a small daily runner and occassionly weekend car.

Cheers
Nick

[iain cooper]

nickw, never take the oil level reading taken at the filling station as a true reading, only an estimate, ie is there oil in the engine !!

always best to check it when cold and been standing for a while to obtain an accurate reading.

at the worst you have a litre too much in your engine and if it was me I would drain some off as it is possible it could damage oil seals, but then again it might not, but always better safe than sorry.

what makes you think your car burns oil ? at 40K it should not burn oil.

the white substance on the filler cap is probably due to your short journeys where the engine is not run at operating temperature and the oil is emulsifying on the cap. Regular longer runs should clear this.

if everything is ok with your engine it should not burn oil on short journeys any more than long journeys.

[nickw]

Quote: Originally Posted by iain cooper (original)

nickw, never take the oil level reading taken at the filling station as a true reading, only an estimate, ie is there oil in the engine !!

always best to check it when cold and been standing for a while to obtain an accurate reading.

at the worst you have a litre too much in your engine and if it was me I would drain some off as it is possible it could damage oil seals, but then again it might not, but always better safe than sorry.

what makes you think your car burns oil ? at 40K it should not burn oil.

the white substance on the filler cap is probably due to your short journeys where the engine is not run at operating temperature and the oil is emulsifying on the cap. Regular longer runs should clear this.

if everything is ok with your engine it should not burn oil on short journeys any more than long journeys.

Hi Iain,
Thanks for your reply. The reason I thought my Mini burnt oil is becuase the dipstick read below min level when I checked it at the garage and it only just had its 40k oil change at BMW in oct so levels would have been set correct. I am a complete novice is it easy to drain the oil

Thanks
Nick

[iain cooper]

Nick, from what you say it's unlikely that you car is burning oil.

it's a good idea to check your oil level at least once a fortnight, maybe after you wash it, and top up the washer reservoir, etc.

also good practice to have a quick look underneath now and again for any oil leaks around sump area, etc Although if you park you car in the same place, on driveway, etc, you will soon spot a leak.

if you decide to drain some of the oil off best way is to unscrew the sump plug and allow some to escape.

you will need the correct socket to remove it, and perhaps an old tupperware or something to catch about a litre of oil. remember to do it when the car has been standing for a while, and check the level before and after you have done it, and top up as required to the correct level on the dipstick.

[nickw]

Quote: Originally Posted by iain cooper (original)

Nick, from what you say it's unlikely that you car is burning oil.

it's a good idea to check your oil level at least once a fortnight, maybe after you wash it, and top up the washer reservoir, etc.

also good practice to have a quick look underneath now and again for any oil leaks around sump area, etc Although if you park you car in the same place, on driveway, etc, you will soon spot a leak.

if you decide to drain some of the oil off best way is to unscrew the sump plug and allow some to escape.

you will need the correct socket to remove it, and perhaps an old tupperware or something to catch about a litre of oil. remember to do it when the car has been standing for a while, and check the level before and after you have done it, and top up as required to the correct level on the dipstick.

Thanks Iain, stupid question but I am assuming I can use the oil I've drain out to top up ?

Like I said I am complete novice who loves minis

Cheers
Nick

[iain cooper]

again Nick, I would not use the drained oil to top up, but there is no real reason why you shouldn't if drained into a clean container.

I would tend to fill up to level if required with some new oil, but then again that's just me !!

you could always go into your local, friendly garage, if there is such a thing, explain what happened and ask them to drain some off for you, and top up to correct level.

I don't know how your fixed for tools, etc

[jimcupra]

all engines will burn some oil off no matter what type of car it is max between service should be 0.5 litre any more and there is something wrong ie leak or valve stem oil seals either of which will be noticable. check your oil and all levels once a week and i def would not use the drained oil again even with the dipstick at the min mark there will be sufficient oil in the car between min and max will only be 0.5 litre

[MartinH32]

May sound obvious, but I know someone who has done this. When you drain the oil, make sure it isn't hot (ie. your car has been stood for a while). Also make sure you wear some form of hand protection!

(Eck! Starting to sound like my parents )

[jimcupra]

thats very pc and yes you are lol def the car should be cold no point getting roasted and def a pair of gloves my hands are ruined with working on cars

[Roadrunner_1]

Quote: Originally Posted by nickw (original)

Hi Roadrunner, thanks for the information. Does doing short journeys burn the oil faster than say doing longer journeys daily. You mention frothing, when I took the dipstick out there was a small amount of white substance and on the oil cap, is this becuase I do only small journeys. Is the oil filter changed on the service, I had the last service from the TLC carried out in october the car had done approx 40k.

Cheers
Nick

Hi Nick, Short or long journeys do not make much of a difference to oil consumptions. It is more the revs. Your car is more likely to burn oil if you are in the high rev range i.e over 5k rpm for a long period of time. You can always drain off some oil out of the sump if you are at all worried. Yes the oil filter is changed on the 10k approx service. Are you noticing any difference in the way the vehicle drives?

[SiBradbury]

Wow, i've not been on Mini2 for a while! Its all change here!

Anyway, i'm sure i seem to remember being surprised by the fact that the handbook recommends that you check your oil while WARM. Ten minutes after the engine has been turned off if I remember rightly.
It defies what most of us know about checking oil but i'm sure thats what the handbook recommended....

Don't take my word for it, please check, i no longer have a Mini so i don't have access to a handbook!

[iain cooper]

if you are going to drain all the oil, ie do an oil change, it's best done when the oil is warm.

reason is it flows out of the sump plug hole much faster and carries all the crap with it.

correct way to do it is take the car for a run to warm up oil, switch off and leave for 10 minutes to settle, then run off the warm oil.

while the last of the oil is dripping out proceed to change the oil fillter.

then replace sump plug and refill with new oil.

in Nickw's case all he wants to do is run off about a litre, so can do it cold.

[nickw]

Thanks for all your replies. Not sure why my dipstick read low below the min mark and I panicked topped it up with a ltr of oil and now the level is over the max mark, infact it covers the whole of the yellow blob and partially up the stick. So I am now getting worried as I am still driving the car only on short journeys and havent had time to go to a garge yet to drain the oil out. I am a complete novice and dont carry even the basic tools so cant even do this at home . I am hoping to get this done at the weekend, therefore driving the car 6 days with the oil over the max mark. I am hoping I am not damaging the mini.

Cheers
Nick

[SiBradbury]

Anyone who's a bit anxious about attempting to maintain their Mini should have a look at this, from the Haynes website: (Click the link in the grey box to look at all 4 pages)

Haynes Press Release

There's an entire index of those useful Haynes people here too:

Haynes Press Area - home