Engine Oil

[iallen1@btinter]

just had a second service on 1.4 tsi se 122bhp, the VW garage put way too much oil in after the first service and i ran it for two weeks before finding this out and they had too drain some out, after speaking to the mechanic who did the service yesterday he told me VW actually recommends 3.6 litres for an oil change when in fact its 3.45 litres is the correct amount, they are going to contact Vw regarding this matter but it is simply not good enough, shocking comes to mind, just wondering if my engine could of been damaged although it seems to run ok since the last service

[Keithuk]

Well Autodata say 3.6 litres for an oil change with filter.

It shouldn't make any difference of the capacity the oil should be dipped after filling anyway if they use proper technicians.

[iallen1@btinter]

I would hope there proper technicians as its a proper VW garage Gilders in Sheffield, the mechanic had serviced vws for 26 years at Gilders so i would of thought he knows his stuff

[Keithuk]

You would think so but obviously your oil overfill has proved they don't. I checked mine after I bought it back from service a few weeks ago and it was spot on.

Overfilling an engine with oil can do two things.

1. The air space in the engine is deduced therefore more chance of an oil leak developing due to the escaping gases past the piston rings.

2. If you have to much oil in the sump as the crankshaft rotates the crankshaft webs can dip into the oil in the sump and splash extra oil up the bores causing slightly higher compression. On a petrol engine this can cause detonation (pinking).

Oil leaks are an annoyance and pinking you will hear.

[Crasher]

Yes the service sheet does state that the fill capacity is 3.6 litres but a 0.15 litres (150ml) overfill will not have any detrimental effect whatsoever. However, this is no excuse for not using the dip stick. The way we do it is to fill them up to spec and run the engine, let it sit for 5 mins and then either top up or use a Pella to pull out any excess until the level is dead on the line.