Too much engine oil??

Dears,

I ve been having engine oil leaks since day1 basically and after fixing the oil pan and tightening the valve cover bolts I have new one now 'somewhere in the engine'.

I always have engine oil above the max level. Reason being if it burns oil I wont be stuck somewhere with my oil light on. Manual reccomends between min and max and says fill up if below min but mentions nothing if oil level is above max.

In short: could an excess quantity of appr 500ml (excess meaning above the max level) of engine oil cause leaks or any other trouble inside the engine? How critical is this quantity to the proper working of the engine? An engine which has never been in the track but is frequently revved to the 11000rpm region.

thanks all. Again.
Rgds
p.

An over full engine oil condition can and does cause all manner of problems akin to the ones you describe with your engine.
It's always been the case, ever since machines were created.

The manual is absolutely clear about the required oil level.
I advise you adhere to the manual.
It is after all, produced by the people who designed the machine.

You need to focus totally on fixing the oil leaks, or whatever your problems are with this machine.

THE FIRST STEP WILL BE TO RESTORE THE OIL LEVEL TO THE TOP LINE ON THE OIL VIEW WINDOW.
STRICTLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUAL.
THEN YOU MAY WELL FIND THAT YOUR LEAKS WILL BE MUCH REDUCED OR PERHAPS EVEN ELIMINATED.

I can't believe I responded to that post

Maybe I need to get some Viagra for my eyes, or somebody else needs it other than my good self

Very kind of you Brad, thanks

I have 2 questions for you.

1, How much oil do you think is actually in the engine if you believe it's 500 ml over full?

2, how much oil do you think the engine holds?

Thanks in advance

There is as Brad says, a chance that with excessive oil in the engine, you could be contributing to the cause of the oil leak/leaks. Excess oil can cause over pressurisation within the crankcase, something that was a common problem on early V-Twins, though they used to spew it back out through the airbox, as I found out to my cost! I would suggest if it's overfull, you have two options. Either pull the drain plug and change the oil out, refilling to the correct level, or with a thin enough tube and syringe you can remove the excess through the filler plug. The latter is time consuming and not easy due to access restrictions for the tube. If you remove the drain plug, don't forget to replace the copper crush washer as well, with a new one. You might as well change the oil filter at the same time, for complete peace of mind.

Thanks. Brad I dont know the answers to yr questions thats why I posted the thread. As stupid as it sounds to you. This btw is not a complain for the bike I love Ducatis.
The 500ml was measured with a syringe when I removed the oil from the top like topolino said. As for the oil capacity of the engine my guess is that it can hold upto 3.5-4L of oil purely from the engine-size point of view. Normal oil quantity needed is usually 3-3.2L incl oil filter at least for my last 4 Ducati models.
My oil leaks started from day 1 with the factory oil which incidentally was above the max level. However no doubt that excess oil can cause leaks.

PP1098, regardless of your current oil level, under normal load conditions, you should not be experiencing continual leaks. If, as you say, you have had the oil pan leak addressed, as well as the valve covers, then are you able to pinpoint the area where the current issues are? It would help others on here give you more helpful responses.

Like I said right now unknown. I can smell burnt oil but not sure from where. I agree that it should stop this is why I thought of the oil issue i.e whether excess oil and how much can cause leaks. Answer seems to be yes.

PP1098 said:

Like I said right now unknown. I can smell burnt oil but not sure from where. I agree that it should stop this is why I thought of the oil issue i.e whether excess oil and how much can cause leaks. Answer seems to be yes.

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Yes too much oil can absolutely cause leaks and much worse. It can actually seriously damage the engine given enough of it under the right conditions.

So start with your oil level at the top line of the sight glass (when the engine is dead cold and bike level). All in accordance with the manual.

The manual does state that the oil capacity is 3.7 litres with filter.
The quantity is incorrect, and too much.
The amount this engine will "actually" take is about 3.55 litres with filter.
For your future reference.

Why aren't your leaks being repaired under warranty by your dealer??????

PP1098 said:

Like I said right now unknown. I can smell burnt oil but not sure from where. I agree that it should stop this is why I thought of the oil issue i.e whether excess oil and how much can cause leaks. Answer seems to be yes.

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Then either take your bike to the dealer and have them fix it, or.........

Pull the fairings yourself, cleaning as much oil off the engine as you can using a clean white cloth. It's easier to detect oil on it by sight and smell. Next, clean any inaccessible areas of the engine with a water soluble degreaser. Wash off any residue with water, and dry off as much of the water as you can. Grab yourself a decent LED torch and run the engine up to normal operating temperatures to see if you can establish where it is leaking from.

It is notoriously difficult to pinpoint a leak after you have ridden a bike, as the air flow whilst you ride, will make the oil leak streak away from the source and can disguise where it's actually coming from. At least this way, you stand a chance to see where the problem is. Look for weak points, ie at a mating surface such as the crankcase join, generator and clutch covers, bottom of the cylinders to crankcases, cylinder head to barrels, valve covers (yes check them again), plugs, sensors etc, basically anywhere oil could potentially seep out. There are not that many points, but they are often hard to view behind all the other parts. A good LED torch with a narrow beam, will show up leaks best and try to check the bike outside under natural light, as opposed to at night, where too many shadows are cast and it's harder to see the engine 's nooks and crannies properly.

I went through the phantom oil leak thing on my StreetFighter so I feel your pain. What I ended up doing was removing all the superfluous plastics, etc. and cleaning the engine, hoses, wires, everything, etc. really, really well with Simple Green. Then I warmed it up to temp to try to pinpoint the leak. I have also heard of others dusting it with flour or similar so the leak path will show up more clearly. I still couldn't find it and ended up resorting to buying a UV dye kit. I repeated the cleaning process and then added the dye to the oil and ran it for a while. Then I put it on stands in my garage and turned out all the lights and covered the windows and climbed around underneath it with my special glasses and UV light. Finally found it, but it took a lot of doing.

i have a question . how do you know if the site viewer is correct. so basically if you bike is on front and rear stands and you are lucky enough to have the site viewer on your fairing and you look the viewer is empty if your bike has been in the garage overnight. do you add cause nothing is showing or do you let the bike run for 10 min to get everything going and then add if its low? do you add if its cold and nothing shows till it shows or do you add after the bike has been running. dont think this is a problem? if you add when the bike is cold you will add every day. i had my oil changed before i put the bike away when i look at the site view the oil reads empty. i know this isnt the case as i just had it changed.

mark419ny said:

i have a question . how do you know if the site viewer is correct. so basically if you bike is on front and rear stands and you are lucky enough to have the site viewer on your fairing and you look the viewer is empty if your bike has been in the garage overnight. do you add cause nothing is showing or do you let the bike run for 10 min to get everything going and then add if its low? do you add if its cold and nothing shows till it shows or do you add after the bike has been running. dont think this is a problem? if you add when the bike is cold you will add every day. i had my oil changed before i put the bike away when i look at the site view the oil reads empty. i know this isnt the case as i just had it changed.

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I check mine cold. I used to put it on the sidestand then hold it upright and level with one hand while checking it stooped over or sitting on the ground with a flashlight in the other hand. Then I realized that I'll drop it one of these days if I keep doing that so I checked it and when I got it perfect I put it up on the rear stand and rechecked it and it was only a hair lower than it read when level so I just check it on the rear stand now.

mark419ny said:

i have a question . how do you know if the site viewer is correct. so basically if you bike is on front and rear stands and you are lucky enough to have the site viewer on your fairing and you look the viewer is empty if your bike has been in the garage overnight. do you add cause nothing is showing or do you let the bike run for 10 min to get everything going and then add if its low? do you add if its cold and nothing shows till it shows or do you add after the bike has been running. dont think this is a problem? if you add when the bike is cold you will add every day. i had my oil changed before i put the bike away when i look at the site view the oil reads empty. i know this isnt the case as i just had it changed.

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Wtf?????

Brad said:

Wtf?????

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haha

Capt CF said:

I check mine cold. I used to put it on the sidestand then hold it upright and level with one hand while checking it stooped over or sitting on the ground with a flashlight in the other hand. Then I realized that I'll drop it one of these days if I keep doing that so I checked it and when I got it perfect I put it up on the rear stand and rechecked it and it was only a hair lower than it read when level so I just check it on the rear stand now.

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A good solution.

When I check the oil level by pulling the bike up to level with my right hand, I let the clutch case rest firmly against my left knee. That way the bike is braced somewhat and I have more control and virtually no chance of dropping it.

Funny though, I get the opposite result from you when I check it on the rear axle stand.
I use the DP rear axle stand and when it's on the stand the oil level is about a line thickness higher than when checked with the wheel on the ground.
Interesting

The dealer fixed the bike three times 2 for the rear cylinder valve cover and 1 for the oil pan just above the exhaust cans.

Mechanic insists that they should have put thin gaskets instead of the grey paste in the said places. He says he found spots with no paste at all thus the leaks. Anyway I was looking for the cause of the problem as at some stage the bike will be out of warranty as well and dealer will start charging. Leaving the bike with excess oil is my mistake and will never be repeated. Finding the leak shouldnt be that hard its just time consuming and a bit frustrating.

Thanks all for comments.

PP1098 said:

The dealer fixed the bike three times 2 for the rear cylinder valve cover and 1 for the oil pan just above the exhaust cans.

Mechanic insists that they should have put thin gaskets instead of the grey paste in the said places. He says he found spots with no paste at all thus the leaks. Anyway I was looking for the cause of the problem as at some stage the bike will be out of warranty as well and dealer will start charging. Leaving the bike with excess oil is my mistake and will never be repeated. Finding the leak shouldnt be that hard its just time consuming and a bit frustrating.

Thanks all for comments.

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You're mechanic's totally wrong.
He's a peanut and a dinosaur.
The thin grey paste he is critical of is absolutely fantastic, and if you want structural integrity of the assembly with light weight construction/design, then grey paste rules.
There are instances where an engine would certainly piss oil out, if it weren't for the use of gasket maker with some machinery designs that also use gaskets.
If the grey paste is leaking, it's a fault at the assembly stage.

The engine is of a modular design and it's also a stressed member of the bike, and as such it greatly benefits from having as few gaskets as possible.

Find a competent mechanic.

Brad said:

A good solution.

When I check the oil level by pulling the bike up to level with my right hand, I let the clutch case rest firmly against my left knee. That way the bike is braced somewhat and I have more control and virtually no chance of dropping it.

Funny though, I get the opposite result from you when I check it on the rear axle stand.
I use the DP rear axle stand and when it's on the stand the oil level is about a line thickness higher than when checked with the wheel on the ground.
Interesting

Click to expand...

I may try your method. You may be right about it reading high instead of low. I have a Pit Bull stand, but now I can't remember if it reads high or low. Regardless, it only reads slightly high or low so I now check it on the rear stand and as long as it is around the high mark I call it good.