What are the side effects of too much oil in the engine ?

6037 Views 11 Replies 10 Participants Last post by scout, Nov 2, 2017

lun471k

Discussion Starter · Jun 12, 2017

Tagged Gen 5 just because that's the one I own, could be applied to any generation.

I made an oil change 2 weeks ago and put too much oil i nthe engine.
Since then I had issue with performance, I would go WOT but the bike wouldn't pull hard.

I removed oil yesterday and decided to go for a ride. For the last two weeks I was thinking it was my wheel spinning too much when I would open it up, but last night with the exact same speed and throttle, the bike wheelied hard.

Is it just a placebo effect and I'm just dumb ? Or could it be the cause for the lack of performance (air/fuel ratio, etc) ?

I heard the oil overflow goes through the air filter... do I have to change it up, or will it cleanse itself somehow ?

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michael4012

· #2 · Jun 12, 2017

Any oil drawn up from the crankcase breather into the airbox should drain out via the tube, how much it was overfilled by?? All sorts of bad things could happen with too much oil in the crankcase.

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obijack

· #3 · Jun 12, 2017

Iv'e always heard too much will cause the head gasket to fail. How do you know you put too much?

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Twist-IT

· #4 · Jun 13, 2017

obijack said:
Iv'e always heard too much will cause the head gasket to fail. How do you know you put too much?

Parasitic drag would cause the power loss if your crank was in contact with the oil and it's quite possible if you overfilled. If you're past the maximum mark then drain it next time.

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Delta9

· #5 · Jun 13, 2017

Excess oil can also lead to foaming and starve crank bearings.

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lun471k

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 13, 2017

I overfilled by not too much (I think).

I drained the equivalent of 1/4 inch of the bottom of a spray bottle similar to this one:

Spoiler!

This equates to around 150-200 squeezes from the sprayer if I recall correctly. I'll try to measure it at lunch, if I can find an old measure cup.

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lun471k

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 14, 2017

After checking at a decent temperature (because I was dumb and checked at 120F/45C the first time), at 150F/65C-175F/75C, I had to drain half a quart (~500ml). The head gasket looks fine. I'll ride the bike tomorrow to see if everything's fine.

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zx7rr_2_zx10r

· #8 · Oct 31, 2017

Engine failure...

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metalmechanic9

· #9 · Oct 31, 2017

i over filled by 1/2 quart, rode once then drained,, its fine

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mpp12

· #10 · Oct 31, 2017

overfilled is +1 liter...

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Kawasexy

· #11 · Nov 1, 2017

When I bought my bike they had it filled to the top of the window. Rode it like that for a little while then changed it and put in the correct amount. I'm thinking they just dumped in 4 quarts. Or checked it cold thought it was low and added to much. No repercussions. If it's a little over I don't see the problem it would cause if you put 5 6 quarts total in then yeah above comments may be feasible over time.

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scout

· #12 · Nov 2, 2017

Too high oil level will force the engine to burn oil; you'll smell it rather quickly. Can't remember if it will smoke or not.

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