Overfill Oil on Yanmar 315

[RicM]

This is the second time I've changed my oil and the second time I have overfilled it. The last time was due to impatience and inexperience. This time I filled it to the "Add" level, ran it 5 minutes to refill the new filter, let it sit half an hour with the dipstick out, then filled to the "full" mark. Ran it Sunday, checked it 3 times, filter OK, level ok. Went down today and the dipstick shows 1 quart over filled! I mean I can pump it out but whats the deal here? How do you fill your oil AND GET IT RIGHT?

[Maye Marie]

Ric

You might be Ok on your oil level. I have found the Yanmars to be difficult on getting the proper oil reading on the stick. What I think is happening is due to the oil stick itself. The oil stick is measuring oil in the tube and not down in the oil pan. So when the stick is pushed all the way down and in place the seal on the top is making an air lock in the tube. When filling with the stick in place it does not let the oil come up into the tube to get an accurate reading. After a run it will hold oil in the tube for the same reason. Like putting your finger on the end of a straw and removing fluid out of a glass. The tube itself seems to take a long time to drain back to the proper level with stick out.

After a run and a warm motor I would remove the oil stick and let it sit for a few minutes. Then check the oil level a couple of times and see what you have.

If you sit to long oil from your oil cooler could be coming back and pushing the oil level up. It is important the oil level is proper while operating, so I would check shortly after a run. I have chased the oil level myself so this year I am using this procedure to check.

[RicM]

Thanks. I was careful to leave the dipstick out when refilling this time, I thought I had it figured out. I checked it 3 times on Sunday between half hour runs and it was spot on.

[RobS]

Ric, are you checking the dipsticks on both sides of the engine or just one? Are they both reading over-filled? They do not read the same. I had spoken to Mack Boring once on this and they said that there is a few quarts of room for error, both high and low that one should not get over critical about the levels

Just so we're using all resources available, contact Mack Boring's tech guy and see what he has to say and post it back here. In case you don't have his info it's:

Bob Schroer
Service and Parts Coordinator
Mack Boring & Parts Company
Phone: (866)526-9717
Fax: (847)526-9708
E-mail: bschroer@mackboring.com

I didn't check, did you post on boatdiesel.com too? Be careful over there, too novice a question for those gear-heads and they'll find a way to throw rotten tomatoes at ya over the internet

[RicM]

Rob,

Yes I did post on boatdiesel.com, and so far everyone has been very nice. Didn't you put an oil change setup on your engine? Where did you get it? Are you happy with it? Brand name?

[RobS]

Rob,

Yes I did post on boatdiesel.com, and so far everyone has been very nice. Didn't you put an oil change setup on your engine? Where did you get it? Are you happy with it? Brand name?

What I installed was simply a fitting and 1/2" hose that connects at the drain pan connection for the dipstick. It was purchased from Mack Boring. I do not recall the exact price as it was purchased along with many other items I believe it was $100 or so. It is quality hardware with plenty of hose to mount wherever you want and a nice brass fitting and cap for the end. I simply have it coiled and secured under the deck.

I am happy with the quality of the components but have not used it yet. I have 75 hours on her for the season so far and the oil is still nice and golden in color so I will change my oil upon my return from my trip later this month.

I have the pump and bucket setup and with the 1/2" dia hose it should draw easily.

Here's the connection at the pan and the coil of hose:

[furball]

Ric, when you change your oil, are you pumping it out through the oil dipstick? If so, any idea the quantity your able to remove? Approx how many quarts are you adding back? My literature says 11.1Qts total, 8.87Qts in the pan. I'm planning my first oil change next weekend and just curious what you found. My mechanic also recommended not warming up the engine prior to the oil change, said filter makes less mess cold
Thanks
John

[RobS]

You should warm up the engine, especially if you are drawing the oil up thru the dipstick tube. I just changed my oil and zincs over Labor Day weekend. I stuffed a couple rags wherever possible under the oil filter and then an oilsorb cloth on top of the rags right under the filter. Between the oilsorb and the rags and having a pan ready to drop the dripping filter into, not even one drop got into the bilge. It helps too to have a second set of hands - which I did have thanks to mhanna - Thanks Matt! She took approx. 10 quarts.

[RobS]

You should warm up the engine, especially if you are drawing the oil up thru the dipstick tube. I just changed my oil and zincs over Labor Day weekend. I stuffed a couple rags wherever possible under the oil filter and then an oilsorb cloth on top of the rags right under the filter. Having the oilsorb and the rags and also having a pan ready to drop the dripping filter into, not even one drop got into the bilge. It helps too to have a second set of hands - which I did have thanks to mhanna - Thanks Matt! She took approx. 10 quarts.

[furball]

thanks Rob. I'm glad the dipstick gets that much out of the pan. Thought it might leave more than that.
John

[craw_daddy]

WOW, you actually remove your engine to change the oil.. I thought I was thorough!

[Mariner]

Definitely change the oil with the engine warm. You want as much sediment and particulate to be mixed up with the oil as possible. One way to keep the oil filter from making a huge mess is to drop it into a plastic garbage bag. I've found that by doing this, I can prevent even a drop from making it into the bilge.

Still, whenever I fuel up, I keep the little oil absorbent rags they give you. I've accumulated quite the collection of them. I use one to wipe down the engine after the change, and toss one in the bilge.

[RicM]

Below find the text of an article from boatdiesel .com. It's very informative about proper oil level.

Taking the MYSTERY out of oil pan capacities
by Tony Athens
Since understanding oil pan capacities & their relationship to "dip sticks" seems to be an ongoing topic of discussion, I will attempt to explain what it really means.

What is most important to remember or understand is that oil pan (sump) capacity is exactly that, and HAS ZERO to do with oil filters, oil lines, oil coolers or ?? The second most important part of understanding oil capacity is to realize that the dipstick measures OIL PAN capacity and it has NOTHING to do with the oil filter being full or not, and/or any other oil in the system which is part of the "total system capacity". "System Capacity" is that amount of oil in the pan (the dipstick measures that), and all of the other oil that is in the engine (oil filter, lines & hoses, oil galleries, etc.) that cannot be drained from the oil pan under normal circumstances.

Cummins 330/370 Diamond with late style reversible screw-in locking dip stick. Cummins changed the marine oil pan design for this engine about 2002 (maybe the 4th time now since 1985 when they released the Marine version of the 5.9 B series) to include better internal baffling (helps to mitigates "oil windage"), and came up with a new designed reversible and locking dip stick - Nice improvement and is standard on all of the REMAN Marine B's as well !!!!
Understanding the basics in changing oil and having a correctly marked dipstick is very simple. Drain the oil pan completely, add the correct amount of oil to the pan listed in the chart (LOW mark first). Wait a couple of minutes & check your dipstick a FEW TIMES to be sure it is correctly marked for the LOW MARK - If not, then remark it correctly. Then add the 1-4 quarts listed and check your HIGH MARK. If you change your oil filter, it's always best to fill it first (no dry starts wanted) and you are done. If your filter was installed empty or dry, after you start it, the oil level will be slightly below the high mark as some oil in the pan was used to fill the filter. If you pre-filled the filter, then the oil level in the pan will be as it was (or very close to it) after the start-up and fill.

Pictures of correctly, and incorrectly, marked dip sticks. The upper scallop notches were done by a "Cummins Tech" who had no clue. Not only did he add 2-3 gallon too much oil when he marked them, the notch he put would surely cause the dip sticks to eventually fatigue and fail. The lower X's show the CORRECT OIL LEVEL, and done per the book using some common sense. These are from a QSM that has seen more than its share of dip stick issues over the years. Somehow, I always thought the dip stick was a simple part of the overall engine design ????
And last, running your engine on the low mark has NO detrimental effects on the engine, and in the case of a B series Cummins that uses the very shallow marine oil pan, this is a recommended practice from us to help alleviate or keep oil "whipping" to a minimum.. In general, and from a personal point of view, we prefer keeping the oil level in the oil pan in-between the "marks" on a correctly marked dip stick on all engines regardless of the color. This also applies to transmissions and/or gear boxes.
Listed below are the factory oil capacity numbers for the popular Cummins marine engines.
Popular Cummins Marine Engines Oil Pan Capacities (quarts)
Dipstick marks
Low Hi
4B / 4BT / 4BTA 3.9 9 10
6B / 6BT / 6BTA 5.9 (includes 330 / 370 Diamonds) 13 15
6CTA 8.3 (includes 450 Diamonds) 14 18
QSB 13 15
QSC 8.3 14 18
QSL 9 (deep pan) 16 20
QSL 9 (shallow pan) 14 18
QSM 11 28 32

[RobS]

I clicked onto this page and noticed Ric's long post and immediately said to myself "Oh Sh#@ ! Ric what happened." BD is the best 10 bucks a diesel boat owner can spend.... just don't get too hung up on some of the stuff on that site or you'll never sleep right again....

[RicM]

Well I did learn that I was supposed to be filling my oil filter with oil before installing.