Overfilled motoroil on my ST1300...

Hello, i have a problem. Last week me and a friend did maintenance of my ST1300. We drained motoroil and changed oil filter and after that we refilled the engine with the 3,9 liters oil (manual)
Although we have let the oil take time to get down in the engine no oil was seen at the glass. We filled it even more untill the oil was at the maximum level (upper line of the glass)
After that, i have driven the bike home. The distance was about 37 miles to my home. I noticed nothing special during the ride.
When i stopped the bike at home and it was on idle i heard a soft ticking sound coming out of the engine. Never heard it before.
When pulling the gas the ticking disappears and reappears when on idle.
After one hour on the center stand i looked at the oil glass and noticed that the oil level was almost covering te full glass.
I drained the exess oil and finally i drained about 570 ml of oil. (0,150578 gal.)
The oil level is now normal again. The ticking is still there but i think its a bit better than in the beginning.
What could this ticking be. I sounds like valves that are ticking and it is gone when opening the throttle. Only in idle i hear the ticking.
Sorry if my english is not that good.
Thanks
Peter

Here in the states I put in one US gallon and ride the heck out of the bike and don't worry about where the level is as sometimes it shows towards the top and then towards the bottom. Then next time you look it is in the middle.

Ok, but in this case it was really to much. So i wonder what coul'd be ticking now. I hope i did not damage my engine...

Too high oil level reduces the airspace volume in the crankcase, which in theory could cause higher pressure buildup in the crankcase from cylinder blow-by, which in theory could cause gaskets like cylinder head and valve cover to leak. I suspect since you only overfilled it a bit (I think you said you could see it at the top level of the glass, but no higher) and caught it quickly and put it back to normal, most likely nothing bad happened. I'm not really sure how bad you have to overfill it, and how long you have to ride it to get the gaskets to leak. Every engine is probably different in this regard, some are more forgiving than others, since the pressure difference will vary depending on how much airspace the engine has at normal oil levels.

For all the 'muricans responding to this thread, the 570 ml he drained before the oil level was at the full mark is 0.6 quarts. Unfortunately I have no idea whether that is enough to have caused any serious problems. I suspect not but then I don't design engines for a living.

Pelelaur said:

Hello, i have a problem. Last week me and a friend did maintenance of my ST1300. We drained motoroil and changed oil filter and after that we refilled the engine with the 3,9 liters oil (manual)
Although we have let the oil take time to get down in the engine no oil was seen at the glass.

Click to expand...

3.9 liters is 1.03 gallons. That is just about exactly what the ST1300 takes when changing the filter. If you had not started the engine before checking the oil level, the oil would have completely covered the sight glass and you would have seen no level. Once the was engine started, run for a short while, and turned off, after a minute or two you would have seen the oil at or near one of the two marks on the sight glass. I have a feeling what happened was that when you saw no oil level in the sight glass, you mistook it for no oil at all when in reality, it was completely filled with nice, clean, transparent, oil.

This won't help you now but the method that I use when changing oil is to pour the oil in stages. Once the new filter is on and the sump plug put back in, I pour about 3 quarts in (or 3 liters your case) then let it sit for a minute or so. If it doesn't appear in the sight glass, I pour a bit more. I keep doing this until the oil appears in the sight glass. I then start the engine and let it run for maybe 15 to 20 seconds then shut it off. I then wait several minutes then look at the sight glass. It will be empty because some of the oil is now stored in the oil filter. At that point I put more oil in until I see it in the sight glass at the bottom line. I'll check it later after having ridden it and it has sat. It will usually be at the mid or upper level when checked again because the oil will have had time to drain into the crankcase more thoroughly. In no case will I put in more that 1 gallon.

Thanks for the reply's all. I have the impression that the ticking noise is getting better again since i drained the oil that i overfilled. I'll keep u updated.

How many miles on the bike? My oil pump ticked until it wore in at about 8,000 miles. I miss that tick because to me it meant that the engine was very new and tight.

I now have 49,000 miles on the bike and it runs great.

I vote with the rest... doubt that any engine damage done.

As to oil, I've seen it go up and down at times and when new I worried about the oil level too.
After two changes I fiq it all out; 1) just put in a gallon 2) check level the next day on cs after running ( most consistent readings ) 3) if I see oil in glass it's ok

Remember if your using a Non-oem filter thats bigger, it can use about 4 oz more to be in the same place. ( btw, bottom to top marks on glass is about that 4 oz or so )

Overfilling has one other effect on the engine that has not been mentioned yet. If the crankcase is overfilled with oil, the descending connecting rod (and rotating crankshaft) will whip the oil to a froth. This can steal horsepower and lead to the frothy oil being pumped through the engine resulting in poor lubrication. You really have to over fill the oil and drive a lot of miles (after all, the frothy stuff will tend to float on top of the liquid and your oil pump scavenges from the bottom of the crankcase) to heat the oil and whip a lot of air into it. I doubt you did any damage at all.

Its funny how after we make such a mistake, we all notice sounds and vibrations that 'were never there before'......

Just noticed for the first time. I have changed my own oil and filter, topped up with 4Lts of oil and all OK, ran the engine no problems. Checked the oil when the engine is running and no oil in the sight glass. Stop the engine and it looks OK just below the top line. Is it normal not to have oil showing when the engine is running on flat ground on the center stand? Thanks Paul UK

stpanman said:

Is it normal not to have oil showing when the engine is running on flat ground on the center stand? Thanks Paul UK

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yes, the oil pump is circulating it throughout the engine while its running, so the level in the pan drops. When the engine stops most of it drains back into the pan, a little of it gets trapped in various places, so you don't get 100% of it back into the pan.

I thought I overfilled, on my first oil change, recently. When cold,,, the sight glass was completely full. Then, just for fun,,, I tried the factory level check procedure. 3-5 minutes warmup,,, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes,,, then check the sight glass. It was right on the upper level mark of the sight window. I had not done any careful measuring,, but will keep an eye on it over the next interval. I am used too bikes that use nearly as much oil as gas,,, so a bit of overfill was never an issue for concern. Just go for a ride,,, and it will be good enough !! Cheers, Cat'

The great sight glass....... too many variables to be much more than a guideline. All depends on whether you followed the instructions, warmed up the bike how hot?, how long did you wait, what oil did you use, etc. The most consistent is if everyone could check when cold and mostly everyone would get a more consistent result. I would think when the OP checked after an hour and it wasn't at the top of the sight glass, it was just fine. He should be checking now to the owner's manual procedure (below).
At least it has some times...... my other bike manual says warm it up for "several minutes" and wait a "few minutes"...... all that said, if you change your oil once and keep track of what you put in, and you're happy, just be consistent and put the same in all the time. Ride more worry less.............

1. Park your motorcycle on its center stand on a firm, level surface.
2. Start the engine and let it idle for 3-5 minutes. Make sure the low oil
pressure indicator goes off. If the indicator remains on, stop the engine
immediately.
3. Stop the engine and wait 2-3 minutes.
4. Check that the oil level is between the upper and lower level marks in the
inspection window.
If the oil is at or near the upper level mark - you do not have to add oil.
If the oil is below or near the lower level mark remove the right over
head cover (page 90 ), the oil filler cap and add the recommended oil until
it reaches the upper level mark. (Do not overfill.)
5. Reinstall the oil filler cap, and right over head cover.
6. Check for oil leaks.

SMSW said:

Overfilling has one other effect on the engine that has not been mentioned yet. If the crankcase is overfilled with oil, the descending connecting rod (and rotating crankshaft) will whip the oil to a froth. This can steal horsepower and lead to the frothy oil being pumped through the engine resulting in poor lubrication. You really have to over fill the oil and drive a lot of miles (after all, the frothy stuff will tend to float on top of the liquid and your oil pump scavenges from the bottom of the crankcase) to heat the oil and whip a lot of air into it. I doubt you did any damage at all.

Its funny how after we make such a mistake, we all notice sounds and vibrations that 'were never there before'......

Click to expand...

I noticed the same ticking noise during idle on my 04 ST (mileage is 25K) when I changed the oil yesterday and I did not overfill and it bothered me as well. It is up to to the top mark on the sight glass. The only thing different I did was to switch from Honda 10-40 oil to Valvoline 10-40. Wonder if that had anything to do with it.

I noticed the same ticking noise during idle on my 04 ST (mileage is 25K) when I changed the oil yesterday and I did not overfill and it bothered me as well. It is up to to the top mark on the sight glass. The only thing different I did was to switch from Honda 10-40 oil to Valvoline 10-40. Wonder if that had anything to do with it.

As mentioned... the proper way to do check the oil and the easy way.

After drain, add 1 US gallon and 4 oz additional (if anal) ( or 4 liters ). Look in sight glass, if you see any oil, ride the bike and the next day on center stand check again...if you still see oil, it will be fine till the next change.

* with stock filter as the longer after mrket filters hold a couple oz more

I've done this trying to get that last .03 gals. Put in 4 qts then added oil till it was at the mark, didn't do a warm up check. Rode it 3,000 miles. During the ride the oil was almost at the top of the Glass. All that happened was some blow by in the air box. Cleaned up the air box, replaced the air filter, drained the oil by removing the filter and emptying that. Everything was good from that point on. Don't think you can damage the engine by a slight overfill for a short period, but just in case I don't recommend it.

PS I now just put in 4 qts and let it go. An ST rider at a STOC told me this who was a former certified Honda mechanic. He also predicted the air box blow by.

what is the air box blow by

When I start doing an oil change I fill the oil filter and let soak while do the change, when ready for the new filter I drain off the excess from the filter. This I figure gives me the 4.1 quarts required. The ST1300's need to have the front tire touching the ground when viewing the oil level, if it is off the ground it will show a low oil view in the sight glass, if you add oil to bring it to the full mark you will be overfilled.