Too much oil?

chuckdrum · September 10, 2018, 12:12:17 PM

Changed oil in my 6V92 last week, refilled it w 6.5 gallons as I have in the past (and suggested by PO in his detailed manual), did a short (120 mi.) trip over the weekend and notice that the oil level is WAY high. Oil pressure was normal (around 70-ish) and everything sounded and ran fine. What are the risks of too much oil? Do I need to try to drain some off? (that ain't gonna be pretty). Not sure how 6.5 gal. is suddenly more than 6.5 gal. Thanks for your thoughts.

Chuck

Geoff · September 10, 2018, 12:19:53 PM

it sounds like diesel in the oil. Get a paper towel and wipe your dipstick oil on it, if there is diesel it will separate from the oil and leave a light colored stain around the oil sample. Might be just a fuel line to the injector.

eagle19952 · September 10, 2018, 02:04:09 PM

?

buswarrior · September 10, 2018, 03:57:58 PM

Detroit makin' oil...

Do not delay in identifying what is wrong here...

Diesel does NOT lubricate very well...

Repair the leaking injector/crossover line, fresh oil, short change on the next one and carry on. No need for concourse level hand wringing.

You've found it in time. Another reason a busnut with an old 2 cycle Detroit should pull the dipstick regularly...

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

chuckdrum · September 10, 2018, 10:44:34 PM

Thanks Geoff and Buswarrior. Another tidbit that probably verifies your fuel-in-oil diagnosis is that after the 120 mile trip, the oil is still light in color. I recall that it darkened quite quickly after an oil change in the past. I don't see the diesel stain around the oil, but it just doesn't look right.

I'm calling my local DD service outfit first thing tomorrow, as this is beyond my limited mechanical abilities. Hopefully they can get to it quickly as we have a 4-week trip coming up, departing 9/26. Thanks again, gents.

luvrbus · September 11, 2018, 07:09:41 AM

Funny how a $10.00 fuel tube will cost 5 to $600.00 before you are done

then they need to be repaired or it turns into big $$$$$

Mike in GA · September 11, 2018, 08:26:29 AM

Draw an oil sample and send it to Blackstone Labs in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They will give you a definitive answer as to whether you have diesel fuel in your oil, which as others have said, can be catastrophic.
I recently did this and found that my rising oil level was due to a bad seal between the power steering pump and the engine. Power steering oil is migrating into the crankcase. A much simpler fix.
Don't drive the bus in this condition before you have a definitive answer regarding your oil composition.
Mike in Georgia

luvrbus · September 11, 2018, 08:54:29 AM

Speedco lube and oil change are everywhere they can do a sample and you get the results on the spot

dtcerrato · September 11, 2018, 05:09:44 PM

We started making oil right after a cylinder head swap as we were in route from IN to AK. It wasn't rising fast but it was coming up. Probably a gal in 1000 miles. If it's diesel 5-10 percent is tolerable but viscosity & oil pressure decrease. We kept running. Did two oil changes between IN & AK before we were able to change out all the fuel crossover tubes under the cylinder head cover.

chessie4905 · September 11, 2018, 05:13:19 PM

If you have fuel in the oil, save the oil after repairing and changing. You can 1/2 to 1 gallon to fuel at every fillup.

Fred Mc · September 11, 2018, 08:19:55 PM

I had the same problem in my 8/71. The oil didn't "look" right.So I sent off a sample for analysis and got a call saying stop driving it immediately. On inspection I found that 4 of 8 injectors were leaking.Had all 8 rebuilt and replaced. Cost was $3000 That is the bad part. The good part was that because the repair shop did lots of work on boats they do "house calls" so they came to my place to do the work.

chuckdrum · September 11, 2018, 10:10:24 PM

Update: Took an oil sample in to my local shop (Pacific Power, Kent WA). With look, feel, and smell, they didn't detect any diesel, water, or other contaminate. Also, the oil was lower on the stick (still high) and a bit darker this morning, more normal overall. Mechanic suggested I get the oil level back down to the full mark and run it a bit to see if the level increases at all. I checked the coolant, transmission and steering fluid to see if any were down or discolored. All looked normal.

Drove the bus to a nearby station to refuel, then checked the level after a couple hours. It was exactly the same as earlier in the day, which was above the full mark but not by a lot. Everything *appears* to be normal but I'm still baffled about the variations in dip stick level.

I think I'll go with what I'm sure my daughter would tell me: "It's the ghost, Dad". And there have been, in fact, several unexplained events surrounding this rig in the six years we've owned her-- dead bolt locking from the inside with no one there, side window broken while in a secured, unoccupied garage space, things like that.

I'm just going to keep a really close eye on the oil level and deal with it promptly if I see it increasing again. Thanks for all the advice and tales of similar episodes.

Chuck

DoubleEagle · September 12, 2018, 06:15:12 AM

Looking, feeling, and smelling the oil sample does not test it. Did they even put some on a paper towel to see if it separates with a ring around the center portion?

chessie4905 · September 12, 2018, 06:31:30 AM

Get the oil sampled. Not that costly, but resulting engine damage will be. It's your money. Can you afford a rebuild because of ignoring good advice? Again, it's your money.

Geoff · September 12, 2018, 07:37:55 AM

My experience with 6V92TA's is that on an oil change, the oil pan holds 5 gallons, another gallon for the oil filter, and an extra gallon if it has a by-pass filter. So 6.5 gallons might be 2 quarts over the full mark. Like many other people, I run mine between full and add which is where it likes to stay.