I'm new here, but have a problem which could be anything from me being too stupid to know how to check the oil in this car to a major issue. I bought my CRD in June to supplement my '87 diesel Mercedes, and just now reached 6,000 miles on it. I took it in to get its first oil change at about 5,700. I went with the line of thinking that it's a good idea to have the dealership do it, since they ought (emphasis on ought) to know what they are doing, and have the fancy-shmancy oil on hand. I bought the car in Delaware, where I lived until a year ago (my parents live there), so when I was visiting my parents for Christmas I took it to that dealership for the service. I then drove it back to my home 200 miles away, without problems. My father has the same car, which he bought a month after I bought mine, and took his in for the same service an hour before mine. We had this done on Dec. 20. Well, I get a call from him today that he just checked his oil this morning and the dipstick reads about THREE INCHES above full. So I go out and check mine ... same thing. I hope to heaven that I'm checking the oil wrong, because otherwise they must not have emptied out the old oil before adding the new. If that's the case, I can't believe I was so dumb not to check it right after they gave me back the keys ... trust and stupidity I guess can be one and the same.

Someone please tell me that I'm going nuts and am just reading this wrong. I checked it with a dead cold engine and with a warm engine ... same thing.

Thanks and sorry for the less-than-fun introduction ...

I am betting you are not checking this wrong.

I've seen other threads where oil does not fully register until off for some time ( draining issue)

I'd call another dealer and have them check.

overfilled oil is a bad thing ..

That's what alarms me ... if these things are supposed to read LOW at first, then I'm really in trouble for having it read so high. I could hypothosize also that maybe the dealership didn't realize that they read low at first ... and just kept filling and filling until they got the right reading, thus overfilling it. It seems to me that in order for it to read three inches above the "full" line it would have to be severely overfilled. I hate to think what that's done to my engine. I'm trying to approach this incident calmly, but I'm enraged already ... and crushed ... I'm already attached to this car and would hate to have it damaged.

call the closest (trustworthy) dealer and explain.
the first dealer would be liable for damages

I believe the best time to check the oil is five minutes after a fully warmed engine is switched off.

It does sound like you have WAY too much oil in your engine. I'd drop it out and replace it with fresh oil to the correct level. You DON'T want to be running that much oil in your Jeep.

Ian

The first time I had the dealer change oil at 3000 miles on my '04 Sport 3.7L they....

changed the filter and added 5qts of oil....

they did NOT drain the oil pan!!!!!!

When it started smoking about 100 miles later I checked and saw that it was over filled. I called the dealer ASAP and told them. I then drained the 9+qts of oil and only put 5qts back in. Took it strait to the dealer to get it checked for any damage.

I told the service manager that if I ever have any engine problems I would be coming strait for him . And that I would be doing my own oil changes from now on.

It now has 15,000+ miles and is running fine. I don't know about the CRD, but the 3.7L is a tough little motor. If you caught fairly fast if should be fine.

I have some concern that the effect on a diesel may be especially bad given the friction in a CI engine ... although the fact that the car made it 200 miles without problems bodes somewhat well. Normally I would never set out for a 3-hour drive without checking the oil first ... that I trusted the dealership and didn't bother to do so is what I'll be kicking myself for. I'll be interested to see how this pans out. My father is going to the dealership tomorrow and will report his experience to me before I attempt to deal with mine (I usually drive my Benz anyway ... just hope it doesn't snow) ...

I have owned several diesel cars over the years and as I post here in the CRD section on how to check oil in a diesel. The proiblem is they have a slow drain back and is probably due to the oil cooler, the head design or both. Our CRD is parked in a level garage and when driven into the garage warm and checked about 5 minutes later it will show 1/2 to 2/3 quart low and even after over an hour it will show about 1/2 qt low and when left sit over night it will be dead on the full line. The truck has about 4000 miles on it now and has never had oil added. When over filled the diesel will suck the excess oil into the intake (intercooler system) and burn the oil. Overfill on the diesel will not damage it as easly as a gasser, unless it is over filled so much as to hydro lock or have a run away (generaly not possiable on most modern diesels because of antishudder valve) engine.

On several threads here I have read where people have added oil to the new engine in less then a couple 1000 miles and I bet you money they checked the oil too soon and over filled and the engine then just started sucking it out the CCV system.

Sure will be glad when out Fumoto drain valves are ready for delivery. These will have a short nipple on it for attaching a 3/8" hose for draining oil and really make the oil change in the CRD simple.

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91 MB 300D 2.5L Turbo. Her's

05 MB E320 CDI. Mine

If I had to guess the mechanic added the oil and then checked it before it had time to drain down to the pan, the dip stick read low so the mechanic added more oil, overfilling it.

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Gasoline is for washing parts - Alcohol is for drinking - Nitromethane is for racing - Diesel is for hauling.

2005 CRD Limited 4x4 - Deep Beryl Green - Selec-Trac
Trac-Lok - Skid Plates - BFG Radial Long Trail TA's- Rotella T 5W40 Synthetic.

2007 GC CRD Limited. Silver.