the dealer overfilled the oil by 5+ litres. The car had a hard start, but drove. around 6 miles later, white smoke was billowing out the pipes, and it lost acceleration. I stopped the car, and called the dealer, who sent out a guy who drained 5+ litres of oil. I drove it back to the dealer, still smoking a little, where the mechanic drained the oil and put in the right amount. The car stopped smoking..but

what is the possibility of damage being done to the crankshaft seals driving the car at around 20-40 mph for 6 miles? should I bring this up immediately to the service manager as something they should be liable for if it does happen?

the car has 107K.

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John Pazdan
94 E420

ouch!

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'95 s500 (bought for wife but can't bear to share!!!) 125kms
'92 legend 180kms
'88 tbirdturbo(fantastic car-only regular maint.)120kms
'87 mustang gt(gone)
'86 tbirdturbo(gone)
'85 mustang gt(gone-but not forgotten)

I think you mean crankshaft bearings. Did you pay attention to the oil pressure gauge? How's the oil pressure now?

When there is too much oil in the crankcase, the problem is that the crankshaft dips down and whips air into the oil. Oil with air bubbles doesn't lubricate as well as regular oil, nor is it as easy to pump through the engine. There's no way to get rid of the bubbles, except to change out the old oil with new. Your dealer did the right thing.

The smoke was probably a result of oil getting into the egr system which then passed it through the intake and subsequently burned the oil.

Keep all receipts to document this incident, should you find problems in the near future related to this incident.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

Actually, he may mean crank seals. The front and rear main crank seals are damaged by oil cavitation if they become submerged in oil. Overfilling your crankcase is one quick way to wreck the main seals.

A while back, a dealer also overfilled the crankcase on my C230. I didn't realize the problem for a couple tank fulls (I know, check it often...) but it was too late, as within a little while, both the front and rear seals were leaking. The dealer replaced them both at their cost.

It was the LAST oil change not done by me...

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

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