Splish-Splash

[Spanner]

Ok. Thanks. Good luck with it all.

 

[ericm979]

Having the crank or rods hit the oil in the sump is very bad in a pressure lubricated engine. It whips air into the oil. That air can get sucked into the oil pump. Air is a poor lubricant.

 

[greggn]

Most horizontal shaft small engines are splash with a dipper on the end of the connecting rod. But some are also pressure lubed with an oil filter. Vertical shaft engines(lawnmowers) have a simple little gear that splashes oil around.

 

[MHarryE]

To those stating rods hitting the oil will cause foaming and quick failure - think about operating on a slope. Downhill rods are going to be in oil. Max operating angle on most off-highway engines I have worked with (75 to 750 hp) is 30 degrees with steeper angles permitted with a special sump that will insure oil to the pump inlet. Paving Daytona and Talladega - I believe 36 degrees max - need to keep the paver tethered to stay on the slope but rod caps sloshing in oil is not a problem. It may have been in the old - old days with antique oil formulations but not today.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Most horizontal shaft small engines are splash with a dipper on the end of the connecting rod. But some are also pressure lubed with an oil filter. Vertical shaft engines(lawnmowers) have a simple little gear that splashes oil around.

And then there are some vertical shaft engines that are splash lubricated with an oil filter.

David

 

[ericm979]

To those stating rods hitting the oil will cause foaming and quick failure - think about operating on a slope. Downhill rods are going to be in oil. Max operating angle on most off-highway engines I have worked with (75 to 750 hp) is 30 degrees with steeper angles permitted with a special sump that will insure oil to the pump inlet. Paving Daytona and Talladega - I believe 36 degrees max - need to keep the paver tethered to stay on the slope but rod caps sloshing in oil is not a problem. It may have been in the old - old days with antique oil formulations but not today.

Think about why the turns at Daytona and Talladega are banked and what that would mean for oil in the sump... if there was one.
NASCAR type stock cars like most purpose built race cars use dry sump oil systems where the oil is pulled from the crankcase and into a separate tank where the air and oil are separated. Oil in the air can still be a problem. Of course a lightly stressed low rpm tractor engine can handle more than a highly tuned race engine.

 

[ericm979]

Here's an article in a publication called Machinery Lubrication that mentions overfilling crankcases as a cause for air in the oil, and that air reducing the oil's lubricating properties:

Causes and Solutions for Foaming in Oil

 

[Fallon]

Think about why the turns at Daytona and Talladega are banked and what that would mean for oil in the sump... if there was one.
NASCAR type stock cars like most purpose built race cars use dry sump oil systems where the oil is pulled from the crankcase and into a separate tank where the air and oil are separated. Oil in the air can still be a problem. Of course a lightly stressed low rpm tractor engine can handle more than a highly tuned race engine.

The slope combined with speed negates most of that. The net G forces at speed on a heavily banked corner are going to be straight down in relation to the bottom of the car not lateral like if you were just sitting there. So oil in the pan (not a dry sump) would stay where it should be. Not relevant to a diesel piece of equipment doing 1-5mph though.

 

[DEWFPO]

When I was very young, I too heard the the old wives tales about overfilling an engine with too much oil and supposedly blowing seals but I've never seen it, or know anyone who ever has, even mechanics. I know without a properly vented engine crankcase blow-by gas pressures can build up and blow oil past seals but not actually blow out seals. I guess it's possible if the blow-by was bad enough and for some reason the engine wasn't vented, and if the seals were super tight something might pop.

Anyway, I've always thought of that statement as an old wives tale since no one could really explain to me why an overfilled engine would blow seals.

I do understand that the foaming of engine oil causes pressure loss and therefore bearing surfaces can be compromised so I do understand you could ruin the bearings.

As someone said earlier, the additives in todays oils are so much better at controlling things and I would think the dipsticks/oil pans are calibrated to give a wide safety margin.

DEWFPO

 

[quicksandfarmer]

And then there are some vertical shaft engines that are splash lubricated with an oil filter.

David

Like the B&S Intek on my rider mower.

When I first got it I put in what I thought was the right amount of oil, ran it for about 20 seconds, and then turned it off and checked the level. Turns out I had put in way too much oil -- and the splasher was submerged and didn't splash. Just the few seconds without oil was enough for the counterweight to bind and the engine to seize up. I was very sad for a little while until I figure out it was just the counterweight, which is about a ten dollar part. Since then it's gone five seasons without a hitch.

I think the oil filter on the side was put there by the marketing department.