the oil on the dipstick is clear....but the oil that we syphoned off via the dipstick was black

It's as level as i can get it..which is pretty level. Adding oil through top (lifting little trap door and removing cap) from an oil bottle

Got myself a Defender TD5 110 SW last november. Love it! Checked the oil level and dipstick came out dry, so added just over half a litre of oil then rechecked..dipstick now reads 4 inches over the full mark, so took out more than half a litre, dipstick still reading 3 inches above full...