964 Oil Level

[Scamper]

Hi all,

Just brought home my new (to me) 964 C4 Coupe (pics will follow) the 130 mile drive home was uneventful except for the torrential rain in Surrey!!
As with all newbies the serious question is about Oil levels, etc the pressure is 1bar at idle, 5 at speed, temp was about 4 o'clock position but the level never moved out of the red. I checked it this morning - engine warm, temp upto 4 o'clock, engine idling and the level on the dipstick was under the bottom mark!! So I quickly bought some 10w50 synthetic and added about 1.5 litres, still not showing much on the dipstick.

What am I doing wrong? Is this level normal? Have I potentially overfilled?

Sitting at work trying to figure out whether I have done something bad to my new toy......
TIA

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Adrian,

It's a common problem with the Porsche air cooled engines since the dry sump makes it very difficult to judge the correct oil level. Bear in mind that the dip stick (and the level gauge) measure the level of the oil in the oil tank - not the engine. The only time that both the gauge and the dipstick can be relied upon is when the oil is hot eneough for the thermostat to be open and the oil flow includes the oil cooler up in the right front wing. Your description of the oil temperature being at "4 o'clock" is a little confusing since the gauge, in my description, would show from about 7 to 11!!! Under normal circumstances the temperature gauge shoud rise to the second mark (about 8 o'clock) and, when the thermostat opens, it will drop down a little and, usually, stay there. Once this has happened, let the engine tick over for about 30 secs to a minute and you should see the oil level guage gradually rise. In a perfect world it should rise to somewhere between half way and full and the dipstick should confirm with a level about the same distance between low and high.

You should add oil, if necessary, whilst the engine is running and you can judge the level from the guage as you see it rise. It's always worth confirming it with a dipstick reading until you gain some faith that the two coincide.

BTW, the only gauges to show at 4 o'clock would be the Oil PRESSURE (at around 1.5 bar) or the Oil LEVEL (slightly low).

Hope that helps.

Regards

Dave

 

[Scamper]

Thanks Dave for the reply - you are right in my panicked state I should have written 8 not 4!!
I will go out tonight to get it properly warmed up and see what it is like.

I have waited a long time to get my 911 and dont really want to screw it up in the first few days of ownership!!

 

[Gordon Attar]

Go for a good drive on this rare sunny day to ensure that the car is warmed properly then follow Dave's instructions, though be wary of the oil gauge as they can be faulty, so I would recommend that you rely on the dipstick adding a pint or so at a time and fill to only 3/4 of the way to the full mark on the dipstick as oil will expand when very hot,(maybe not this summer!) relate the addition of each pint back to the movement in the oil gauge, hopefully they are in sink.

 

[Scamper]

thanks guys for the advice.

took the kids out for a gentle blast (under SWMBO orders - the gentle bit) last night for about half an hour (any excuse)...oil got warm, thermostat open, oil pressure still good.
When we got back into the garage I let the car idle for about a minute checked the dipstick, still low added about a pint checked dip again, this time the oil level guage moved!!! So its now showing at the 4.30 mark, added another pint and checked again about a third up from the bottom mark.

Now all i need to do is take the final silencer off and replace with a G-pipe to stop the oil dripping onto the exhaust and causing a bit of a smell!! Another excuse to add an upgrade and its only day three of ownership!!

 

[38F3E1]

BTW it's 1.5 litres from the bottom of the dip stick to the top. After a while you learn to glance at the gauge everytime you park at home (on the level of course) before turning off the car and can get a feel for whether the oil is getting low. Then do a dipstick check to confirm.

Let mine drop to about 1/3 - 1/4 up the dipstick then always add 1 litre of oil to bring it back up. Don't like to fill up the car with the engine running as there are too many moving bits to get something caught on IMO. There's no need to fill whilst engine is on and try and look through window at gauge as you can always work out exactly how much needs adding from the dipstick.

Ian.

 

[Gordon Attar]

ORIGINAL: Scamper

When we got back into the garage I let the car idle for about a minute checked the dipstick, still low added about a pint checked dip again, this time the oil level guage moved!!! So its now showing at the 4.30 mark, added another pint and checked again about a third up from the bottom mark.

Now all i need to do is take the final silencer off and replace with a G-pipe to stop the oil dripping onto the exhaust and causing a bit of a smell!! Another excuse to add an upgrade and its only day three of ownership!!

I should stick another pint of oil in if the gauge is in sync with the dipstick as I would recommend 2/3rds the way up

and the G Pipe should be done for the 'engine noise value alone' , you should get the originating drip location checked out, as quite often its a couple of rubber joining pipes in the rear wheel arch which are relatively cheap to fix.

 

[polar964]

Better a litre under full ..... than a litre over! so don't panic take your time ... inch by inch as they say. Unless you are doing a huge milage you shouldn't use much oil. Unless of course you've got a leak! Like has already been said and to concur with what Ian says. I try and maintain a level between 1/2 and 3/4's without getting paranoid! Attempting to getting the level as near to full is a sure way to over fill! If you keep an eye on the gauge and confirm with the dip stick you won't go wrong.
Congratulations on you recent purchase ... enjoy []

 

[Scamper]

Thanks for all the advice.... so the gently, gently approach has resulted in me putting in about 3ltrs of oil!! yes it was that low, oil pressure/temp/level now all good.

Whilst I was in putting on the G-pipe I managed to tighten up a couple of jubilee clips around some oil pipe unions which seemed to be weeping a bit, this in turn was dropping onto the final silencer giving out a nasty smell and wisps of smoke after a spirited run! All cured now!

What a sound the G-pipe makes! Fantastic, best £100 I ever spent on a car.

My 89 C4 Coupe