Oil level and how much oil / display segment.

[911hillclimber]

2009 872.2 83K mile Boxster, and have a question:

The oil level on the dash read-out shows 2 'empty' segments above the oil level in the engine.

Bit too low, so how much oil is required to fill a graduation?

Is it 1/2 Litre?

If I over fill, ie so the dash shows full, I will get masses of white smoke every now and then, if the display shows one segment empty it will not smoke on start up.

I do not want to overfill the oil as it is really hard to drain any excess off!

 

[911hillclimber]

Looks like it is 1 graduation = 200 ml oil.

 

[malarcy]

From the handbook (USA one - its all I have electronically)

The difference between the minimum and maxi-
mum marks on the segment display is approx.

1.3 quarts (1.25 liters).

Each segment of the display corresponds to ap-
prox. 0.42 quart (0.4 liter).

 

[911hillclimber]

Thanks for the details.
If I run this engine with just one segment 'empty' I can get white smoke on cold start, it is not the aos, have changed it twice.
If I have one empty segment the segment below needs to be 'just' full, not over.
It is oddly sensitive, my indie says the same.

Running 2 segments empty look risky!

 

[Motorhead]

Graham,

Confirming the above, page #164 of the [physical] Driver’s Manual for my 987.2 Cayman S says that the difference between the Min and Max markings on the segment display is approx. 1.25L and that one segment is approx. 0.4L.

Jeff

Edit: The boxer layout means that the sump is wide and shallow compared with that of in-line engines, and you have to wonder what difference in level 0.4L makes given the sump capacity of about 8L.

 

[Greenman986S]

Never understood some people's obsession with having it on max

Engines don't have to be full - anywhere between min and max is perfectly safe.

 

[malarcy]

Ever had the instrument cluster replaced or re-coded for any reason ? - There is an oil level indicator calibration / correction factor applied somewhere in the cluster ( in a similar way to the fuel guage) - I have never needed to figure out what the process is, nor what the implication is - but if your gauge / cluster seems to be "reading a bit low" - thus leading to "overfill" if going near the upper edge then it may be a factor.

 

[911hillclimber]

In my old 1973 911 I have a 3.2 air cooled engine (fabulous!) and I never have the oil over 1/2 way (max/min) as over 1/2 there is a real risk of plums of white smoke (been there etc). I need 13 litres to get this level, hot and running on tickover.

If the Boxster dash gauge shows all segments empty i presumed the sump was empty or close to that.
If so, 2 segments down from full could mean 40% or so of the oil needed is missing! (if my presumption is sort of correct)
Sounds risky too.

To the best of my knowledge, the calibration of the instrumentation is all factory. I've had this awkward car for 8. 1/4 years now, and this part of the car has always been troublesome in as much as avoiding the white smoke.

With the oil 'full' it will smoke almost every cold start.
2 segments down almost never.

I never thrash the car, just a nice practical cruiser, no track days etc so 2 segments empty may be perfectly ok.

 

[malarcy]

In my old 1973 911 I have a 3.2 air cooled engine (fabulous!) and I never have the oil over 1/2 way (max/min) as over 1/2 there is a real risk of plums of white smoke (been there etc). I need 13 litres to get this level, hot and running on tickover.

If the Boxster dash gauge shows all segments empty i presumed the sump was empty or close to that.
If so, 2 segments down from full could mean 40% or so of the oil needed is missing! (if my presumption is sort of correct)
Sounds risky too.

To the best of my knowledge, the calibration of the instrumentation is all factory. I've had this awkward car for 8. 1/4 years now, and this part of the car has always been troublesome in as much as avoiding the white smoke.

With the oil 'full' it will smoke almost every cold start.
2 segments down almost never.

I never thrash the car, just a nice practical cruiser, no track days etc so 2 segments empty may be perfectly ok.

Gauge represents 1.25 litres from the bottom to the top.

Car takes approx 7.5 litres, so min to max represents 16% of capacity.

Gauge isn't representing the full sump, its measuring the top bit - just like a dip stick - that doesn't go all the way to the bottom.

Under the covers the cluster is receiving a "height" for the oil - under the parameters it understands for (for the 987.2) temp it likes, idle it likes, and translating that to 3 bars of 400ml each - I always think of it as bottom, middle, top of the "ok" area on a dipstick.

You have found a workable setup for sure - I don't like being on the last segment - because the next step is "not enough" - so, on the odd occasion in mine where the level has dropped since service, I wait until it's got 1 segment lit then top up in 100-200ml drinks until the middle segment lights up.

 

[911hillclimber]

Excellent!
Thank you for the clarification, makes perfect sense.
Ive done 4 air cooled flat 6 engine rebuilds, that has been enough, don’t need a Boxster engine to do….

 

[BrianJ]

I’ve previously had a 987.2 and a 981 for a total of 13 years and always found 100-200ml per segment very consistent. Neither car used much oil at all - probably only 3 or 4 top-ups between services in all that time. However, after my current 981 seemed to be using a lot more oil than either of the previous ones I noticed that it took about 400ml to move up a segment, which led me to question whether the electronic sender unit was working properly. I was very concerned about inadvertently over-filling and so I had the sender unit changed at the last service under Porsche Approved Warranty (easy job when the oil is drained) which has fixed both problems. So if your engine shows any signs of over filling or high consumption, worth considering the sender unit as a possible culprit.

 

[911hillclimber]

In the dark depths of fixing the white smoke issue I nearly had the sump sensor changed, as you say easy with the sump empty, and not that expensive either.

However, a fellow PCGB owner suggested 2 empty segments under full, and that worked really well.

My 987.2 /2.9 is now 82K miles old, I've owned it for over 8 years/ 50K miles.

Never topped it up ever between services which tend to be every 12 months/ 5K miles.

 

[ianthow]

My 2010 987.2 Cayman S has done 89K and has been getting annual oil and filter changes since I took it on in 2015 (at 48K miles). Typical annual miles since then have been ~4,500. It does not need topping up between oil changes. Sump capacity is 7.5L, the sump is shielded from the crank above meaning that the crank is not thrashing through sump oil unless you overfill. At an oil change, I initially add 6.5L and then go for a short run to get up to the required temp for measuring. I then top it up until the bottom two segments of the display are full, indicating somewhere above minimum but safely below max. These gen 2 engines have a fairly sophisticated oil pressure and circulation system. Definitely do not overfill.

In case you are missing the handbook, here is the relevant section.


As mentioned above, each segment is approx. 0.4L, per the handbook

 

[911hillclimber]

Thank you Ian, this has helped settle my mind.
I have the Book for the car, but always have some distrust in the generalized details, and like to get a bit of real world experience too.

The car was last serviced a week or so ago at the very trustworthy Zuffenhaus in south Birmingham who set it 2 segments empty, so perfectly correct.

I almost dread every start-up with the car incase plums of white smoke erupt.