993James993

I tend to check the oil in my '95 (114K miles) regularly.

After I add oil the guage will raise at idle when the engine is warm. But within a few days it will no longer raise as high. I don't think that the engine can be using oil that fast and I don't think there is any oil leak as I have replaced both lower valve cover gaskets recently and there are no oil drips where I park the car. I get some minor smoke when I start the car up but I understand that this is normal. The engine does not smoke other than that.

I added oil a week ago and have driven less than 100 miles since then. Last week, after adding oil, the guage would raise to level. Now it doesn't get out of the red. Is it possible I did not get the engine hot enough when I checked the oil level today? I drove the car about 20 minutes prior to checking. The oil temp guage showed operating temp.

Also, when checking the oil I find it maddening to try to read the oil level on the dipstick. Often it looks as if the stick picks up stray oil from the channel as I pull it out, and I can rarely see a definitive line on the dipstick. I recall reading that you can use a file to score the dipstick to make it easier to read. Has anyone done this? Is it recommended?

Other than using oil, are there any other signs that the valve guides are going? The car runs strong and seems to be in perfect condition.

As always, thanks for your input!

epj993

My experience is similar to yours - you really need to get it nice & hot to get an accurate reading. I've also scored my dip stick into thirds, each representing approximately .5 quarts/liters.

On the valve guides, aside from some significant smoking I'd say oil comsumption will be your best indicator.

TMc993

Depending on your location, 20 minutes of driving may or may not be sufficient to get the oil hot enough to check. I live in Georgia and on a hot summer day, 20 minutes is more than sufficient, but on a cool fall day, it often take much longer.

I watch the oil temp gauge in my car.....When it rises to 9:00 o'clock, the drops back to 8:30, that's an indication that the oil is hot enough to open whatever checkvalve needs to be open to get a valid reading on the dipstick.

With regard to scoring the dipstick, I placed a small notch on each the edge of mine and it did help me until I got used to the twisted dipstick but I finally decided that I was being way too **** about it and now I just glance at it and if the oil is around the middle of the stick I'm happy. After all, the manual indicates that oil on the dipstick is really a range of normal...

I just took a triangular file and notched the stick very lightly, cleaned it with carb cleaner (To remove any stray filings) and that was it.

With regard to oil consumption, I've learned from experience with other air/oil cooled Prosches that if you're getting smoke everytime on start-up, then you're burning oil all the time...Not likely a 1/2 quart in 100 miles, but you'd be surprised how much will be consumed in a short amount of driving.

Hope this helps.

Leander

I can never see anything on the dipstick. My mechanic told me that the oil level is probably ok if the needles of the oil gauge and the oil temperature gauge point at each other when the car is at temperature, in idle, on a level surface.

95 C4 993

I keep my oil level between 1/2 to 2/3's the way up on the spiral on the dip stick. That usually equates to about 7-9 o'clock on the oil guage---some of the time. I check it about 5x each time I check the oil because I think my eyese are playing tricks on me with the dipstick.

I have just figured out my own little way over the years. Yes, always check on a level surface and make sure its running and hot.

coltj

I used a dremel tool with a grinding wheel bit to score the dipstick at 1 cm intervals along the twisted section of the dipstick. Spent a little time calibrating(volume of oil added per cm change). Easier to know how much oil to add without overfilling

ZombiePorsche44

Why is this a concern, if you look at the twists in the dipstick you can very accurately gauge the level of oil. The reason you cannot see the line too clearly is because we run mobil one and keep it changed regularly.

If you want to see the line on the stick clearly, let the oil changes go for a few years and I guarentee that you'll see the mark.....LOL

NEVER TRUST OR USE THE OIL LEVEL GAUGE IN THE DASH AS FACT OR YOU MAY END UP PAYING FOR A REBUILD! THE ONLY DASH OIL RELATED GAUGE I TRUST IS THE PRESSURE GAUGE.

ZP44

GMS

ZP44:

Why would you not trust the oil level gauge?

Having been involved with Porsche repairs since the late 70s, although I have seen failed oil level sensors (usually on older 2.7 0r SC models) the 964 and 993 rarely seem to have a problem.

They are slow to read and the car has to be hot (check the right front fender to make sure the oil cooler thermostat has opened) but otherwise, as long as it reads around 3.00 (as recommended by Porsche) the dipstick will correspond with the gauge reading.

What were the problems you experienced?

Leander

I agree the dipstick is more accurate (if you can read the damn thing), but why would Porsche even put in an oil level gauge that cannot be trusted?

TMc993

If your oil leve guage works, then there's nothing wrong with using it as a general indicator of oil level. In my case, the difference between 3:00 and Red is about 1/2 quart. The difference between oil in the middle of my stick (normal) and the tip is a little more than that.

Beyond that, it's pretty much like any auto dipstick system in that you have to fill it up to know how much you were down...I tend to take 10 minutes every week and check the tire inflation, oil level, washer fluid, etc. and then eyeball the guage occasionally in the interim....Works for me.

BTW, if you search on this topic you can find a great thread that has photos of how the whole oil leve guage/dipstick system is set up.

Leander

I think one problem is that clean oil is almost invisible on the dipstick. If the dipstick was another color the oil might be more visible.

Marc Shaw

I scored mine using a file and it really seems to help.

Marc

Dan V

My guess: doesn't know how to use it correctly.

Pete

Is that a 964 dipstick? My 993 has a much longer twisted section with a larger pitch and the stick itself seems narrower although it's hard to judge the scale of your photos.

Pete

JasonAndreas

Look at the last post in THIS THREAD.