turbotol

My brother bought an old, fine running, 911 (3200 1977) and my father decided to check the oil/add oil. To make a long story short, at start-up there was a LOT of white smoke. They added about 6 liters/quarts of oil total supposedly. Do you think they could have damaged anything? What is the best thing to do:just drain it all and start over? How much oil should it take normally? I added a picture of the car to avoid any confusion about model type.

Thank you!

s.

Vifa

I don't think any damage has been done - yet. It is just burning the oil because there is too much. But it can be dangerous.

Brett San Diego

Many, many, many, many posts here about oil overfill, if you search the forum, including one by me. In my case I did a partial oil drain from the tank. Messy stopping the flow while getting the drain plug back in, but I didn't want to toss out all the fresh oil I just put in. I found a pool of oil in the airbox and wiped it up. Mine is a 1978 SC, so it's easy to remove the air filter and clean the airbox out. Different from your 3.2 L Carrera. After cleaning up, I just drove it, while laying a huge smoke screen for several blocks, to burn the oil out of the intake. It is fine to drive as long as massive amounts of oil have not entered the engine. You just need to be sure to get the oil level down to normal first so you don't continue to draw oil into the cylinders.

You are aware that the oil level should only be checked with the car on level ground with the engine warm AND running, right? The dry sump oil system on the 911 is different than on most cars. Read the owner's manual. If the engine is not running, oil drains back into the engine from the external tank which causes the oil tank to read low and makes you think it needs oil. When you start the engine, the oil gets pumped from the engine back to the tank, and if you've filled the tank with the engine off, you now have way too much oil in the system. It overflows through a vent hose directly into the intake causing the massive smoking.

Brett

turbotol

Does anybody know how many quarts of oil the car needs? Thank you.

Brett San Diego

hmmm. You must be short the owner's manual, in that case...

It's around 11 or 12, but if you don't really know how much is in there, now, just start the engine, and continue topping up the tank until it reads properly on the dip stick. The engine can be run with as little as 3-4 quarts added to the tank after a complete drain, then you just top up to full while running after you've given it enough to get going.

Brett

turbotol

Hi Brett,

Indeed no owner's manual. Additionally, I live in San Diego and my brother/father/car are in Belgium. The car is from 1977 but got a 3.2L engine dating from 1984. It also sounds that they added 6 quarts of synthetic oil, while not knowing what was in the engine to begin with. It seems that the general consensus for oil is Brad-Penn 20W-50 or Swep or Royal Purple but I doubt they will have this in Belgium. Is there anybody who knows an European equivalent? Thank you.

turbotol

Here are some pictures from the engine, as I am not sure if the engine is from 1984 (my guess) or 1994. Any help in identifying how much oil this engine should take is much appreciated!
Additionally, as we are not sure if the current oil in the car now is a mixture of regular & synthetic, would you recommend replacing it all? With synthetic or stick to regular oil? Thank you.

RL911

My 86 3.2 just took 10.5 quarts...oil reads half way up the dipstick.

butzip

Yes, drain the engine AND the oil tank, the 10.5 quarts should be right on the money. Dipstick is god gauge is Jesus........

Brett San Diego

Personally, I would replace it all, not because of the synthetic/conventional oil mix, but because I would prefer to have my choice of oil in the car. There are no issues with mixing synthetic and conventional oil. They are both ultimately the same thing, a mixture of mostly linear hydrocarbons, with the distinction that the distribution of individual molecule molecular weights is tighter in the synthetic oil due to better control during the chemical synthesis of the oil.

Brett

BlackPearl

You appear to have a 3.2L engine.

Safe bet: drain the oil tank. Drain the engine. (Be sure you have a can or pan that can hold at leat 12 US quarts.) Add 9 US quarts of oil. Start the engine, and warm it up until the oil lines in the front right fender are HOT, and the temp gauge on the dash has moved up toward the first tick or near 180-degrees F. (Don't rev the engine. No need.) If it takes a long time to warm up, throw a towel or blanket over the rear decklid to hold in the heat and aid warming. Have a brew while you wait.

With the car on flat ground, engine running, open the decklid (Engine compartment) remove the oil fill cap and check the dipstick for oil level (Don't drop the dipstick in the tank! Careful, the dipstick is hot. Use gloves.) You will probably need to add between 1/2 and 1 quart of oil after it's warm. This will put the oil around the half-way point on the dipstick. If you add another quart (or near quart), you'll top it to the very high tick. (Trick: add 1/2 quarts at a time once you see the oil on the dipstick. Safe bet you won't over-fill again.)

Now, remove the air cleaner and mop up any oil you see on the backside of the air cleaner. Yes, I know .... it's still smoking. Drive it on a short trip along the fwy (say 1/2 hour) and see if the smoking lessens or quits. If it lessens, keep driving (oh darn, more seat time) until it's almost gone, and turn around for home. That should do it. If not, take it to the local repair place and have them try to clean out your induction system somehow.

Good luck with it, and remember: Warm Engine, Flat Ground, Idling Engine is when you check the oil level.

theiceman

if he overfilled b 6 quarts he better have a bigger pan than 12 quarts or he will have an exon valdez

User 040621

"My brother bought an old, fine running, 911 (3200 1977), The car is from 1977 but got a 3.2L engine dating from 1984"

Are you sure it's a '77? Looks like the entire car is from 1984 to me......or am I missing something here?

Brett San Diego

At least the chin body panel is pre-1984 with the fog lights sticking out from the panel rather than flush.

Brett

rusnak

I would stop doing anything to the car until you get more familiar with it, and buy a good service manual, such as the Bentley Publishers one. Buy the 3.2 Carrera manual for years 1984-89. Since it is a used car, I agree that you should drain all of the oil. Buy Mahle filters, not the Porsche one.

But slow down and take your time. Learn how to work on the car. I see the cruise control is not working. The airflow meter looks like it's been changed, which is good. Those things are horribly expensive. Sound pad is intact. This car has been cared for. These 911s are unforgiving of careless wrenching.