dove

Hi all, Just bought a 91 964 coupe in midnight blue,great to be back in a proper car .But already I have an issue,when I bought the car the oil level gauge was reading totally full and the dipstick indicated that there was too much oil in the car,I removed some oil from the drain under the engine(the oil tank bolt was too tight!) and proceeded to top up the oil watching the gauge and checking the dipstick when the reading got to just over 3/4 on the gauge and the same indication on the dipstick I thought job done and took the car out for a spin.The gauge started fluctuating between 1/2 and just over 3/4 full I thought this was pretty odd untill I accelerated hard and the gauge dropped into the red! when I cruised at 70 the gauge went back to 1/2 to 3/4 until I stopped and then the gauge read totally full! I sat and let the car run for about 15 secs and the gauge went back to the 3/4 reading the dipstick would back this reading up reading near the top notch.
Any idea guys ,faulty gauge, sender?

Paul

JasonAndreas

That's exactly the way it is supposed to work. If your engine is at the sender level calibrated temperature of 194F you really want your oil level to be in the red when the car is moving and no more then 1/2 way at idle. If you have more oil in the car it will more than likely just vent itself into your throttle body if the temperature gets really high (like when you sit in traffic for 20 minutes and don't move much at all) Remember when you are filling the car up with oil that the oil your adding is cold and it will expand so you don't want the oil level to reach full when your adding oil. oh ya, welcome back.

John Boggiano

Welcome back to the fold, here at 'Yoyo World'.

Surely your last 964 behaved the same, Paul?

Christer

Yes, when the engine is idling and warm, oil level should be around half way because most of the oil is back in the tank. When you drive, the oil level drops to zero as most of the oil is then pumping round the system.....bloody ex-boxster owners...

dove

Thanks for the welcome back guys,ok I hear what you say but when I drive the needle on the gauge sits either at 1/2 or 3/4 going up and down to these two levels? not in the red unless I accelerate or rev the car at standstill and then it goes into the red, at tickover it creeps up to halfway or 3/4 and the hotter the car gets the needle goes higher.Sounds a bit different to your guys symptoms.John I cant really remember how the gauge worked on my last 964, I know its bad I blame boxster ownership.
Paul

dove

I would like to just add to this that when my car is idleing with the engine fully warmed up it reads on the dipstick at the top notch,just read on the 993 forum that the oil level on the dipstick at warm idleing should be inbetween both notches on the dipstick cos when it runs hotter it expands obviously taking up more volume.true?
Paul

bhensarl

That's right on, Paul, and it sounds like what you are explaining is exactly the same as what the other guys are saying. While you're driving, the needle should drop into the red, it shouldn't at 1/2 or 3/4 so I would double-check that. You're exactly right also that the hotter the engine gets the higher the needle goes. The hotter the oil gets the more it expands, hence the higher oil level reading. Finally, the 993 guys are right, with the engine all warmed up you want the oil level to read about halfway between the two lines. As the others already explained, a bit low is better than too much. If you find that the level when warm is above the top line, it's time to drain some oil. But wait until it cools down and it's a lot easier.

Brian

Kahdmus

Paul...lets see some pics then mate!!

dove

Hmmm strange its showing 1/2 to 3/4 while running,i'm starting to think about a faulty sender.
I will post some pics Kahdmus as soon as I am sorted.
Thanks guys
Paul

JasonAndreas

At what temperature is the oil when the oil level gauge reads 1/2 to 3/4 while moving? Without knowing the temperature the level measurements are meaningless. Also, there is nothing wrong with the oil level gauge reading at the level yours is reading while the car is moving (if the temperature is high 9-10pm'ish++). To minimize the chance of your oil finding its way into the throttle body & AFM you would be better off with the oil level reading at zero while moving and at the 1/2 way point at idle and with the oil temperature at 194F/90C.

Christer

Without seeing this, I think it will be difficult to know what is going on....

Arjan B.

Pics please Paul!!!

DaveK

Are you sure you haven't still got too much oil in it? When you initially drained it and topped it up to 3/4 - was the car at normal operating temperature? I'm guessing it wasn't unless you drained the oil while it was cool then warmed it up before you topped it up.

I have a feeling that if I sit at a constant 70mph, my oil level will sometimes creep just about the red (although not by much). If you have too much oil in the car, then I think it's stabilising a bit higher.

You say :

"I would like to just add to this that when my car is idleing with the engine fully warmed up it reads on the dipstick at the top notch"

If "fully warmed up" means normal temp, then I'd say it's still a bit high. It should be half way to 2/3rds of the way up the dipstick and on the gauge when fully warmed up.

To me, it sounds like you're level gauge is working correctly but you've still got a bit much oil (which means you must have had an awful lot too much in the first place!).

warmfuzzies

But hopefully not as much as mine had..........I drained 1 litre off, and now the gauge is 3/4 full.............yikes.............

kevin.

DarrylH

I like to get the car HOT when adding oil - to the low-speed oil cooler fan start point. (Also a nice way to make sure the fan works, since normal driving rarely starts it.) Then add oil sloooowly in small increments (maybe 250 ml or so) until it reads where you want it - my mechanic likes it to the full mark, saying it'll not get hotter than that, so it's not too much oil. If you fill it that way, you'll see the gauge fluctuating from about 1/3 to 2/3 while driving, depending on the oil temp and engine speed and probably whether the moon is in the seventh house. Remember, though, the gauge doesn't really tell you much that's useful while driving. But, when you stop for at least 1 minute, idle, HOT, on level ground, as long as the gauge doesn't read over full, you're golden. IMHO.