raspberryroadster

....my 1st experience with a air cooled (having difficulty with that definition as it seems to be an oil cooled engine)....and have been a bit nervous about managing oil level issues.

like some (i hope there are others) had difficulty reading the dipstick-my key is very fast extraction!....but think now understand correlation between dipstick-oil gauge.

so exactly at 2000km i topped up (in fact perhaps....touch more as oil gauge now reads about 1:30 vs. 2 where it was at p.p.i.-oil change).

converting L. to quarts and km.'s to miles....i am getting plus 1750mi. to a quart.

so guess unless the gauges (level & pressure) suggest otherwise will top up somewhere approaching 2000km.

frankvan

Well that's almost half my oil consumption. I fill up with a liter of oil about every three tanks of gas (or about once a month). judging by the puddles my car marks it's territory with I'd say my oil consumption is not due to burning it

ginch

I'm currently around 1200 miles (1700km's) and am about 1/2 litre down. Puffs a little upon start up but thats about it!

cpace3

i never have a problem with oil loss. For some reason i never have to add between oil changes. does that seem not normal for a 964??

stinkydog

Almost 110,000 miles and uses no oil (nor leaks a drop)... About 12,000 ago, it had a major rebuild along with a bunch of new oil lines. So I'd be somewhat displeased to be burning oil (although seems like a bit of leakage is quite common - guess I just need to wait a while for that to happen).

raspberryroadster

interesting...i cannot find any leakage in my engine (no drip signs) but with all these lines i guess there could be seepage somewhere!)....plus while i drive the car relatively hard there is no sign of oil smoke - either on start-up or under high pressure start (confirmed by follower).....oil has to dissipate in the cooling process?
....12,000 miles in an oil cooled engine and no oil usage- congrats.

tbennett017

I am a tiny bit confused by your quote here... are you sure you're reading the right gauge? Oil level is on the Left most gauge, in the combined fuel/oil gauge. It will read correctly at idle, when the oil is fully hot. (temp is the next gauge over, with "hot" being at 9:00 and above) Apologies if you know this, but experience dictates that many people have gotten this wrong before...

wellcraft290

I don't drip or burn any oil between oil changes. gauge always reads the same when hot and sitting on flat surface running (idling)

christallon

What does the owner manual allow for? I know for the early cars, 2.7 liter motors, the manual allows for a quart every 800 miles or so.

ilko

IIRC the manual initially stated 1 qt / 1000 miles, but I believe it was later revised to 1 qt / 700 miles.

My car usually goes for about 2300 miles before I need to add a quart. Less if I track it more often. This year I haven't driven that much. I've done about 1,800 miles since I changed the oil in January and it looks like I've used a little over 1/2 quart.

raspberryroadster

oil level...last gauge on the left....added oil slowly, with the top down, watched the gauge until it got little above 2 o'clock, and did it with engine hot (temp at 9 oclock)....correct??

wellcraft290

really can't use the gauge unless you know where it should be. You have to use the dipstick until you know the gauge works and where it should be. Every car is slightly different and so does the engine temp.

stinkydog

Well I guess to be accurate, it does use a very small amount of oil (too many moving parts in any engine to be perfectly sealed). I went a year between oil changes (about 5000 miles), and the warm idle level on the pressure gauge dropped about 1/3 of a mark (maybe 3.3 to 3 on the dial) during that time. So probably a couple of ounces consumed. (Edited to add: the oil level gauge itself has always stayed right at 3 o'clock when idling in my garage after a drive. The dipstick itself never really shows a change of level either. )

I figure by the time the engine is ready for another rebuild, the car will be viewed as a timeless classic by some, and an old junker by others... life is to short to worry about it.

tbennett017

Yes you are correct...
That is my experience too. I 'validated' that my gauge reads similar to the stick, and I use that to judge the oil level, running, hot, level.. etc.

I use about a quart per 1000 Mi. FWIW

christallon

I find the dipstick very hard to read, especially compared to my early car. It is very difficult to see the oil line accurately on the stick. I'm not sure if it's due to the Brad Penn being light green against the metallic background of the dipstick or if it's something else. I have grown to rely on the guage more. I have learned to warm the car properly to ensure the T-stat opens before relying on any measurment. The hotter the oil the better, I find.

I use a Quart every 1,000 miles, some of which leaks out. I don't notice any smoke.