911Jetta

You know you're a 911 driver when..

I went through the same thing when I purchased my car. With RL help I figured out the correct "method". Then I went on vacation and forgot all of the protocols and freaked out...then reread everything on RL and relaxed again.

Just to add to what others have said, I've learned to trust the oil level gauge. It really does work, but it's designed to display an very narrow oil volume range (given the capacity of the whole system).

Enjoy your car!

Richard Curtis

just to add to this, although I try to keep the oil level to the 3 o'clock position on the oil level gauge, if and when it drops into the red (at idle, after 30 seconds), it only takes about a pint to put the needle back to 3 o'clock.

sml

So is it about 2 pints (or 1 Litre) to go from RED to FULL/MAX?

Richard Curtis

No. I think you misunderstood what I wrote. If when the last time you checked the oil level and the needle was pointing to 3 o'clock, and after some driving (say, 100 miles), you check it again and it's in the red, you probably only need to add one pint to get the needle back to 3 o'clock. As a previous poster wrote, the gauge can be very sensitive to level and it won't take much added oil to get to a correct level.

If you overfill and, say the needle goes all the way to the TOP of the gauge (a sure sign that you've overfilled), use a turkey baster to remove the additional oil (through the oil filler tube), which might only be a pint or two, but still enough to foul your throttle body.

sml

I think I understand ..
a) is it 2 pints (or 1 litre) to go from red to max?
b) you're saying I should only aim to go halfway with 1 pint.

I think that makes sense

rarebear

I had to laugh reading the thread, I had the same experience when I collected my 964... the seller should inform the new and unwary Porsche 911 drivers about this idiosyncrasy !!!
from flying small planes I know that oil pres and oil temp are THE most important indicators, for jets you watch the exhaust temp (EGT) my instructor told me that when it went into red... you're on fire !!!

crg53

Just for your information, there should be a sticker on the rear sill of your engine compartment with this info. Ergo, if you are at the bottom mark, it should take .750L to half fill, or 3 o'clock on the gauge.
Hope this helps.

hysteric

this really is the newbie question number 1 - and i say that because it was the first question i asked !

the advise i was given was pretty similar to everybody's response, drive the car until the oil heat exchanger is engaged - the easy way to tell this is pacing your hand on the right front body panel just above the wheel, if its warm the heat exchanger is working. this is the correct time to check the oil level - i use the oil gauge, idling for 1 min.

still haven't quite nailed the dipstick dark art yet.....

oh, and enjoy the ride man... problems come often enough if you are continually looking for one .......enjoy the time with it when it is running!

crg53

I can be a bit **** about things, a Teckno geek so to speak, but just to experiment, try to check your oil level after a drive and with the thermostat open, the gauge will show just above 122 degrees, then let your engine idle until the temp is at 194 degrees, you will be surprised by the difference in oil level.