Oil Overfill Porsche 991 GT3 911 – Easy removal of excess oil
12-28-2015, 02:27 PM
#31
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Just as a response to a couple of posts concerned about dropping a tube into the engine, as long as your plastic tube is more than 3ft long there is NO way that you can drop it into the engine. It will take a lot of jiggling and twisting to get it to the lowest part of the engine, and that takes less than 2ft of tube. And believe me that is forcing it in, leaving you with at least a ft outside the filler neck.
Needless to say the tube should be spotlessly clean, as you don't want to introduce dirt into the engine internals.
While the warning in the GT3 owners manual is NOT very stern about the consequences, the warnings about overfilling the oil in other P cars, like my Panny can be VERY STERN, (like DO NOT DRIVE) and apparently there are cases with vehicles that have blown oil into the intake manifolds, fouled plugs, contaminated catalytic converters and more.
So for $22 and 5 minutes of my time, I found an easy way to get rid of the annoying yellow warning that comes on everytime you start you car, which is why I thought some might find it valuable. Sure you can remove the oil filler, or back out the oil drain plugs, but that still means getting the car into the air.
Needless to say the tube should be spotlessly clean, as you don't want to introduce dirt into the engine internals.
While the warning in the GT3 owners manual is NOT very stern about the consequences, the warnings about overfilling the oil in other P cars, like my Panny can be VERY STERN, (like DO NOT DRIVE) and apparently there are cases with vehicles that have blown oil into the intake manifolds, fouled plugs, contaminated catalytic converters and more.
So for $22 and 5 minutes of my time, I found an easy way to get rid of the annoying yellow warning that comes on everytime you start you car, which is why I thought some might find it valuable. Sure you can remove the oil filler, or back out the oil drain plugs, but that still means getting the car into the air.
12-28-2015, 02:37 PM
#32
Rennlist Member
FWIW, my car was serviced at the factory (Another ED perk) and the car arrived with the yellow overfill warning. It lasted a good 150 miles. Than we did 2 launch controls and it was gone.
So there's that solution
So there's that solution
02-14-2016, 09:13 PM
#34
Rennlist Member
Originally Posted by TRAKCAR
FWIW, my car was serviced at the factory (Another ED perk) and the car arrived with the yellow overfill warning. It lasted a good 150 miles. Than we did 2 launch controls and it was gone.
So there's that solution
So there's that solution
02-21-2016, 04:46 AM
#35
i just got my 2015 GT3 less than 48 hours ago 
i traded my 911_50 had about 9,500 km for a GT3 with only 3,500 km on it for a super deal, so i did it
i know y'all think i am nuts for trading in my 911_50 especially because i got it in manual but in terms of the performance it lacks a lot compared to the GT3 and i could not resist the deal i got ... basically i had to only pay $10k and trade cars, in return i got a car the was used about a 1/3 less than mine and the dealer put new pads and new discs + new tires as the previous owner pretty much parked his car at the track
As soon as i got the car, i went and did an oil change, i put motul instead of mobil because the mobil oil here is done locally and the quality is not like abroad whereas the motul my friend is the dealer and he imports it ... anyway when the oil was flushed from both drain plugs there was only 2.5 liters (very strange i know but the car was left for 3 hours to drain and still only 2.5 liters), we put 6 liters of motul with a new oil filter obviously and i keep getting that message of "over fill" i was able to remove 1 liter by an oil vacuum at the place that i did an oil change at but the yellow warning is still there ... i have tried pushing the car to hope it will go away (launch control, doing 167 mph and etc.) but still the warning light is there, keep in mind i have only driven it about 250 km since i bought it ... do you guys think i should do another complete oil flush put new oil filter and put 5 liters instead?
FYI, i used motul on my 50 and i would change the oil every 6 months or every 3,000 km and never got this warning
PS speaking of launch control i realized the "launch control activated" only comes on when ESC and TC are on when i try turning off either or both "launch control activated" does not appear on the MFD although i do notice the RPM stops at about 6,500 like it does when it says "launch control activated" so is it actually activating without it saying it? sorry for the novice questions
i traded my 911_50 had about 9,500 km for a GT3 with only 3,500 km on it for a super deal, so i did it
i know y'all think i am nuts for trading in my 911_50 especially because i got it in manual but in terms of the performance it lacks a lot compared to the GT3 and i could not resist the deal i got ... basically i had to only pay $10k and trade cars, in return i got a car the was used about a 1/3 less than mine and the dealer put new pads and new discs + new tires as the previous owner pretty much parked his car at the track
As soon as i got the car, i went and did an oil change, i put motul instead of mobil because the mobil oil here is done locally and the quality is not like abroad whereas the motul my friend is the dealer and he imports it ... anyway when the oil was flushed from both drain plugs there was only 2.5 liters (very strange i know but the car was left for 3 hours to drain and still only 2.5 liters), we put 6 liters of motul with a new oil filter obviously and i keep getting that message of "over fill" i was able to remove 1 liter by an oil vacuum at the place that i did an oil change at but the yellow warning is still there ... i have tried pushing the car to hope it will go away (launch control, doing 167 mph and etc.) but still the warning light is there, keep in mind i have only driven it about 250 km since i bought it ... do you guys think i should do another complete oil flush put new oil filter and put 5 liters instead?
FYI, i used motul on my 50 and i would change the oil every 6 months or every 3,000 km and never got this warning
PS speaking of launch control i realized the "launch control activated" only comes on when ESC and TC are on when i try turning off either or both "launch control activated" does not appear on the MFD although i do notice the RPM stops at about 6,500 like it does when it says "launch control activated" so is it actually activating without it saying it? sorry for the novice questions
Last edited by GT3 KSA; 02-21-2016 at 05:01 AM.
02-21-2016, 03:05 PM
#36
Race Director
Hi GT3 KSA, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new GT3!
There's no way your engine only held 2.5 liters of oil. Rated capacity is 7.5 liters and with only 1/3 of the specified oil in the engine you would have had oil pressure and oil level warning lights all over the place. For some reason, you were unable to drain all of the oil.
First....and this may seem obvious....did you drain the separate oil tank? You mentioned removing 2 plugs but there are actually 3 plugs; two in the sump and one for the tank. It's ok to remove just one sump plug but the oil tank plug must be removed to get out all of the oil. (see pic below) Also, it's advisable to remove the oil filler cap when draining the oil as it prevents pockets of oil from being trapped in the engine by air pressure although I don't think this would trap as much oil as you are experiencing. If you removed all of the right plugs, and the oil filler cap, I can't fathom how you could drain only 2.5 liters.
Since you were able to drain only 2.5 liters, there must have been 4-5 liters of oil still in the engine. So when you added an additional 6 liters it's clear that you were way overfilled, hence the warning lights. If you are only slightly overfilled there isn't a big problem but if you are over the limit significantly it's possible to do damage to the catalytic converters or your engine.
At this point, since you don't really know how much oil you're dealing with, I would start over. Remove the filler cap. Remove all 3 drain plugs. Do the oil tank first as that holds by far the most oil and be prepared as a lot of oil comes out.... fast. Let everything drain for 1/2 hour. When adding oil back, start with 6.5 liters (7 quarts). This should be about 1 liter short of capacity. Get the car up to temperature and run it for a while then take a reading of the oil gauge. At optimum oil level the 3rd segment of the gauge should be lit. If you're below that you can add oil, but in very small amounts...100ml at a time. The difference between the MIN and MAX levels is only 500ml so you have to add carefully.
BTW, as to your launch control question, I've never tried it while disabling the ESC or traction control so I don't know what happens when you do that. In general though, unlike your 911-50, it's not necessary to press any buttons or be in any particular mode to use launch control.
Good luck with the oil situation.
There's no way your engine only held 2.5 liters of oil. Rated capacity is 7.5 liters and with only 1/3 of the specified oil in the engine you would have had oil pressure and oil level warning lights all over the place. For some reason, you were unable to drain all of the oil.
First....and this may seem obvious....did you drain the separate oil tank? You mentioned removing 2 plugs but there are actually 3 plugs; two in the sump and one for the tank. It's ok to remove just one sump plug but the oil tank plug must be removed to get out all of the oil. (see pic below) Also, it's advisable to remove the oil filler cap when draining the oil as it prevents pockets of oil from being trapped in the engine by air pressure although I don't think this would trap as much oil as you are experiencing. If you removed all of the right plugs, and the oil filler cap, I can't fathom how you could drain only 2.5 liters.
Since you were able to drain only 2.5 liters, there must have been 4-5 liters of oil still in the engine. So when you added an additional 6 liters it's clear that you were way overfilled, hence the warning lights. If you are only slightly overfilled there isn't a big problem but if you are over the limit significantly it's possible to do damage to the catalytic converters or your engine.
At this point, since you don't really know how much oil you're dealing with, I would start over. Remove the filler cap. Remove all 3 drain plugs. Do the oil tank first as that holds by far the most oil and be prepared as a lot of oil comes out.... fast. Let everything drain for 1/2 hour. When adding oil back, start with 6.5 liters (7 quarts). This should be about 1 liter short of capacity. Get the car up to temperature and run it for a while then take a reading of the oil gauge. At optimum oil level the 3rd segment of the gauge should be lit. If you're below that you can add oil, but in very small amounts...100ml at a time. The difference between the MIN and MAX levels is only 500ml so you have to add carefully.
BTW, as to your launch control question, I've never tried it while disabling the ESC or traction control so I don't know what happens when you do that. In general though, unlike your 911-50, it's not necessary to press any buttons or be in any particular mode to use launch control.
Good luck with the oil situation.
Last edited by Mike in CA; 02-21-2016 at 03:26 PM.
02-21-2016, 04:44 PM
#39
Hi GT3 KSA, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new GT3! There's no way your engine only held 2.5 liters of oil. Rated capacity is 7.5 liters and with only 1/3 of the specified oil in the engine you would have had oil pressure and oil level warning lights all over the place. For some reason, you were unable to drain all of the oil. First....and this may seem obvious....did you drain the separate oil tank? You mentioned removing 2 plugs but there are actually 3 plugs; two in the sump and one for the tank. It's ok to remove just one sump plug but the oil tank plug must be removed to get out all of the oil. (see pic below) Also, it's advisable to remove the oil filler cap when draining the oil as it prevents pockets of oil from being trapped in the engine by air pressure although I don't think this would trap as much oil as you are experiencing. If you removed all of the right plugs, and the oil filler cap, I can't fathom how you could drain only 2.5 liters. Since you were able to drain only 2.5 liters, there must have been 4-5 liters of oil still in the engine. So when you added an additional 6 liters it's clear that you were way overfilled, hence the warning lights. If you are only slightly overfilled there isn't a big problem but if you are over the limit significantly it's possible to do damage to the catalytic converters or your engine. At this point, since you don't really know how much oil you're dealing with, I would start over. Remove the filler cap. Remove all 3 drain plugs. Do the oil tank first as that holds by far the most oil and be prepared as a lot of oil comes out.... fast. Let everything drain for 1/2 hour. When adding oil back, start with 6.5 liters (7 quarts). This should be about 1 liter short of capacity. Get the car up to temperature and run it for a while then take a reading of the oil gauge. At optimum oil level the 3rd segment of the gauge should be lit. If you're below that you can add oil, but in very small amounts...100ml at a time. The difference between the MIN and MAX levels is only 500ml so you have to add carefully. BTW, as to your launch control question, I've never tried it while disabling the ESC or traction control so I don't know what happens when you do that. In general though, unlike your 911-50, it's not necessary to press any buttons or be in any particular mode to use launch control. Good luck with the oil situation.
and a white smoke" I doubt my catalytic converter is damaged as i have a 10 page report from Porsche inspecting the car saying it is fine. I also read on here that white smoke and weird noises once in a while is normal.
What i don't understand is when the dealer put new tires new discs and brakes on the car they also did an oil change right before i bought it. So how can 2.5 liters only be drained and why would it say "overfilled" if it only had 2.5 liters.
The mechanic confirmed he did everything you said but i guess no harm in trying again. This place also did the oil change like 3 times on my 50 and i never has an issue.
You think i'm screwed or should i just see what happens when i get the oil changed tomorrow or after to see how much will be drained this time
02-21-2016, 05:57 PM
#40
Drifting
GT3KSA
congrats on a great trade , I'm sure your oil issue will sort out with dealer assist, You will be thrilled with this car and worth a little pain up front
Frankly I don't think one can own a GT3 without some hazing process , we all seem to have endure some sorting of various issues
no need to post a burdening list , like stop sales ,engine swaps ,thermostats , gear box , soft wear , coils plugs , and so on
so don't worry and be happy as the saying goes and welcome aboard !!
congrats on a great trade , I'm sure your oil issue will sort out with dealer assist, You will be thrilled with this car and worth a little pain up front
Frankly I don't think one can own a GT3 without some hazing process , we all seem to have endure some sorting of various issues
no need to post a burdening list , like stop sales ,engine swaps ,thermostats , gear box , soft wear , coils plugs , and so on
so don't worry and be happy as the saying goes and welcome aboard !!
02-21-2016, 06:40 PM
#41
Race Director
I got a hold of the mechanic and he said "Yes we did that and he's right because when I started your car to unload in from the towing car I already heard a sound on your catalytic converter
and a white smoke" I doubt my catalytic converter is damaged as i have a 10 page report from Porsche inspecting the car saying it is fine. I also read on here that white smoke and weird noises once in a while is normal.
What i don't understand is when the dealer put new tires new discs and brakes on the car they also did an oil change right before i bought it. So how can 2.5 liters only be drained and why would it say "overfilled" if it only had 2.5 liters.
The mechanic confirmed he did everything you said but i guess no harm in trying again. This place also did the oil change like 3 times on my 50 and i never has an issue.
You think i'm screwed or should i just see what happens when i get the oil changed tomorrow or after to see how much will be drained this time
and a white smoke" I doubt my catalytic converter is damaged as i have a 10 page report from Porsche inspecting the car saying it is fine. I also read on here that white smoke and weird noises once in a while is normal.
What i don't understand is when the dealer put new tires new discs and brakes on the car they also did an oil change right before i bought it. So how can 2.5 liters only be drained and why would it say "overfilled" if it only had 2.5 liters.
The mechanic confirmed he did everything you said but i guess no harm in trying again. This place also did the oil change like 3 times on my 50 and i never has an issue.
You think i'm screwed or should i just see what happens when i get the oil changed tomorrow or after to see how much will be drained this time
The only rational explanation is that whoever did the oil change for you didn't drain all of the oil, and the only reason for that which makes any sense is that the oil tank wasn't drained. The fact that your mechanic did oil changes for your 911-50 is somewhat irrelevant....the 911-50 has an integrated dry sump with no separate tank, so the procedure is different. If the mechanic actually did everything as specified, then I have no explanation for why you only got 2.5 liters of oil when your GT3's engine was drained.
A plume of while smoke right at start up is normal (it won't happen all the time) but sustained smoking is not. The gearbox and engine also make noises but I don't know of any noise that comes from the catalytic converter so I don't know what your mechanic means when he says he heard that.
Something smells fishy here. To be sure everything is done properly, if it were me, I'd take the car back to the dealer rather than the same mechanic you just had do the work. Good luck.
Last edited by Mike in CA; 02-21-2016 at 10:05 PM.
02-21-2016, 06:45 PM
#42
Rennlist Member
What Mike said.
Take it to a Porsche dealer.
The car takes I think 7L, the under overfill warning variable is only 500cc and takes forever to be verified without the right Porsche computer that can somehow directly read the true level.
Take it to a Porsche dealer.
The car takes I think 7L, the under overfill warning variable is only 500cc and takes forever to be verified without the right Porsche computer that can somehow directly read the true level.
02-21-2016, 08:38 PM
#43
Drifting
GT3 KSA
sorry I assumed the mechanic you refered to was a P Dealer when you did an oil change after getting the car .
I would get the car to a P dealer straight away as Mike and Trakcar recommend .
Until my car is out of warranty only a P dealer will touch my GT3 motor
given the history I feel it prudent . and insures P will correct the problem and not bail because
an unauthorized mechanic had worked on the motor.
GL with correction
sorry I assumed the mechanic you refered to was a P Dealer when you did an oil change after getting the car .
I would get the car to a P dealer straight away as Mike and Trakcar recommend .
Until my car is out of warranty only a P dealer will touch my GT3 motor
given the history I feel it prudent . and insures P will correct the problem and not bail because
an unauthorized mechanic had worked on the motor.
GL with correction
02-21-2016, 08:54 PM
#44
Rennlist Member
^ +1
02-23-2016, 07:06 AM
#45
Taking the car to the dealer tomorrow morning (Wednesday). I have it scheduled for first thing when they open.
My friend who is the agent for Motul here was able to get me a letter from Porsche Germany approving Motul, so the dealer agreed to put Motul tomorrow.
I will give the dealer only 6 liters and i will add manually if needed. I prefer to be below by a little and add than to be over and wait for oil to reach the correct level. Also this way i can be 100 percent sure the dealer does not put too much oil into the car after flushing.
I really hope when it is flushed tomorrow, the conclusion will be healthy. I have not driven my car since Saturday evening.
I have turned it on Sunday, Monday and this morning (Tuesday) just to see it the overfill warning is still showing and it is.
FYI, i forgot to mention that in the first 48 hours of owning the car the warning did disappear when i removed the 1 liter by oil vacuum and instead it would not show a reading but when it did it was green for about a minute then came the overfill message again.
This morning when i turned it on i realized a lot of white smoke. Yesterday i noticed no smoke. I know it was mentioned on this forum that some smoke from time to time on turn on is normal. If the cat. converters are ruined (god forbid) from oil being over max, is white smoke a sign or is it not related?
I am going to make a point tomorrow to have the dealer record how much oil was flushed. This way i can know if it was actually done wrong by the shop. The shop was willing to do a new oil change for free pay for the motul oil and filter after i shared with him all your feedback but he also suggested to follow advice that i received from the forum to let the dealer do the oil change esp since they approved the motul oil and the shop agreed to pay for the motul oil.
The only downside is i will be spending more going to the dealer as the shop was willing to do it for free but at least this way i can have some piece of mind.
I just really hope nothing is wrong with the car. My drive from home to the dealer is about 20 km so i assume it will be fine driving it to the dealer. I know i am getting ahead of myself and i should just wait for the feedback of the dealer tomorrow. I just hope my gut feeling is wrong. If for some reason on my way to the dealer the yellow warning sign goes away, should i still do the oil change or is it safe that all is good? I am assuming i should still do the oil change just to see how much is flushed.
Thank you all for your advice and suggestions, i will keep you posted for sure
My friend who is the agent for Motul here was able to get me a letter from Porsche Germany approving Motul, so the dealer agreed to put Motul tomorrow.
I will give the dealer only 6 liters and i will add manually if needed. I prefer to be below by a little and add than to be over and wait for oil to reach the correct level. Also this way i can be 100 percent sure the dealer does not put too much oil into the car after flushing.
I really hope when it is flushed tomorrow, the conclusion will be healthy. I have not driven my car since Saturday evening.
I have turned it on Sunday, Monday and this morning (Tuesday) just to see it the overfill warning is still showing and it is.
FYI, i forgot to mention that in the first 48 hours of owning the car the warning did disappear when i removed the 1 liter by oil vacuum and instead it would not show a reading but when it did it was green for about a minute then came the overfill message again.
This morning when i turned it on i realized a lot of white smoke. Yesterday i noticed no smoke. I know it was mentioned on this forum that some smoke from time to time on turn on is normal. If the cat. converters are ruined (god forbid) from oil being over max, is white smoke a sign or is it not related?
I am going to make a point tomorrow to have the dealer record how much oil was flushed. This way i can know if it was actually done wrong by the shop. The shop was willing to do a new oil change for free pay for the motul oil and filter after i shared with him all your feedback but he also suggested to follow advice that i received from the forum to let the dealer do the oil change esp since they approved the motul oil and the shop agreed to pay for the motul oil.
The only downside is i will be spending more going to the dealer as the shop was willing to do it for free but at least this way i can have some piece of mind.
I just really hope nothing is wrong with the car. My drive from home to the dealer is about 20 km so i assume it will be fine driving it to the dealer. I know i am getting ahead of myself and i should just wait for the feedback of the dealer tomorrow. I just hope my gut feeling is wrong. If for some reason on my way to the dealer the yellow warning sign goes away, should i still do the oil change or is it safe that all is good? I am assuming i should still do the oil change just to see how much is flushed.
Thank you all for your advice and suggestions, i will keep you posted for sure