rk-d

I know there are dozens...hundreds of posts on this and I think I've read them all. I did find the following observation enlightening for people who still struggle with this. Maybe it helps, maybe not.

My car has about 1100-1200 miles since it's last oil change. At that time the gauge for oil capacity was in the middle of the range and the oil level was 2/3 up the stick.

Recently, I've noticed the gauge is pretty much pegged in the red. I checked the stick and it's on the bottom third of stick. I know from reading that this is actually where you want the oil level to be. Out of curiosity I added about 8 ounces (ie 1/4 of a quart) and the needle moved just into the black and the dipstick is right in the middle.

I now realize that it is silly to worry too much about this. A 10-12 quart system and 1/4 of a quart "corrects" the oil level. I've read that any amount of oil on the dipstick indicates the system has sufficient oil and this appears to be true. It also seems that "overfilling" the system can be just a matter of a fraction of a quart. As such, I believe that the "middle" range for my car's oil gauge is on the high end of the ideal oil level, but this is probably a fraction of a quart -- not ideal, but probably nothing to overly worry about. Seeing this first hand has been enlightening.

As with most things, I suspect this issue is agonized way too much.

SpeedyC2

I will say my observations on the oil level closely follow yours.

chsu74

Oil gauge does not work and will only show in the red until you park at level ground while motor is hot and running. That is how dry sump works.

pp000830

Hi RK-D,
I agree to underfill, if there is any indication on the dip stick range, is not an issue.
Most folks who overfill either fill to the 1/3 of the stick when the engine is not fully warmed ( a 20 min. drive) or 'top off" the oil to the full mark on the dipstick or both. In such cases sucking several ounces into the intake on a periodic basis and so is not good with both short term and long term unintended consequences.
Andy

rk-d

Yep - that's how I check it. I make allowance for the oil cooler to operate and let the car get up to temp fully before checking on level ground - usually 30 min of driving time (minimum).

rk-d

Agree - I'm going to avoid the temptation to top off unnecessarily.

JonRoger

My guess is that with even 1 qt in the tank (not entire system), the engine would be fully lubricated.

Jay777

I agree with the "underfill vs "overfill" comments.

One more data point:
I added 1 qt on my car and moved the dipstick level +2.1".
Extrapolating, the bottom of the twists to the top of the twists should correspond to about ~1.7 qt.

Maburns13

Had my oil changed early fall last year before garaging my 993 for the winter. Have had it out a few times this Spring. The oil level gauge stays pegged in the red. Oil temp and pressure gauges are fine. After 45 minute drive today, the oil level gauge stayed in the red. Checked the dip stick and oil shows to the top of the twist.

Still makes me paranoid.

tstafford

If I’m reading this correctly, that’s more oil than I’d want in my car.

NC TRACKRAT

If your car is fully warmed up to the point that the thermostat opened and it's on level ground and your dipstick shows oil but your gauge is in the "red", then your float in the tank needs adjusting. There's a thread for that: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...el-sender.html see post #14