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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 05:05 PM
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Default First Porsche

New to the world of Porsche. Purchased a 1996, 911 Carrera 4 with 39,000 miles and ran it about 900 miles. Checked oil and found it to be low and added a almost 3 quarts.
Used Mobile 1 V Twin 20W-50 [after reading through threads]. Seems to run fine BUT [and I don't know how else to describe this] the rear side fenders are really hot after engine runs for a short period; you could literally burn yourself if you pressed up against it long enough. Is this a strange observation by an anxiety ridden newbie or do I have an issue? OK, I KNOW I have issues but does the car? Thanks,
RD
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 05:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Radon716
New to the world of Porsche. Purchased a 1996, 911 Carrera 4 with 39,000 miles and ran it about 900 miles. Checked oil and found it to be low and added a almost 3 quarts.
Used Mobile 1 V Twin 20W-50 [after reading through threads]. Seems to run fine BUT [and I don't know how else to describe this] the rear side fenders are really hot after engine runs for a short period; you could literally burn yourself if you pressed up against it long enough. Is this a strange observation by an anxiety ridden newbie or do I have an issue? OK, I KNOW I have issues but does the car? Thanks,
RD
Whats your oil temp gauge reading?
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 05:16 PM
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They do get warm- but not that warm. Make sure the heat shields are in there- and yeah check oil temp you may have an issue with the oil cooler. No way it should get that hot.
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Radon716
New to the world of Porsche. ..........OK, I KNOW I have issues but does the car?
RD
Ha.... you'll fit in here just fine!

Welcome to the madness. Spend several hours on the search feature here and you'll learn a ton... and your head may blow up! A hot fender is nothing to be concerned with. I had the same concern and even started a thread regarding it until I found several prior threads that addressed it. Burning hot may be an issue. I would drive it and see how it is after the drive. At idle it can get damn hot. Be very very careful with overfilling the oil. You are better having the oil on the lower end of the dip stick. Too high and it will cause valve issues. And, IMHO, ignore the oil level gauge in the car. They are rarely accurate and you could easily overfill if you go by it.
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 05:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Chuck W.
Ha.... you'll fit in here just fine!

Welcome to the madness. Spend several hours on the search feature here and you'll learn a ton... and your head may blow up! A hot fender is nothing to be concerned with. I had the same concern and even started a thread regarding it until I found several prior threads that addressed it. Burning hot may be an issue. I would drive it and see how it is after the drive. At idle it can get damn hot. Be very very careful with overfilling the oil. You are better having the oil on the lower end of the dip stick. Too high and it will cause valve issues. And, IMHO, ignore the oil level gauge in the car. They are rarely accurate and you could easily overfill if you go by it.
I remember my first drive and looking over at the oil level gauge to see it showing as empty... what a fun car

edit: is 20w/50 really a good oil weight? I’m running 5w/40 in Texas...
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 06:23 PM
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Thanks to everyone for responding. I'm a professional 'old car guy' [mostly Brits until now].
The Temperature Gauge hangs at the mid-position [let's call it 9:00 since it points left] after idling for approximately 10 minutes and the pressure gauge never moves from 2+.

Thanks also for the advice about filling/not filling. Currently its at the end of twisted portion of dipstick [not at the 'b' shown on page 98 of drivers manual.....

Chose the Mobile 1 V-Twin 20W50 after going mind-numb reading the threads on oil. I'll run it awhile and see where/how she goes.

I want to get it into a shop, looking for recommendations for air-cooled guys in and around Philadelphia [North Wales Area]. Someone recommended a shop in West Chester. Either way, once I've vetted a couple of alternatives I'll make an appointment for it to be fully inspected. I went with the sellers shop and paperwork prior to purchase, no reason to distrust them [seemed good and had many Porsches in the lot even if all water cooled]. I will not mention their/his name here and will get a fresh set of eyes [preferably air-cooled guy[s]] to go over it.

Hoping for the best; incredible to drive!
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by notabot
I remember my first drive and looking over at the oil level gauge to see it showing as empty... what a fun car

edit: is 20w/50 really a good oil weight? I’m running 5w/40 in Texas...
Do not believe the oil level gauge!! The dipstick tells the truth. I think OP overfilled.

15W/50 here in Bay Area California.

dave
95 C2
03 540i6
84 380SL

Last edited by 993_540; Aug 13, 2020 at 09:55 PM. Reason: 15W/50
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 09:12 PM
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I may be stating the obvious but since this is your first Porsche, I think it makes sense to share. Checking the oil level in a 993 needs to be done under the following criteria:

- car must be on level ground
- car must be running while checking oil level
- car temp (oil temp) needs to be at normal running temp (I.e. not cold engine)

95 C2 Coupe
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 09:22 PM
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Congrats!
With a 993 the issue is overfilling the oil that has consequences. If you added three quarts I am concerned you didn't understand the conditions under which you should measure your oil level.
Here is how I change and measure the oil level:
https://993servicerepair.blogspot.co...nsumption.html

Using Mobile 1 V Twin 20W-50 is not recommended for our cars do to the very high levels of Zink/ZDDP that can shorten the service life of the Catalytic Converters.
It is for vintage Harley Davidsons without catalytic converters.
Take a look at Mobil 1's latest comparison chart

https://www.mobil.com/lubricants/-/m...53E67669592EE5

and you will notice the oils recommended for our cars already have higher ZDDP/Zink levels, to begin with. A catalytic converter is an expensive part and under normal conditions should last the life of the car.


Andy

Last edited by pp000830; Aug 13, 2020 at 09:36 PM.
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 10:22 PM
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Nine o’clock on the temp gauge after idling from cold start for ten minutes doesn’t sound right. Is the oil cooler blower on the RH side running on low speed at this point? You should be able to hear the fan and feel the warm air. Nine o’clock is close to high speed turn on zone actually. Could be no low speed due to a bad ballast resistor.

Oil pressure at 2 ish is fine.
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 10:33 PM
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I will bet you overfilled it.

Happens to a lot of first time porsche owners. What does the oil level gauge read when warm? What does the dipstick say when warm? My temp gauge reads 1/3 of the way up unless I really flog it or sit in traffic when it’s hot out.



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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 10:35 PM
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Originally Posted by mike cap
Nine o’clock on the temp gauge after idling from cold start for ten minutes doesn’t sound right. Is the oil cooler blower on the RH side running on low speed at this point? You should be able to hear the fan and feel the warm air. Nine o’clock is close to high speed turn on zone actually. Could be no low speed due to a bad ballast resistor.

Oil pressure at 2 ish is fine.
would this give a fault code?
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by notabot
would this give a fault code?
No it would not.
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Old Aug 13, 2020 | 11:16 PM
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