I've had my 993 for about 2 months now. I went through the same business with the oil level reading, and the panic, the pulling off the highway and calling the dealer I bought it from as I drove it back to SC from NYC . . . The thing with me is I was too dumb to even notice the gauge in the red until I looked to see how much gas I had left. If there really was anything wrong I don't suppose I would've made it out of Queens

 

Bad enough about the oil gauge - on my way home with my 993 I was on empty and had to stop to get gas. It took about twenty minutes and finally looking in the manual to figure out where the gas door opener was...

dave

 

A couple of things stike me about this thread. The first is the universal problem we've shared about the stupid oil level guage that doesn't work worth a damn. The second is how many of us have only recently acquired our 993s. I guess we're all in this learning experience together. The 993 is SOOOOO different in virtually every conceivable way from my 968 that it's laughable. I love it, though.

 

I was also struck by the fact that many here are new or relatively new owners. Makes me wonder if the "oldtimer's" have abandoned the nursery and left us to discover what they already know! LOL

 

Maybe on this post, but look around at other posts and you'll see plenty of guys with 2K plus posts that have been here for a while. True though I'll bet some of those oldtimers are contemplating 996s with tiptronic these days to compensate for the hip replacement.

dave

 

I did the same thing. The main issue is that the oil is so clean, it's hard to get a good read on it. At least the 993 stick is a twist, so it's easier to read than the 964's flat dipstick.

I have this mental image of myself, comically fretting about the car in the middle of the Utah desert, while it sits there, calmly idling: wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, watching me do my thing.

I did get a good pre flight briefing from my seller, a fellow Rennlister, but the emphasis was on the immobilizer.

But incrementally, we are gaining control over our cars....

 

I think the reason for this might be that the topic has been covered in great depth a fair number of times , the 'oldtimers' posts have been preserved for the nursery under the guise of the search function

Not being an oldtimer myself , I can get away with saying this!

 

I'm sure you speak the truth Shamrock. And all others here have verified that I am not alone in wondering about this. I guess it's like when I was younger and my older brother told me something, even if I sensed it was true, I needed one of my parents to tell me the same thing before I would believe him! Somethings don't change

 

My 996 was a manual. BTW, I'm no oldtimer.

 

I'm a little late to this party but I'll just share a recent experience I had after changing the oil. I was absolutely confident that I'd filled the car with the right amount without having over-filled. Oil was right at about 3/4 the way up the dipstick. I figured after all my hard work I'd take the car for a 4 mile spin around the lake out here since the car was all warmed up. Almost immediately I noticed smoke pouring out the back. I immediately shut it down and called my mechanic in a panic. He said check the oil pressure and limp it home. If I'd overfilled it the worst case probably would be a bit of a mess but to not let the RPMs get too high or I'd suck oil into the air intake. Once home he said drain about a quart of oil out at the sump (oil drain under motor), replace plug, then repeat oil adding process. Once about a quart was drained and my hands were practically burned by hot oil (use thick rubber gloves if you do this!) I pulled off the INCORRECTLY SCREWED ON OIL FILLER CAP. Enough said.