Selo

At the risk of sounding really, really inept..
When I check the oil, the owner's manual says the oil fill cap should be removed. Am I missing something? It doesn't seem to make a difference on the reading whether or not the cap is in place. The oil level guage reads really low, but the dipstick says it's full. Pressure always more than 3.5 bars.
What's up?

Matt Lane

As others will chime in, the gauge may be a good rough indicator once you know how yours is calibrated.

But to check oil level accurately, you need.

1. HOT oil
2. Level ground
3. A minute of idling, and;
4. Check your dipstick - by definition, your cap will be off!

Good luck!

M

Spidey 993

Lots of info on this within last month. Do a search on my name and I just posted a very similar thread.

Quadcammer

wait, are you saying you have over 3.5 bar of oil pressure at idle.

leave the filler cap on.

Mike J

Why would the cap be off when the dipstick is completely separate from the filler cap?

Leave the filler cap on (as has been said before).

Selo

The owner's manual says to remove the fuller cap and shows a picture/diagram.

As for the bars....no, at least 3.5 while driving.

Thanks for the responses.

Ed Hughes

OK, the manual may state that, but as Mike cites, what "by definition" says the cap WILL be off when checking oil. True in my '84, but not in my '95.

gaby1088

i had the same issue yesterday, the oil gauge was right on the cusp of being in red (even the the dipstick was a little more than half). I bought a few quarts of oil and i couldnt get in half a quart before the oil filler overflowed. Now the gauge reads a little more than before but less than half, but if i try filling the car with oil then it overflows! i didnt want to make a thread because there has been so many but i cant find my issue among those reads

Ed Hughes

Do not use the gauge to measure oil level. It is only a reference.

Mike J

Your gauge needs calibration. You can do this when doing an oil change, the gauge can be removed (6 nuts and pull it off the side of the tank), and bend the float arm in the appropriate direction. Sounds like your needs to be bent downwards to be more sensitive.

There definitely are variations between the accuracy of the gauge between cars.

Cheers,

Mike

Gunter

Plus keep in mind that oil level indication for the gauge will show a noticeable increase with spirited driving because with heat there is an expansion and tiny air bubbles mixed into the oil because of the churning-action inside the engine.

Silver993

Good advice by all so far.

Note the the oil filler tube has a filter screen down inside. If you add oil too fast, you might exceed the flow that the screen can handle and the oil you are adding may backup and overflow as if you had overfilled. Coming from an SC, this screen is new to me and I make a mess nearly every time I add oil.

ble2011

Glad to hear someone else has oil overflowing issues. After I bought mine, I had oil overflowing almost every time. I found out, you need to add it real slow.

Chapron67

I've had all these 'new to Porsche' oil issues as well!

But, now how do you actually see the oil level on the dipstick? Isn't it next to impossible? Gold oil, against gold metal: what were they thinking?

Or, am I either just plain stupid, or blind? Or both?

Is there a 'technique' I need to know?!

Thanks!

kjr914

I use a white paper towel and grip around the dipstick, then open your hand slowly without shifting the location of the paper towel with respect to the dipstick, and the paper towel will clearly show the oil level.

(Oh, boy, I just re-read that... Seriously, I'm talking about reading the oil level in the car here...)