Cactus

What he said.

f1ava

Finally , somebody else who thinks this ! Agree 100 % with the parts bold and underline !

NYC993

The oil should be pronounced like the first time you pull the dipstick out, only to mid or lower end of the twisted part. There will be some traces of oil on higher part if the stick.

If you see just the oil traces you might be low on oil. The oil traces come from oil splashing when it comes back to the tank. I ran the car with open sender unit opening to see what's going on in that tank.

f1ava

Thx , so you were low on oil previously ?

( As you initially reported the same as me ... the stick looking dry after putting it back in , then out , for a reading -- "Do it again a few times and dipstick seems pretty dry to me." and "But it doesn't look like it was actually dipped in oil, i.e. looks nothing like when you take it out the first time.") .

NYC993

Yes it was low, as confirmed during oil change. Still better too low (up to a point) than to full.

Allen

out of curiosity...what is your oil level gauge reading?

f1ava

He told me it was always down , in the red , in all conditions ( 20min drive + 3 min idle ) . So we decided to check the stick ...

Allen

Many years ago, I checked my dipstick and correlated it to my gauge. Since then, I have never used my dipstick again.

However, I just got a new Toyota Tacoma, and checking it's oil is terrible. The problem is that the dipstick is covered in oil inches above the "check marks"...it is residual oil in the dipstick tube. If you let that oil drain down...then you don't have that issue. Here's what I do on the Toyota...engine hot and turned off, remove the dipstick for 10 minutes to allow oil in dipstick tube to drain down...then insert stick (1) time and get reading.

With the 993, you must have the car running to check the oil, so not sure how that will work.

NYC993

Once you see what you supposed to see on the stick, it's really not that hard to see.

Even if you dip the stick in fresh oil you can see it on the stick.

I must say tho, on my Benz the dipstick is much better. It has plastic ending that a) wipes the tube down and b) has bunch of ridges so oil "sticks" to it. But I've checked oil on benz twice in 6 years.

Quadcammer

all this fuss over the oil.

My opinion, if you must use the dipstick, if you see any oil at all, you're fine. When you no longer do, add between 1/4 and 1/2 a quart.

Even like 3 quarts short, oil pressure is solid.

Drisump

Even though I know what you mean (illustration of a point) I wouldn't make a general practice of leaving your lube system down three quarts. There is no question that it wouldn't have any effect on oil pressure but even though these engines are called "air" cooled, much of the cooling is provided by the volume of oil coursing through the lube system...more oil=more cooling. Cheers

rswamy29

Sounds like the dip stick method with napkins will be a good start. Will I be able to get 6.5 to 7 qts in with a cold engine, right now temps are in the 20s and 30s here?

NYC993

Yes, but might take a while. Oil will be like maple syrup.

With cold weather you can fit more oil. Oil expands with higher temps. So I would keep qrt too low until outside temps go back up.

NYC993

Had no noticeable temp increase, but makes perfect sense. I think, and it's just my opinion, that main reason for 10qrts of oil is to dilute particles with 10k mile oil change intervals that Porsche recommends and the fact that 993 will burn quite a bit of oil between the oil changes (i.e. so owners who don't check oil religiously have some margin for error).

Allen

That's a pretty ridiculous statement. If you are not sure of your car's oil level...you should keep "fussing" until you figure out how to become sure.