JB 911

I did this at my last oil change. It seemed I got it pretty close, not as accuarate as Bobby's but at least I had some movement in the needle maybe to 1/4 on the gauge when half full on the dipstick, but after a couple of drives, and before I ever got it really hot enough to make a real assessment of the calibration, the needle starting spiking erratically almost bouncing before failing to nothing.

Any ideas? I did cut a zip tie up high in the wheel well to give a little more 'play' room with the float mechanism when turning it to get it out. (I retied it when done) I used the two plier method to avoid putting strain on the sensor. I'm guessing I somehow damaged the wire where it goes in the sensor or pulled something loose further down the wire as it disappears above the wheel arch. Anybody know where it goes after there? That would be pretty easy check if I could trace that wire before pulling the wheel and liner apart. Suggestions welcomed/

Oh I'll ad one thing. On the diy I used, it mentioned to be extra careful and proceed slowly when removing the nuts for the float mechanism. They are only small but someones seized to the stud and when they forced it they broke the stud free which is attached to the oil tank - not a good situation...

BobbyT

JB911,

The sensor wiring harness enters the engine bay in the right front corner, and continues in a loom along the lower right side to the small black electrical box located at the rear of the engine bay, just right of the AC compressor. If you pop the cover loose and tilt it out, you can see an orange connector in the top position of this panel--that is the sensor wiring. The connector clicks together, very hard to pull loose unless one releases the clips, so I doubt that you pulled it loose. If you pulled really hard, you might have pulled the wires loose from the connector. This part is easy to check.

As for the other end, I don't know any way to check the wiring for damage without pulling the wheel and fender liner, and no way to check the sensor with removing it from the tank (at least partially). You may be able to inspect the wiring in the area where you cut the zip tie with a good light, to see if you nicked it.

If the sensor is still functioning correctly, you should see 178 to 192 Ohms resistance when the float is at the top of its range (full position). You can check this reading from the connection in the engine bay.

vancouver z

i'm only finally getting to this calibration procedure. when hot, and the oil midway on the stick, the gauge moves just half way through the red zone. i'm curious, are they all so poorly calibrated, or has the calibration somehow gone off over the years. you would think with the oil being so important (3 monitors for oil) Porsche would have calibrated it better out of the factory? or did they set it up originally so that only if the tank was "full" the gauge needle moved up. what's everyone's experience on this?

notabot

My oil level gauge stopped working soon after I began ownership of the car. It never moves from the bottom.

Gbos1

Rely on your dipstick half way up on the twist. Forget the dash gauge it’s pretty useless.

993.Coupe

Owned mine for about a year and since I am in New England it sits half of it so I only just recently changed the oil. I thought about messing with the float but I struggle to get a reliable reading on the dip stick to calibrate it to. I just picked up a new dip stick today, at some point they updated it since it has a new 01 rev (no idea when or why). I haven't tried it yet but the metal looks like it will be much easier to read....I am sure 25 years of sitting in the oil tank has discolored the original somewhat. But I'll just verify the gauge reading at the halfway point on the dipstick and keep a mental note instead of adjusting the float.

StevenGilroy

I followed the suggested bending of the arm as some early post recommended. I just took a wild guess of how much to bend it. Ended up with about 25 degrees, which was measured after I bent it and decided it should be better than it was. Reinstalled with a new gasket from Pelican. It worked, no when in normal driving conditions, temp gauge about 8 o'clock, at idle the level gauge is at 3 o'clock. The one time I was stuck in traffic on a hot day with the A/C on the gauge moved closer to full. Dipstick is about 1/4-1/3 up on the twisted part. As you drive it is a bit worrisome until you get used to the gauge moving up and down as you drive. But at least it works, not that it is important, as I rely on the dipstick.