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My new to me 2003, with 84k when I bought it had it right around two months now. I went from I'm loving this car to Oh My God - please don't let this be catastrophic. Was driving home the other night and I heard a tapping coming from the engine compartment. Even though I'm not a wrench-turner even I know that tapping sounds from the engine isn't good. Got home and parked - haven't driven the car since. The next morning I go to check the oil and this is what I see in the oil spout. I check the oil level and the dip stick is dry. I had purchased oil for an oil change that I had scheduled for the weekend. Five quarts of oil went in - yes five quarts of oil. No signs of dripping or leaks. I hadn't been driving it everyday and again no signs of leaking.
Talked to my indy Porsche guy and he is out of town - he will take a look at it on Thursday. How bad is this?
Mayonnaise in the filler neck is a common occurrence when the car is driven a short distance. May be that your tapping is unrelated.
I'd be more concerned with the "where's my oil gone?" question than some shmeg in the filler neck.
If you had intermix so bad that 5 quarts of oil had migrated from the sump to your cooling system, your coolant would be more than "a little oily."
If I was going to panic, I would be panicking about what damage I may have caused by running with less than half the correct amount of oil. At minimum, I would drain the oil and inspect the filter element and eyeball the sump for shavings.
How many miles have you put on the car in those two months, and have you checked the oil previously? If so, when was the oil last full (how many miles ago)?
Mayonnaise in the filler neck is a common occurrence when the car is driven a short distance. May be that your tapping is unrelated.
I'd be more concerned with the "where's my oil gone?" question than some shmeg in the filler neck.
If you had intermix so bad that 5 quarts of oil had migrated from the sump to your cooling system, your coolant would be more than "a little oily."
If I was going to panic, I would be panicking about what damage I may have caused by running with less than half the correct amount of oil. At minimum, I would drain the oil and inspect the filter element and eyeball the sump for shavings.
Thanks 5CHN3LL - I'm panicked about all of the above but will definitely follow your guidance.
This is where I'll be accused of heresy, but...if it was my car, and I'd run it that low on oil, I'd check what I could check, then I'd fill it back up and see what happens.
I would sacrifice several filters at short intervals to keep an eye out for metallic debris...
All of this is based on the assumption that the car does not have an obvious, massive oil leak and that your oil level has been far too low unbeknownst to you. If you are certain it was full of oil recently, firing it back up without knowing where the oil is going wouldn't be prudent.
You have a 2003 like me - what was the startup oil gauge telling you? (The digital readout on the tachometer.) If you were 5 quarts low then surely you were getting a blinking bottom-bar indicator at startup every time, correct?
The 996 cluster also has a low oil level warning light, per the following illustration. A cursory search failed to unearth just how low the car needs to be on oil to trigger the light; seems like 5 quarts low ought to have been sufficient. Anyone know the minimum oil level/amount beyond which the warning should be displayed?
02-26-2018, 02:34 PM
How Bad is It???
