The other day I was checking my oil and noticed that it was a little low. It was within the hash marks, but low.

After reading some of the post here re RMS issues I decided for preventative purposes to add 1 bottle of Stop Leak (which is less then a qt) in place of the oil. This morning my Oil level on the dash showed too high. should I try to syphon some out through the dip stick or am I OK

 

Ignore the electronic gauge and take a look at the actual dip-stick

Car on a level surface - leave it at least 30 mins after driving before you check the level.

Let us know how that looks.

The electronic gauge is questionable for accuracy... And I'm being nice here...

Plus the apparent oil level will go up and down with

1) Driving - if you measure too soon after a drive you get a false reading
2) Driving style - short drives allow condensation to build-up and not burn-off from the oil, leading to higher apparent oil volume
3) Oil temp - oil expands when hot giving a higher reading than when cold
4) Level car - if your garage is not absolutely level, you'll get a false reading - my garage slopes slightly towards the door/rear or the car, so I get a false reading when I check oil level

 

thx CD

I'll check it out tonight. I have not seen any smoke, but I do seem to get a little burn smell after driving for a bit and she i nice and hot

 

Damn! I thought that little electronic oil gauge was so cool! Thanks for crushing my dreams!

 

So much for gadgets!!

 

I hope they improved it for those poor people with 997s!

They don't even get a dip stick so have to reply on the electronics

 

Not sure if anyone is interested, but I needed a cheap cup holder solution. I found a door mount model with both a suction cup and in door tab for added security from auto barn that was about $5.

http://www.autobarn.net/acsmz.html

I personally couldnt use center stack one becasue I already have the radio, amp and climate control. Additionally, I dont have any hole in my vents for the vent mounted one.

This was a cheap solution and if fits fairly well between the door grab and the dash. A little awkward with the ignition but that no big deal

 

That doesn't match up with my experience. I have the electronic gauge on my 986 and 996 and they have always been very accurate on both cars. They have never reflected different info from the dipstick on my cars (unless the car is not level or has been running recently).

Has anyone else noticed a problem similar to cdodkin?

 

This is what I was thinking already since some time. Especially since I had my IMS, RMS and clutch done last fall my electronic gauge reads all kinds of levels but usually within the band. However, when I check my dip stick, the level is usually fine; close to the top. They might have moved the sensor that reads the oil level when they did the repair.

 

sorry - about the cup holder post. I meant to start a new thread

 

Agreed- in both a 3.4l and 3.6l the gauge was quite accurate. I agree with cdodkin, that the level is off (usually low) right after a drive... it seems to be higher after letting it sit for a while (probably 1-2 bars)

 

I agree as well with cdodkin, my gauge is usually a bar higher than my dipstick.
I don't trust it, I trust my good old dipstick.

 

Gadgets suck! I like mechanical things

 

Ive done the search but could not find the thread for "stop leak" in place of oil, can someone point me in the right direction...TIA

 

My 99 C2's electronic gauge sucks. It is *always* wrong. And I mean *wrong*.