MassHole

Freaking out a bit this evening as I just measured the dirty oil that emptied out of my 2005 997.1 after 5,600 miles since last change. Only 4 quarts!

I have 55k miles, no lights have come on ever. Temp always normal, oil pressure always within range.

No leaks, garage floor and engine are clean as a whistle.

Cause for concern?

Qwksnke

Thar is a lot of oil loss in 5600 miles. Does it smoke a lot?

nosnow

That doesn't sound right. Maybe you accidentally drained the trans? That would be about 4 quarts

Hella-Buggin'

you should have gotten a warning after about a qrt low.

sandwedge

Raises a lot of questions since I think the total capacity is 8 or 9 quarts (forget the exact number). For that kind of loss/burn which is half or more than full you should have gotten lights on the dash going off. As someone else said, did you drain the transmission fluid by mistake? As a reference, my -06 C4S used/burned less than a quart between changes even at 40,000 miles on the clock.

shyamvenky

While this amount seems outrageous, Porsche's official info says that 1 litre every 600 miles is still within spec.
The digital gauge in the dash measures around 1 qt for its three or four levels. Did you not see that indicator go down during ignition/power up in the last 5600 miles?

When you drained oil, was the engine (oil) warm or cold? Was the car on a level surface or was it on a slope/incline?
Just to confirm, when you filled the oil reservoir, did it just take 4 quarts to show full level (dash indicator)?

Petza914

How many times did you check your oil on the gauge in that 5600 miles - was it ever low? Off you haven't refilled it yet, what does the oil level on the gauge show now? It's possible the oil level sensor has gone bad.

If you have the stock exhaust, how dirty is your left exhaust tip?

Psychopoodle

Could it be that your car was on ramps or some kind of incline during draining and maybe some oil is still left in the sump?

rileyracing1

Something does does not sound right here ???

MassHole

Thanks for all the great replies!

Here are some quick facts;

> Oil was changed with engine warm on a flat surface, not on Jack stands. I let oil drain for an hour.

> I emptied engine oil, not tranny fluid

> I refiled with 8.7 quarts and after driving 30 highway miles to work this morning, oil indicator says I'm full.

> I did not check oil level at any point between oil changes as I thought car would alert me if the oil was critically low

> No black smoke @ start-up, no burnt oil smell ever, no leaks, no oil on engine

> The CEL did light up a week before I changed the oil (Thought it was related to know bad 02 Sensor).

> I daily drive 60 highway miles and watch gauges like a hawk. All temps and oil pressure always within safe range.

Codes seem to indicated the know bad 02 Sensor and an engine running on too little oil

P0011 / Current
A camshaft position - timing over-advanced or system performance, Bank 1

P2098 / Current
Post catalyst fuel trim system too lean, Bank 2

P0300 / Pending
Random - Multiple cylinder misfire detected

P0301 / Pending
Cylinder 1 misfire detected

P0302 / Pending
Cylinder 2 misfire detected

P0303 / Pending
Cylinder 3 misfire detected


Chatted with my local INDY this morning and he is baffled also. This it's either cylinder scoring, valve rings or the oil separator on the back of the engine (Although I should be seeing black smoke at start up if that is the issue).

I have an appointment for him to stick the camera into the cylinders and see what is up. Funny things is, the car runs like a top and isn't making any funny noise.

I know these engines are over built. If I get news that a re-build is required, I'm going to be tempted to keep driving it until it blows. Based on current performance, lack of noise, leaks or smoke, I'm hoping that could be another 50k plus miles.

Fingers crossed

swingwing

Something’s not right here OP. I’m thinking for that much consumption you would’ve seen excessive smoke, not to mention low oil level indication on the dashboard. Best be checking oil level regularly this next interval, yes?

swingwing

Oil smoke is going to be white not black.

MassHole

Yes, very paranoid now, will be checking oil level every day

Hella-Buggin'

I burn about 1/2 quart every 1000 miles. Much of that depends on what kind of driving I'm doing. Lot's of traffic seems to burn more than spirited canyon runs.
I can take it to the track and not burn any. It's a little more than it burned when I got it 10 years ago, (1 quart every 3k miles) but my car has 96k miles on the odometer
and it's expected to burn more with age. You need to check your oil level. I do it at every fill up so I know how things stand. You can't trust a cheap sensor to save you your engine.
If pressures were reading ok than at least oil was getting where it needed to get, although with half of the supply it did twice the work.

MassHole

Thanks Mark - this gives me some hope that my Engine might be ok - I'll hand the INDY $600 just to be sure