SKYKING

My 997.2 has 552 miles on it and this past weekend went to the local Porsche Club (Nord Stern) DE event at Brainerd International Race Track. No I did not track the car but had a great weekend watching and talking to all the participants.
I put about 400 miles on the car and after arriving home checked the oil level.

With the car level and at operating temps the oil level at the very top of the indicator. I mean it was totally white, there was no black space at all.
I did check the oil after picking the car up at the dealers and it was at the top mark of fill range. There was black space above the top mark.

I washed the car today and took it for a "dry it" drive and again, the oil temp was at 200deg. and again, level the oil indicator was totally white. I have not idea how it could register above the top mark unless the indicator is bad.
I wiish I could check a sample of the oil to see if any water got into the engine.
Any thoughts?

Edgy01

You need to simply take samplings of the level at different times and average them in your head. There is nothing wrong with the sender at all. This is how it works. Never add oil or consider draining oil based upon one or two readings. Just keep an eye on it. Although Porsche factors in the oil temperature and resultant expansion of that liquid in its calculations, nothing is ever perfect. It sounds normal to me.

Minok

You have to remember, that if the oil level is at the borderline between turning on the top most indicator (or not) then the display (which is discreet, not an analog needle) will hop between the two states depending on a host of things such as the two readings not taken at the same inclination (can you tell if it is out of horizontal by a few degrees?), temperature, etc. If it went from 100% to 20% to 100%, then I'd be concerned maybe, but not in the range you are describing.

mdrums

Now you are seeing what I have been complaining about to my dealer....next thing to check out is....wait till the oil level goes down to half way and check it....then turn the car off for 3-5 minutes and restart it and check it and it will show full...YEP...so what is actually full in this car?

MrMetrx

I've put on 2000 miles since the last oil change and the indicator still shows at the very top. The oil light even comes on sometimes ????? Once I perform the oil check, it resets the light. Any concerns???

OCBen

Full has no meaning here, according to the manual. And that term seems to confuse a lot of you here.

You need to be between the minimum level and the maximum level for the engine to be considered "full," meaning you don't need to add oil when it's between these marks, again according to the manual.

The ideal level to shoot for (if you're looking for a target level to call "full") is midway between min and max.

You don't want to ever use the maximum level as your target, as it's easy to overshoot the mark, and the manual warns that you are to never exceed the maximum level.

mdrums

I understand your thoughts on this...but...the dealer and PCNA call it "Full" when all the oil level indicator lights are on except for the very top line.

I did an oil burn test with my dealer and they let the car drain the oil for a long long time. They put exactly the correct amount in the car and the oil level indicator register all the way up leaving the last little line blank...the dealer and PCNA called this full.

After the engine got hot and I checked the oil it would show the correct maximum amount...but if I shut the car off and restarted it 3-5 minutes later all the line would light up thus showing it was over full.

Now as the car burned oil over the miles and got down to half or shall I say the 1st thick line was blank I could shut the car off for 3-5 minutes while the engine is hot and start it back up and the thick line that was blank would light back up showing the so called full amount.

Also another scenario is that if you drive the car for a few minutes at under 2000rpm...say around 1500rpm going through your neighborhood and then let it idle for 1 minute and then check the oil the indicator will show more oil than if you just came off the highway or a spirited drive and check the oil.

Yes, it is easy to over fill the oil...so I run the car at half or at the last line of the oil indicator....but I have to carry a quart of oil with me due to oil burning if I am on long trips. It is darn near impossible to find 0w-40 or 5w-50 oil.

OCBen

Those are not just my thoughts. That's information straight from the owner's manual, the authority here for complying with warranty requirements.

SKYKING

Thanks for the replies,
I want to confirm I checked the engine at operating temp (oil not water) level surface, and at idle. The indicator was over the max fill line and above the very top line shown on the guage. That is why I am concerned.

My dealer has no idea why the indicator would show it over filled. He is checking with a tech to see if I should drive the car to the dealer or flat bed it to verify the oil level.
After reading other member's oil usage comments, I expected to see my oil level at the min bar after 560 miles, definitely not to the top of the indicator.

mdrums

Ben you are arguing with yourself...I know what the dang manual says and I know what is the correct oil level on the indicator....the top thicker light lit is full/max oil level an the skinny line at the top is over full and there is no need to add oil until the lower light blinks.

Now knowing how all this works and since these cars burn oil...mine will go through a quart in 500-1000 miles depending on how I drive.

I tend to keep the oil level indicator at 1/2 when 1st checking the oil when hot which makes the indicator show full (or top thicker light so that you comperhend what i am talking about) if you shut the car of for a few minutes and re-check.

So my question to my dealer and PCNA is which is really the full/max oil level?

I find the oil level indicator is not very accurate.

OCBen

No, you're arguing with me.

You asked "what is actually full in this car?" and I'm telling you there is no such thing as FULL here. It's not like a gas tank that you can say you filled it all the way up the filler tube with gas and not do any harm to the engine.

Yes, you can fill the engine block with oil all the way up the filler tube and then rightly say that it's "full" of oil. But you do that and you void your warranty and likely damage your engine.

So put away your notion of thinking in terms of FULL. Think in terms of minimum and maximum. And try to stay within these limits. Emphasis on limits.

Bob Rouleau

The oil level measuring system is not perfect. Depending on engine temperature readings will vary, not to mention if the car is not perfectly (and I mean perfectly) level. Ben has the right idea, keep the oil withing the upper and lower limits and don't worry. If you add oil, do it about a quarter of a liter (or quart) at a time. Wait a few minutes and check the level.

FWIW, my 997.2 has not used any oil since new and it now has about 5,000 miles. This in spite of about 2 hours on the track. YMMV.

Best,

mdrums

Dang I am jealous! My 07 never used oil at the track either. My 09 burns oil at the track like a 2 stoke engine would. 1 quart in 480 miles....100 miles drive to the track 140 miles track day on Saturday 140 miles track day on Sunday and 100 miles drive to home.

Ben I understand your use of the word limits....but at some point Porsche deams the oil level to be full...add no more oil....the oil is topped off. I understand your use of words and as always on these forums you claim to be correct and everyone else is wrong. We are just saying the same thing bascially with different wording. But there is a point where the oil is at the full mark or in your words it might be at the max limit and no more should be added. However you are absolutly correct in that keeping the oil between the min and mx lines on the indicator is all you need to do.

MrMetrx

This is my first P-Car, so forgive me but doesn't it seem odd for such a radical difference in oil consumption for those who have posted regarding this topic?

In my case, after having the oil changed by the dealer, the indicator showed all white bars. Now with well over 2000 miles added since which included a long trip from LA to Vegas and a wild ride up Angeles Crest Highway, I have not used any oil. As a matter of fact the oil warning light comes on periodically which is easily reset by checking the oil level, which always display all white bars.

mdrums

OK Ben what ever you say... you are right I am wrong...you feel better now?