+1

 

Thanks for the responses. My engine is definitely over-filled.
Does anyone know if the car will throw a warning on the dash if the car is too over-filled? Or is the self-checking oil indicator the only indication?

 

If most people are saying that they usually put in 8.5 - 8.75 quarts and this shop put in 9.5, then i'm thinking I could .75 quarts over.

 

It will give you a "Check Oil Level" or similar message. I had one come into the shop with that warning, and it was actually overfilled.

 

Yes, ideally you want it one-two bars below where you have it now. When it's max'd out like that you really can't tell how overfilled it is... if 9.5 quarts or 14 quarts are in there. Like others have mentioned. 9.5 is not too bad but more would be detrimental. Just drain a little by removing the oil filter housing. I believe a half quart drains out each time you remove it. You'll likely have to crank over the engine to cycle more oil into the housing if more needs to be removed. Of course, put the oil filter housing back on before doint so. Measure how much you need to remove for reference and share with the Indy. Sounds like someone slipped up there in doing your oil change.

 

I always take my own oil to the dealer or Indy for the oil change. I take the amount I want put in (for my 997.2 S, 8 quarts). Sometimes the electronic gage shows all bars lighted, some times top segment is not. Just depends on how long the tech lots it drain.

 

Unfortunately on the 997.1 (don't know about the newer ones) you get a "check engine oil level" message when the oil is low not when it's overfilled. The only other warning message is "oil level display faulty" (whatever that means). As others have said, if the indicator has all the bars lit you just know it's beyond the max level but not by how much. I tell the dealer to add 8 quarts and level the 9th quart in the car for me to top up to the correct level.

 

The problem is what most people are saying regarding the amount of oil to add doesn't really apply.

An oil/filter service accomplishes two things: 1) It replaces the old oil/filter; 2) It gives the tech, one who knows what he is doing anyhow, the opportunity to verify the oil level system is working properly.

The manual for other models clearly spells out the oil/filter steps and I expect the 997 engine and its oil/filter change steps is no different, other than perhaps the amount of oil it takes.

Basically with the engine at some temp (warm to full operating temp) and with the car level the oil is drained and allowed to drain for a number of minutes.

Then X quarts of oil is added to the engine. What 'X' is depends upon the car. My info is the amount of oil is tied to the VIN and certainly Porsche techs have access to this.

Then after adding the oil the engine if the engine does not have to be running/hot to check the oil the oil level is checked and the reading should agree with what the manual calls for.

In the case of one of my cars, the factory manual says the oil level reading should have 7 of the 8 bars/segments lit. IOWs, the oil level should be at the max line but not above it. The uppermost segment/bar, the one above the max line, should *not* be lit.

Now I asked a tech what is the allowable deviation. He said there is none. The only time he found a bad oil level sensor/sender there was no reading. After he replaced it the new one read just fine.

I have come across at least one owner who reported varying oil level readings so there are at least two failure modes. In this case I suspect the fine wire that is the oil level sensor came loose and was moving about, maybe even 'floating' on top of the oil, and this accounted for the varying readings.

As others have pointed out the sensor is not able to report how much overfull the oil level is. The device is not made for that. It is simply made to help you keep the oil level between the max and mix lines.

If (big if) the oil level is just say a half a quart too full... that is probably not a real serious overfilling. However, I do note the owners manual (and the factory manuals too) caution against overfilling so I would be inclined to take the car back and with the owners manual open to the warning insist the excess oil be removed.

Now if you want to be by the book the technique of removing the filter while this has been recommended does not include that the o-ring be replaced. This o-ring -- it seals the housing to the engine -- is intended to be used once. Once means the filter and housing is installed, torqued down, then when the oil is replaced again the housing is removed and the filter and the o-ring are replaced.

Whether this takes place over the span of days or months...

The risk to the engine is several fold. Under severe cases the excess oil can result in a huge increase in oil vapor production. This is routed (because the AOS (air/oil separator) sucks at removing oil vapor into the intake of the engine.

The most serious risk is if the overfillig is particularly bad, or if the AOS is particularly bad, a considerable amount of vapor is routed to the intake. As the engine runs this oil is burned immediately. But when the engine is shut off this oil will drain down and collect in one (maybe 2) cylinders. The risk is if the amount of oil is large (and we're talking just a few cc's here... the displacement of the combustion chamber when the valves are closed and the piston is at top dead center is very very small) the engine -- at least the one or two cylinders can suffer from hydraulic lock up with possibly severe, even fatal engine damage.

The above is a real risk, but a small risk. Still I see no reason to court extra risk given there is enough risk already.

The oil consumption can increase at least for a while, though without the ability to monitor the level from its overfilled state on down you won't notice, can't notice the oil consumption.

The oil vapor though can increase the build up deposits on the intake valves, combustion chamber surfaces, even the O2 sensors and the converters.

If the engine is not driven hard enough, if the engine and oil doesn't get hot enough, the oil level can go up as the oil accumulates water and unburned gasoline. Since the level is already too high you can't notice this as the level goes up.

imho any shop that can't get this oil level right the 1st time doesn't deserve a 2nd chance to screw it up.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

[QUOTE=Macster;9473308]imho any shop that can't get this oil level right the 1st time doesn't deserve a 2nd chance to screw it up.QUOTE]

Have to agree... this is a very junior level mistake. They most likely rushed it and had a junior mech do your oil change... afterall that's where I'd start a newby. The tendency though is to keep filling up the engine with oil until the e-guage reads full by the uninitiated vs. waiting until it settles properly and the e-guage can read it. Plus in a rush to get your car done they likely did not allow enought time for the oil to settle or drain out completely from the start. I've let my oil drain out for 40mins(dripping for 30mins) only to find that it start flowing again at the 30min mark... ~ half quart came out afterwards. Lately, I've just walked away, worked on something else for a hours, or just taken a cigar break... A Monte 2 is about the right hour glass for the drain time. Worst yet the indy likely thought that filled meant all bars lite up vs. one bar below. In that senario I could conceive off them putting in 9.5 quarts or more. Then thinking wait it's not working... then realize that he had to wait for the oil to settle for the e-guage to read properly. After realizing that he's filled too much he likely did not know about removing a little via the oil filter housing vs. dumping it all out and filling with another 8-9 new quarts - costly for the shop to eat. Like Macster indicated... not a shop to trust for future work. Easy enough to remove the excess oil yourself now that you know the right process. Not sure I would trust them for anything else given the junior level mistake here. Would be interesting though if they replace the o-ring as Macster indicated they should... I would doubt it based on prior performance. Vote with you $$$ n go somewhere else. If not then let us know the outcome and share the Indy's info as well. Perhaps one other RLer's may want to avoid if they don't correct or don't know how to correct the issue.

 

Had this happen to me at the dealer . No big deal. Checked the oil level at pickup and it was one bar high. The tech simply removed the oil filter and inserted a pump/suction device to remove the excess oil. It only takes a matter of minutes. Level read normal and I was on my way. No way should you pay for a service and not have it done properly.

 

Happened to me too. I class this as a big deal, $ 250 for some dip not knowing what he's doin, ( must of been their first car ....du )

Threw a code as I 'm drivin home in a different country,... great !!!

Local P dealer fixed ( time ) Original P dealer paid !

 

As I said, I had a 997 come into the shop with the "Check Oil Level" message. It was 2 quarts over full. When I sucked out the excess oil, the message went away. I do not recall if it was a 997.1 or a 997.2 however.

 

Thanks to everyone for the helpful information.
Has anyone ever used a fluid extractor to pull oil from the engine (through the oil fill opening) opposed to pulling off the oil filter?

 

Techs have overfilled the oil on my car many times. Car runs just fine. No need to lose any sleep over this.

Really.

 

[QUOTE=boolala;9477505]Techs have overfilled the oil on my car many times. Car runs just fine. No need to lose any sleep over this.

Until ?