jhbrennan

That shows 0.4 l low - no reason to top off with 8+ l capacity.

mdr2001

Arctic,

This is exactly what I expected and why I mentioned "going for a drive". You did what I would have done - get the car to full operating temp so the oil would expand to show the level under operation.

At this point you are .04 liters low (not quarts - but they are almost identical at .42268 quarts low) This statement will depend on if you choose to fill to top arrow. I always have my car filled to top arrow @ full operating temp, but you may feel different about this approach. My car regularly measures between top arrow or one bar down when cold, but always top arrow when at 200+.

If you can get the info on the oil I would add a small amount of oil 1/4 - 1/3 of a quart. If you find this an insignificant amount of oil in 8.5 to 9.0 quarts, then you are ok.

Lastly, if you are a DIYer then an oil change may be ok($60-$70), but if you go to the dealer an oil change will run about $200.

Hope this helps -

sjfehr

It's going to vary naturally from oil getting splashed up all over the engine then slowly draining back down. If you only drive it a few minutes before parking, the oil's still cold and drains back more slowly. You're going to get variation, too, from imperceptible (but nonetheless real) slopes/grading in garages and parking lots. Overfilling can damage the engine, you definitely want to be careful of that.

dasams

It looks to me that the oil level is in the proper range. Since the CPO was last summer and you've only put 1,200 mi, I wouldn't do anything until the service light comes on. For peace of mind, have your dealer run the service records so you'll know when you are due for the annual replacement. Maybe it'll be at the CPO date or maybe before. dave

Arctic Wolf

Ok just bought a quart of Mobil 1 0w40 tonight and tomorrow I will go for a nice drive add a 1/4 of the quart drive some more and see where I'm at. Anything else I should know about adding oil to these cars out of the ordinary?

mdr2001

Arctic,

Nothing special - but I would recommend that once you settle on the acceptable level of oil, track the mileage to see if you are naturally burning oil between oil changes. Some use quite a bit every 600 miles. Mine does not burn any or not enough to affect the level between oil changes (5000 miles or annually for me).

this will let you know what to expect in terms of oil level and consumption

Arctic Wolf

Ok definitely will do that. Is it pretty common for 997's to burn oil? This is my first Porsche so I'm not too familiar with the quirks of the model.

Mumbles

Keep a record by marking the top up quart of oil with milage and date.

Arctic Wolf

So is there some sacred Porsche ritual (bow thrice facing Zuffenhausen followed by thrice shouts of praise to Ferry Porsche) that you have to do to open the oil filler cap? Cause mine is torqued down so tightly and with the airbox there I can't open it

Arctic Wolf

Nevermind I figured it out :P

drummin4fun

... good for you! And, of course you do know that the filler tube pulls up and away from the air box, and snaps back in place, right?

Arctic Wolf

Oh yeah I found that out xP I put rougly 350 ml of oil and it's still giving the last reading. :-/ I'm going to wait a day and see if anything changes before adding more tomorrow.

drummin4fun

Solid idea. Definitely get the motor hot again before checking too.

mdr2001

Arctic,

Looks like Bill and Mumbles took care of you. Just to answer your last question - 997's do burn oil and it seems to vary greatly(or it can). Here are are few threads to get you started

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...gine-life.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/panamera...rning-oil.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...ng-normal.html

USMC_DS1

Couldn't resist... Glad to see that you got the oil cap off w/o resorting to the ritual above.