burkef123

Just picked up our new baby today (2009 C4S) and drove it home (4 hours) after having a 40K service done at what I consider a very reputable indy shop. The check oil level warning light came on after about an hour. I pulled over and checked the level and it was completely filling the bar gauge (over the top of the top arrow). Called the shop and they assured me that they had put the correct amount of oil in and that it might just have been expanding. After sitting at idle for about 15 minutes while I called them we resumed our journey and there was no warning light - until about an hour later when it came on and stayed on for the remainder of the trip. I've read a lot of the threads and it looks like it may be an issue of overfilling. So my question is should I try and take some oil out or just wait for it to burn off. If taking out, what would be the easiest way to do that for a non DIY'er?

CosmosC4S

I would drain a little of the oil if it's much overfilled. One quick way to do this is to "loosen" the drain plug and let a little of the oil out. Note that I said "loosen", not remove the drain plug.

Wayne Smith

Random thoughts and musings ...

If you don't DIY, take it into a dealer or an Indy. You need to jack the car up, have the proper tool, and torque the plug back in properly. On top of that, these cars use a crush washer that is one time use only. Once you loosen, IMO, you need to fully remove and replace. There are people who use aviation lock nuts twice. I don't. Take the crush washer advice as you will.

I have heard of people vacuuming or siphoning oil out through the oil filter at the top of the motor. I have not tried this.

All of your symptoms point to an overfill. It takes a long time to drain the oil. If the dealer rushed he may have only drained 7.5 quarts before putting in the correct 8 quarts. It happens. Next time, ask them to fill with 7.5 and give you the extra half quart. Check the level a week later and fill if needed.

My 2010 C4S does not burn oil. You could wait forever for this to self correct.

ADias

Remove the oil filter and drain it, then re-install-it (with proper torque spec).

Wayne Smith

This works on a 997.1 with the oil filter hanging down at the bottom of the motor. The oil filter on the 997.2 sits on top of the motor and the oil drains back down into the block when the motor is shut off.

I miss the dipstick. I like to examine and smell the oil from time to time. I hear that there is a retrofit kit to add a dipstick if you ever need to rebuild the motor (Jack Raby).

Speeds5

This. You can easily do it yourself.

Macster

You have to be careful. The shop may have put the right amount of oil in engine. If you assume the engine was overfilled and it was not if you remove oil the engine could end up with too little oil.

I do not accept the explanation the oil warning was due to expansion. While the oil does expand when warm the shop should have double checked the oil level when the engine was warm and adjusted the oil level so when warm the oil level was right.

What this appears to me is the oil sending unit is acting up.

To confirm this the proper way is to perform a proper and correct oil change. With the engine at the proper temperature drain the oil and let it drain the correct amount of time. Replace the filter.

Then the tech should add in the factory specified amount of oil and confirm the oil level sensor/system displays the right level.

If it does then the car should be road tested and confirmed the oil level warning doesn't come on. It may come on after the car has been driven if the sensor's wiring is loose and moving about.

Wayne Smith

Good advice as always from Macster!

Just one thing to add ... I would like to know how much oil drains out.

Minok

This means they DID NOT put in the correct amount, because if they HAD put in the correct amount they would not have filled it to the maximum capacity as they did, and thus there would have been plenty of room for the oil capacity to expand into without creating an overfill condition.

God damnit! The top line is not the friggen target for how much oil you should put in the car. Why is this so hard for even professionals to get right?

BIG smoke

I'll x2 Wayne's comment. Perhaps they put in the correct amount in, but no one measures the amount they take out. Was it a rushed drain? How hot was the oil when it was drained. When it is hot, it will drain quickly. Maybe all 8 liters in five minutes on a level car. Cold oil, does it take 30 minutes to let it all drain out. Perhaps we need a measuring system while draining? 10 liter bucket with a good side gauge by liter.
Lit, in german,english,spanish,polish,french,Korean, whatever language our indy shops need.

7391420

First question- is how did you check the level after driving? In my 997.1, you have to let it cool for an hour before the gauge will read?- maybe it's different in the 997.2?

jhbrennan

in the 997.1 oil doesn't have to cool but enough time has to have passed for oil to flow back to the oil pan - closer to 5 minutes than 1 hour...anyway the countdown feature of the OBC when checking the oil will tell you when it has sufficiently drained back.

Wayne Smith

The 997.2 is a different animal. No dipstick. Car has to be warmed up, running, on a level surface. Check is initiated with the selector stalk on the lower left of the steering wheel. A countdown will begin (time is dependent on last motion) followed by a stable display indicating the level. The indication is crude at best.

Likewise the oil filter is different than on the 997.1. It points down from above the motor. Tough to remove oil from here. And loosening the plug implies compromising the crush washer. Better to measure what you take out and put a bit less in. It is easier to add later than to remove.

This makes a strong argument for DIY. I've read reports of all night drains. The DFI motor has a lot of channels. A dealer won't do this. Dealers always want to do things right. They try. But time is against them. They screw up. It's not that they are bad. It's just what it is. They just don't realize (or admit even to themselves) the problem they face.

johnireland

I didn't have any red light in my 996 but I could tell by the guage that I had mistakenly overfilled by about 1/2 quart And I confirmed it looking at the dip stick. I bought a simple hand pump siphon from Auto Zone...good for gas or oil. Put one tube down the dipstick tube and squeezed the pump and the oil came out and went into a bucket. I took out about 3/4 for a quart. Took the car out for a ride, let it sit for about 15 minutes, checked both the guage and dip stick...they matched at just under the max mark.

The siphon had very long tubes so there was no chance of it coming off the pump and falling into the dipstick tube. I used the dip stick tube as opposed the the larger hole where you add oil because I wanted to get down where the reading was occurring.

jhubs

burkef123,
I just went through this with my 2011 C4S 997.2 Let the oil cool and put your oil pan under the car and loosen the oil plug a little. Have another washer in your other hand before you pull the plug out. Pull the old washer off quickly and put the new washer on and put the plug back in as fast as you can. Then tighten the nut to specs. I did this and about 1.2 quarts came out during the process. Rubber gloves and lots of newspapers around help a lot.
Then start the car and check the oil level. Mine was just above the lower mark so I added about 1/3 quart back in to bring the gauge up to the full mark.
All Porsche Dealers are reputable…. it is the people that change the oil you have to be cautious of!
Change your own oil, it is the easiest oil change process of any car I have ever owned. And, the bonus is you get to smell like oil… the ladies just love that!