oil change

Hi, Today before i started my car up i looked at the oil pressure gauge and it said it was 1 notch, and flashing. I decided not to start it just incase. Then i checked the oil manually from the back via the dipstick and it was low, but not below min. I know my car does need an oil change, as i spoke to my specialist and he checked the records and it doesnt need a service yet, just the oil change he said. Well, ive read on forums in the past that the best way to check the oil is to leave the car running for 1 minute so the engine is fully lubricated, then you will get a better reading. If this is true, i don't really want to start her up. I do need to go somewhere today asap, but what do you guys suggest? going off what the clock states is "low and flashing" or going off the manual way. My car is parked on a driveway, steep bank.. maybe its not the exact reading? cheers

Go find a litre or so of oil and put it in the car to make sure it's protected before you turn the engine over. Then take it straight to get it's oil changed (if you don't want to do this yourself). Should be ok.

Yeah i was going to do just that, i found some high performance oil in my shed i used on my E46M3, but i spoke to a specialist and he said it must be mobile 1. I might have a walk to the nearest ESSO garage and get some soon. cheers

Sounds like someone from the garage has a 'hard on' for mobil 1! For the puposes of just protecting your engine so it can be driven then I think any Porsche recommended engine oil would do, probably fully synthetic. Although I am new to the 911 scene. So others on here might be able to correct me if I'm wrong about this commitment to mobil 1.

haha @ the hardon part for mobile 1. That's what i was thinking LOL. Anyway, i managed to get hol of some Castrol Edge Sport 10W-60 (castrols best sports performance fully synthetic with di-esiter booster ) what do you guys suggest ?

You would really have been better with a 0W-40 or 5W-40 oil, but if you are going to get it changed within the next 100 or so miles, then use what you have got. Also agree with the Mobil 1 comment. I think you are better with a P-Approved 5W-40 anyway. Another of my 2p's worth.

I wouldn't worry too much about the readings from the digital display when parked on anything other than flat ground; I was horrified quite often during my first few weeks of ownership because when I parked on one side of a road (heavy camber) the display registered one bar and was flashing, but on the other it read full, and when I parked up at work (sloped car park) it read low, then at home again (level driveway) it would read full etc. etc. I still look at it of course, but check on the dipstick every time I wash it (once or twice a week), it's the best way to get an accurate reading... :thumb:

Boys some scarey stuff going on here. 10W 60 because you had it lying around. Eek! Are you really changing 8 litres of oil every time your dipstick gets low - now that is expensive. I think most guys on here will check oil manually once a week and with the gauge before every start - that is my routine. Incline will account for about 1 gauge bar (about 200-250ml). I keep a litre of Mobil 1 in the front and 5 litres in the garage. does not have to be Mobil 1 - there are dozens of recommended oils. Every car is different but Porsche say up to 1ml per mile is not excessive in oil usage so if you change oil every time you get to the low (say a litre) and change the oil thats an oil change every 1K miles. Now that is stringent maintenance but if I may say slight overkill. Top up regularly - save the oil change budget for something nice. :wink:

I am no mechanic (just about manage to put petrol in) so please help: Car was serviced 5-6K miles ago by Strasse (specialist in Leeds) and the receipt says they put 8 litres of Mobil 1 in. I checked levels tonight, as I regularly do, and it has started to get towards the bottom of what I would deem to be the 'safe' range. I am going to call Strasse in the morning to verify exactly what oil is used but should I just simply top up? Car is not necessarily driven daily and is hardly ever abused. Comments/advice appreciated.

Strasse will recommend you use Mobil 1 15/50 motorsport oil... is good stuff.

Cheers James Yeah, rang them this morning and that's what they suggested. I ordered 5 litres earlier this morning. They said just top up a litre and then check levels. Apparently, the gauge between empty and full on the car isn't that much at all.

I have a slightly different problem (although problem may not be the word). I have done approx 1500 miles in my car since buying it (3yrs old with approx 10k on the clock) and it appear to have used no oil at all. A mixture of motorway and town driving. Is that unusual? I suspect even if it is nothing to worry about?

There seems to be some serious confusion going on here. I don't thik you have anything to worry about. I'm sure the Porsche maual says somewhere that 1litre of oil consumed in 1000 miles is within accepted tolerances, so if your car has used some oil it's nothing to worry about. Just get used to checking it regularly - a good idea with any car! I presume you mean oil level not pressure , If you've checked the oil level manually and it's above MIN mark on the dipstick on a level surface the it's OK to start the engine. If it was below MIN mark then not. From what you've said here, your car doesn't need an oil change it just needs 1/2 litre or so top up with the same grade of oil that was last put in it. If you don't know what was used, just put something that meets the requirements specified in the user maual. Look at the service schedule in the manual, that will tell you when your car needs an oil change. This sounds like total garbage to me. To get a good reading the engine needs to have stopped for a while to allow all the oil to drain down to the sump. You might be thinking of the older, air cooled 911s (such as 964s and 993s) which had a dry sump and to get an oil level reading the engine had to be warmed up and running. 996s (apart from Turbos and GT3s) do not have a dry sump! If you're not parked on level ground the reading is compltely meaningless. Get the car somewhere flat and get a proper reading.

This is definitely not a problem, my 11 year old 996 never uses a jot of oil. If I remember correctly, the manual says it is tolerable for a 996 to use up to 1 litre of oil per 1000 miles. Zero is definitely less than a litre, so it's well within tolerances and I'm sure it's fine

Thanks to all that have posted. Malbon thanks very much for your help, great advice. I really appreciate it. Also thanks to the guy on the other page too blain. Cheers mate. cheers