Spoke too soon! 911 997 - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

So, got to the GFs 2 days ago and then gave her daughter a lift into town. Waited for the oil level self test to complete and it gave me a flashing 'low oil' result (bottom segment under 'min' flashing). All doom and gloom according to the hand book so gave the AA a call. They already knew about the porsche assistance I had, and to cut a long story short they came out and put in a litre of oil. Self test now reads just bellow max. Odd though seeing as the car didn't report low oil before. Anyway, yesterday got in the car and it now reads above maximum (all segments full) but no warnings of any sort. I left it anyway, intending to make enquiries today. And today the oil level simply reads 'max' as it always did. Taking to the local specialist tomorrow as he says it at least needs a proper look. Is this common? Anything to worry about? There wasn't any dramatic big red lights or warning sirens of any sort.

Was the engine warm when you checked the oil each time? Was it tested on a flat surface? I think (though I am not sure) that you need to wait a few minutes with the engine on tick over for all the oil to collect back at the point its measured at.

You surely didn't need to call the AA to put a litre of oil in your car? If its marginally low which was the reading you got driving it steadily to the hearest Halfords and buying some appropriate oil would have been fine. Having too much oil in the engine is worse than having too little. As has been said, test the car when warmed but having idled for a while on a level surface. They have manula dipsticks too don't they??

Dblue said: They have manula dipsticks too don't they?? That's unfair. Mine hasn't got one of those!!

Trev450 said: Dblue said: They have manula dipsticks too don't they?? That's unfair. Mine hasn't got one of those!! Wouldn't a Porsche one be 'manuel'?

Dblue said: You surely didn't need to call the AA to put a litre of oil in your car? If its marginally low which was the reading you got driving it steadily to the hearest Halfords and buying some appropriate oil would have been fine. Having too much oil in the engine is worse than having too little. As has been said, test the car when warmed but having idled for a while on a level surface. They have manula dipsticks too don't they?? It was 10:30 pm and I was due in work at 5:30am so halfords was out really. Plus the Aa must have had over 3 grand out of me over the years with no call outs. There isn't a dipstick on it.

The other thing is, the diagnostics decide when to measure the oil. This can be 45 minutes or more with a hot engine.

V8KSN said: Was the engine warm when you checked the oil each time? Was it tested on a flat surface? I think (though I am not sure) that you need to wait a few minutes with the engine on tick over for all the oil to collect back at the point its measured at. It was on a gentle incline, about an hour after a 30 mile motorway run when it read low. Today was totally cold in the garage when it read ok. (Max)

I assume gen1 carreras are wet sump as the engine needs to be off but gen2 carreras are dry sump as engine has to be running and warm.

I don't think any carreras are dry sump, only turbo and gt cars (996 onwards) as far as I know

bryan35 said: It was on a gentle incline, about an hour after a 30 mile motorway run when it read low. Today was totally cold in the garage when it read ok. (Max) It only needs an small incline to throw up an incorrect reading. I'm assuming your garage floor is level and thus why you got an accurate reading.

Trev450 said: bryan35 said: It was on a gentle incline, about an hour after a 30 mile motorway run when it read low. Today was totally cold in the garage when it read ok. (Max) It only needs an small incline to throw up an incorrect reading. I'm assuming your garage floor is level and thus why you got an accurate reading. Like a snooker table. :-) Taking to the local specialist this afternoon so should be clearer then.

Mine certainly gets through it (or doesn't hold much to begin with). I have a small bottle of Mobil 1 in the front and have to check it weekly (i do approx 1,000 miles a month). As has been said, unless you are dead flat the reading can be very different, as does the running time. I just always look for it to have halfway then there's no chance of it being overfilled.

supermono said: I don't think any carreras are dry sump... 3.2 Carrera 964 Carrera 2/4 993 Carrera/4 All dry sumped. When Mike from Sports and Classic recently serviced my 996 he noted that the electronic gauge wasn't accurate - it went up and down with the level but either over read or under read (I forget which). It doesn't do many miles or use much oil so checking with the dipstick isn't a problem, but 997s are not so lucky. I think one can be retro-fitted though - Mike mentioned doing this when he fitted a 997 engine in an old VW campervan (which obviously had no dash display gauge), might be worth doing for peace of mind. Without one I don't know how you'd be able to tell if your electronic gauge is working correctly.

thegoose said: when he fitted a 997 engine in an old VW campervan I like the sound of that.

Car is back from the local specialist. The end of the oil level sensor was broken off/missing which presumably was causing the oil level fluctuations. There was also a weeping oil seal that's been replaced, plus new filter and nice fresh Mobil 1 0W-40 put in, though the oil that came out was pretty good. All seems good, but the oil level does fluctuate between Max and the overfill segment. Never get the 'check oil level' warning though. Still love the car! :-)

Car is back from the local specialist. The end of the oil level sensor was broken off/missing which presumably was causing the oil level fluctuations. There was also a weeping oil seal that's been replaced, plus new filter and nice fresh Mobil 1 0W-40 put in, though the oil that came out was pretty good. All seems good, but the oil level does fluctuate between Max and the overfill segment. Never get the 'check oil level' warning though. Still love the car! :-)

Where has the end of the sensor gone? Did they find it in the oil, or is it still in the engine somewhere? or stuck in one of the oil channels and restricting the flow? Don't want to be doom and gloom, but I'd want the peace of mind that it's not going to do any serious damage.

Dblue said: Having too much oil in the engine is worse than having too little. I'm not convinced!

BertBert said: Dblue said: Having too much oil in the engine is worse than having too little. I'm not convinced! I know I know but its the truth. Overfill worse than a little low.

What I did with my 996 turbo (no dipstick - electronic check only) was kept it at two bars below maximum and checked it regularly. When it dropped to 3 bars below maximum, I just added a splash of oil. Then checked it on the next drive.