Oil levels

I'm sort of obsessed with checking my oil, and my gauge on the dashboard doesn't seem to be very helpful. How do most of you check your oil, dip stick or do you rely on the gauge? Do you check your level cold or do you warm up the car and check? Basic stuff but I don't feel confident in my technique and this car is too expensive to mess around with. plus this car burns a little oil as we all know which is new to me, my Acura never needs oil between changes for example. any advice? suggestions or best practices are much appreciated.

I will always use dipstick and when engine is warm. Also, best to make sure you are on a level surface. The bar reader is useful, but I prefer to see it for myself. Checking with the dip also forces you to take a look at the color / consistency of the oil as well.

Def dip method. I check mine before initial drive of the day, so cold. Not that I think warm effects the level enough to worry about.

I try to use oil pressure, dip, and guage, cold and level. Never seems to burn any oil.

I burn about 1.5 liters per 5000 miles, which is within normal from what i understand.

I check my dash gauge before the first drive of the day

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The digital oil level sensor/sender is quite helpful if you use it right. I assume with your car you can check the oil level with the engine cold and off? (Like my 02 Boxster?) If so, then check the oil level first trip of the day. The countdown time is only 5 seconds. I automatically turn the key to the on position and hook up my seat belt and the glance at the oil level. Since my 1st trip of the day starts out on known ground this lets me start the engine with a baseline. Then during the day, after the engine is fully up to temp I check the oil level almost every engine start. All it takes is 5 seconds. If the trip was too short to get the engine hot enough or the errand too brief to let the oil drain and the timer is any more than 5 seconds I just start the engine. On the road, I always check the oil first trip of the day -- just like when I'm at home -- and after every fill up. The gas station aprons are level and this is a good time to check the oil level. I never use the dipstick,... well, except when I change the oil I can't help myself and check the dipstick level. However, my other car doesn't have a dipstick only the digital oil level check system and i don't miss the dipstick at all. Oh, don't fret too much about oil consumption. It is not that high and there's not much you can do about it anyhow. Run the right oil. Change it at reasonable intervals and enjoy the car. If you want to experiment to see if you can reduce the oil consumption try to avoid idling the engine and cut back on high rpms. Both of these types of engine usage tend to increase oil consumptioin. Sincerely, Macster.

I check it each time I fill up with gas.

I don't have a dipstick, so the only way to check it is the dash guage. Also, The motor has to be hot before it let's you check the oil. How do you guys check the dash before the first trip of the day?

SSST on the 996 C2 you can use the gauge when the engine is cold. Mine is really inconsistent thus my question here on the board. It will tell me when it's cold I am 3/4ths the way to the top, I'll drive it until the engine is warmed up. Park on a level spot, the same spot as when it was cold, my garage and the gauge tells me I am low on oil, ten minutes later, same thing, the next morning though, back to full sometimes, or a whole different level.

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The variability in the oil level suggests to me that the electronic level sensor/sender is flaky. Now there are two parts to this (I cut an old one apart...): A temp sensor and a level sensor. They both consist of small wires that run down the sensor tube and are immersed in the oil. I believe the temp sensor is used among other things to normalize the level reading. Now I asked my tech sources about the electronic oil level sensor/sender and only one told me he had encountered a bad one. I asked what the symptom was and he told me there was no reading even though he confirmed the engine had the right amount of oil in it. But I suspect there's at least one other failure mode and it is my layman's opinion your car's sensor appears to have suffered it. However, that is just my opinion. I think unless you want to go through the time/money to replace the sensor/sender you need to have the car looked at by a professional to get his well professional opinion/diagnosis. Sincerely, Macster.

Turbo's don't have dip sticks ? Interesting, I have not worked my way up to that level yet Learn something new every day.

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i agree with the use of the dash indicator. to make myself feel better about its accuracy, i have also pulled the stick and measured on many occasions. the stick and dash indicator (for me) agree very well.

Macster is right, I have found the electronic readout to be pretty accurate. But I do check with the dipstick now and than. I did not trust it at first when I got my first car with it (986S) but it proved reliable.

I check the electronic gauge at cold each day. If it is low, I check the dipstick and fill. Seeks to be pretty accurate to me. I'm burning a quart of Mobile 1 0W40 every 1500 miles - seems to be on the high end but other than that everything runs fine (56K miles total).

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There's more: Since the Turbo has a dry sump oil system the engine/oil must be hot and the engine running at idle and the car stationary and level before an oil level check can be done. Sincerely, Macster.

So if I am using the dash indicator, what is a proper level for it to indicate? I read somewhere that some let it get to the bottom bar? I know it's bad to overfill.

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Well, between the min and the max lines. However, that doesn't take into account this represents a considerable difference in oil quantity. IIRC approx. 1.5 liters or 1.6 quarts of oil. This means with the oil level at the max line there is say 8 quarts (well, there's more than this in the engine counting the filter, oil cooler, and so on but I think my point will be clear) of oil in the engine. With the oil level at the min line there is only 6.5 quarts of oil in the engine. While there is no harm in running the oil level low there is less of a safety margin should the oil level go even lower. The oil level sensor is not intended/designed to indicate how much extra oil is in the engine, only that the level is over the max. level, neither is it intended/designed to indicate how much under the min line of oil there is in the engine. My philosophy is I want to run the oil level closer to the max level without going over, within reason. I'm not going to add oil the minute the level drops one bar from max. But I do want the engine to have as much oil in it as it was clearly designed to run with but no more. I do not ever use the lowest bar flashing as a sign to add oil. Somewhere -- maybe in the owners manual (I do not have one handy to consult) -- doing this is cautioned against. Now granted some engines use more oil than others. This is natural. In my case, my Turbo uses a bit less than a quart every 5K miles. (The Boxster about the same believe it or not.) So even though the oil level starts out at the max line (but not above) I do not add any oil until the level has dropped a couple of bars, then I will add oil but just enough oil to bring the level up to the bar just below the max bar or maybe even the max bar. An exception to the above is that if I'm heading out on a longish drive, starting out on a hundreds (or thousands) of mile road trip, I'll top up the engine oil to the max line even though the oil level may be just 2 or even 1 bar below the max line level. Also, I make it a point to put a full (and unopened) bottle of oil in the front trunk just in case. So if your engine uses some oil you can let the oil level drop a few bars if you want before topping the level up. But I repeat I would never ever let the oil level get so low the bottom bar was flashing. To me, even though some do this and they have not reported any engine problems arising from this practice, I simply choose not to run the oil level that low. Sincerely, Macster.

Excellent explanation and I thank you!

+1 exactly what Macster said. The only thing I would add is that I make sure the oil level is at the top line before I go to a track event. Never over that line, but always up to that line so that I am far less likely to suck air into the oil pick-up in the sump when going through long hard corners.

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Isn't it risky to fill the oil to the top before a track event? Don't you need room for expansion? On my 993, filling to the top is a big no-no as it will surely expand and start sucking oil into the intakes and you will get a bunch of smoke. Granted, the 993 is a dry sump system..... I am new to the 996 and and my 996 is a dedicated track car. I have always been keeping my oil level at the middle mark on the dip stick. No higher.

Here's an interesting fact for you: My 3.4L core 3.6L rebored & rebuilt engine required nearly exactly 10.8 US quarts to get the dipstick to read 3/4 full, which is about where I like to run it. Of course, the engine was nearly completely dry aside from some start up lubes. The stock 3.6L takes less oil. But in the specifications I thought it was interesting to discover more conversion errors (there are many in the work shop manuals). Here's what it says: --------------------------------- Engine oil quantity: Approx 10.25L (2.22 imp gal) Change quantity: Change quantity 8.25L (1.79 imp gal) --------------------------------- 10.25 liters is actually 2.25 imperial gallons, and 8.25L is actually 1.81 imperial gallons. 10.25 L = 10.83 US quarts = 2.71 US gallons

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Apples/Oranges. Completely different oil systems. 996 is a WET sump, which means that the minute you start it, some oil immediately starts to leave the sump to go to work. The sump is not full again until well after you shut it down and all the oil has drained back into the sump. You check a wet sump system when the oil is cold, before starting, and after standing, preferrably overnight. The measurement is in the sump. You check a DRY sump system by heating up the engine and oil first, then leave it running at idle a few moments to allow the oil pump to return the oil to the OIL TANK. This is where expansion could be an issue for overfilling. The measurement is in the TANK. Wet sumps return oil to the sump... SO, when you start with a properly full sump, shortly therafter, a lot of it isn't in there when and as long as the engine is still running. The higher the RPM the less oil in the sump at that moment since it is pumped out under suction, and returns more or less by gravity. Simplistic response, I know.

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Great, thanks Macster. You and Thundertub are great at helping out newbies..like me. I appreciate it.