How to correctly check oil level in a 987.1?

Hi, I'm confused how to measure correctly the oil level in my 2006 CS. When I do a reading with a cold engine I get a lower reading in comparision to a "hot" reading. Both readings are done in the same spot, "hot" reading gives me a level after a 5 minutes wait. On cold it gives me 1 small bar (minimum), but the hot reading gives me 2 bars. I'm confused....

Check when its cold only.. just cycle the key and the onboard will tell you the level… mine can be dead spot on the full level mark and I can drive it, let it get cold and it’ll be on the mark one down from full… how it works is stupid… gimme a dip stick for gods sake!! Just make damn sure it’s low before you add.. if you add 1/8-1/4 increments

That's just backwards from the old cars. The manual for my '72 911T (and also on my former '84 Carrera 3.2) warns that you should only check the oil (either by gauge or dipstick) when the car is sitting level, with the engine running at idle for at least 30 seconds, and oil temp at least 170°F. In those cars, cold oil reads low, by as much as a full quart or more.

I don’t like it at all… I like to be the oil checker

I'm used to it now. I just look for consistency. I used the suggested method of under-filling it at my oil change by dumping about a 1/2 quart less than called for and then over the next few days I "snuck up" on 1 bar less than full. Now every morning I get that same reading before coldstart and happy to see it doesn't appear that it's consuming oil either. Warm starts will often read 2 bars below full, or 1 bar lower than a cold start.

I use the cold start level 6 seconds after I turn on the key. I use 3/8 level (10 qt) due to a LN deep sump and windage plate. My engine simply does not use any additional oil between 3500 miles oil changes.

Consistency… yes. Mine is usually at the top mark as it should be, but when I least expect it shows the 1 less mark. Silly because the day before I drove 5 miles so there is no way it could be low right? Haha and like always the next time it’s perfect again.

Read what the manual says to do? [emoji2371] Sent from my SM-G991W using Tapatalk

UPDATE, I found this info on the PCA website. Still it troubles me because a check with a warm engine gives me a different (higher) readout than a cold reading. One would expect a lower reading with a warm engine because not all the oil is settled to the lowest point of the engine. But it's the other way around in my car.... By the way, the manual doesn't say if the check must be done with warm or cold engine. One would assume with a cold enginge but if this is so why is there a possibillity to check it with a warm engine and get a different reading. This is very confusing.... PCA website states: "Your car needs to be on level ground. This means flat and not a hill or incline. The reason you have to read your manual is to find out whether you can check your oil when the engine is at operating temperature or cold. Again, you need to read the manual as far as whether the car must be running or turned off to check the oil. As an example, on the 2005-2008 Boxster/Cayman, the engine should be cold and checked before starting it for the shortest wait time (at operating temperature, the engine will wait five minutes before giving an oil level readout). On the 2009-2011 Boxster, it is checked with the engine warm and while it’s idling. On the 2012-2016 Boxster, it’s checked with the engine warm but only one minute after you’ve turned the engine off. "

So MY and models vary… interesting… who knew?

Here comes the engineer (me!)... From what I'm reading, engine oil expands about 5-6% when up to temp. (Most if not all materials expand as they are heated.) If you assume the 987.1 holds 9 quarts of oil (per Pelican Parts website)... that means when heated the 9 quarts becomes 9.54 quarts (6%) volumetrically speaking. That's similar to adding half a quart to the car, so you should see a half-quart increase in the reading. Per this thread Oil levels bars are... what? the oil bars are about 0.45 quarts per bar. That means you should see about 1-2 bars difference hot to cold. Note this does not take into account the oil "settling back out" as was noted... as this could affect things, of course. Also note, the assumption is that Porsche set the "full" level per the guidance provided by the manual. In other words, if they say to make the oil full when cold, that's what you should be doing, of course. In contrast, on my 987.2 I can only check while the engine is running and warm... so I assume they set the full level according to that (and so I should not check level when cold... which I can't really do anyway since the car doesn't really allow it...) Lastly, yes, the oil levels do differ between MYs... odd, but it is what it is!

...and whatever you do...do NOT overfill your engine with too much oil. Drain your car FLAT. Measure exactly what you need, including for the oil filter. I'm still paying for the issues caused by the overfill of the previous owner, who put in OVER 2 quarts because he didn't fully drain it out. Yes, it's a PITA but it's best to get it right.

Yuk…. Ya that’ll force oil in places you don’t want. Being a little low never bothered me (1/4 of a quart or less

So the OP is referring to a 987.1 , so lets not confuse the audience with different equipment and measurement systems. The 987.1 oil measurement will come up after about 5 seconds on a cold startup. This is very useful to know as you can see week to week stability in your oil. Yes there are a few days when the oil sender has a flyer, but If you are regularly monitoring your oil level, you can detect this issue easlily. Where there is a question is when the car has been sitting in the garage for maybe a month without startup, Turn on the key and the oil level is higher than you think it should be considering the past levels. Where did the extra fluid come from? Is it gas or engine coolant? Most likely neither. Sometimes just just need patience and not overreact.

Agree… the 987.1 needs to be cold like I said above… it’s as simple as it gets… get into a habit of checking each time you drive it and it’ll alleviate the worry

I wonder if the fluctuations being seen are simply due to the nature of the measuring device. These cars simply report about 4 or 5 different levels of oil. It is not a continuous measuring gauge like a traditional dipstick. If the oil level is right on the border of let’s say 2 bars or 3 bars, it might report it as 2 one time and 3 the next as even a slight measurement variation causes it to jump from one threshold to another. I don’t think I would have any concerns if the oil gauge is jumping between two adjacent measurement levels.

^ exactly As long as it reports 1 bar or 2 bar below full, I consider it unchanged, since that's what it does day in and day out. 1 bar cold 2 bar warm

^^ and that’s kinda the point I was making above… I checked the oil cold (of course) before I left and it was spot on, drove it about 5-8 miles and back (just a normal cruise) and the next day after sitting I checked it and it’s one level block down? Uh- no… impossible, So I believe the reporting device is the problem. It’s just not today technology accurate or tired and old like some of us haha. It’s obviously a sensor device and we all know they go bad

Most of us change our oil with such frequency that completely ignoring the "maybe" gauge would be nearly impossible anyway and as other's have stated too much is bad too; this isn't leather conditioner. I would like to add that as Navin R Johnson I checked the oil at a full service Esso. Many were the times when I'd run the stick, nothing. Put in a quart a slight reading, put in a second, getting there, put in a third, at the correct level, ideally a bit low for what hasn't dripped call it three quarters. Old V8's man, people abused them. Then there's us.. I have a BP cuff, I haven't checked it or obsessed about it anywhere near the commitment level we all have all committed to finding the Zen oil level grasshopper. Now I'm going to check later, the BP that is....

I have a 2008 CS and have never noticed a difference between cold and warm readings. The car knows the oil is hot, so I assume the readout is adjusted to take into account the higher volume of the hot oil. One possible difference between readings might be due to oil and fuel seeping into the oil mixture. On this website a decade ago, people sometimes reported a drop of oil after a long highway trip, but others here speculated that the drop was due to finally evaporating off the oil and fuel.

"I would like to add that as Navin R Johnson I checked the oil at a full service Esso." St. Louis? No, Navin Johnson...

If you want to see the real oil level over time, you need to use your car for an hour or more every couple of weeks. This usage hopefully can be made that excites your world, what ever that looks like, but the result is you are burning off moisture and gas that may get into your oil. I check my oil cold after turning on the key after about 6 seconds, your oil level comes up on the 987.1 Cayman . If you have moisture or gas in your sump, this hour long drive, will allow for the normal run temps to come up and burn it off. This hourly usage also cleans out the small oil passage ways in your engines lifters for a quitter operation. Do not confuse the issues of the 987.1 M97 motor from a later 9A1a version. The M97 has a intermediate shaft that is not lubricated by engine oil but by the sealed grease inside the bearing. Overfilling the sump may allow the sump oil to penetrate the oil seal of the IMS bearing . This brings contamination with it and changes the lubrication of the bearing. So be careful not to overfill your sump. I have found that the sump does have days where the level is slightly higher than others, but I have found that the electronic gauge does not under report the levels which is good. I run a deep LN sump so I have more oil but use the OEM system to measure the level. I use 3/8 full as my normal due to LN's insistence of keeping the oil deep in the sump so it does not wash up the side walls of the sump into the top, which is where the AOS sucks out the oil fumes under vacuum. This is the mechanism that actually removes the water moisture and gas that may be in the oil through the AOS . I use the upgraded Porsche Motorsports 987.1 version which is more robust in removing this fuel and moisture effectively without being washed down and perminently internally damaged.

I recently changed the oil in my 987.1 CS. I filled it to 1 bar above minimum (cold) then drove it around to cycle the oil. The next morning I filled it to 1 bar below full (cold). Today I went on a long drive and one hour into the drive I checked it and it read 1 bar above full. After returning home three hours later, I let the engine cool one hour then checked the level and it read 1 bar below full again. Maybe I wasn’t on perfectly level ground when I checked it mid trip (hot), I don’t know, but that is still a significant difference or perhaps a bogus reading

If you can let that sit for a day or two.. then you’ll know the level.. it has a tendency to show a lower mark one day and the next day it can be on the level. I know it’s an utter pain dialing this oil level business. I would actually measure how much came out and started with filling it up with the same… now I just bring it in

OK, use the 1 bar level below full as your standard. Tomorrow look for that amount. Hopefully the car is level as that reading is what you will be using from now on. If you try to check it in some parking lot or a road side turn off that could have a slope, you may not get a good reading. Quite frankly one reading in the morning before crank over is good enough as you really just want to know that you have oil but not too much oil.

Very interesting post. According to this I've been waiting too long after turning off the car to check the oil. Hmmmm.