Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hello, Just joined aftre purchasing a beautiful dark blue Wide bodied 993. Manual six speed and sounding beautiful. Just checked the oil level gauge when I was out on this lovely sunny day and found it to be sitting on the red ! Aghast I took it home slowly and checked the oil dipstick level. Nowt on the dip stick. !! I starting putting oil in 1.5l first. Oil registerred on the dip stick. I put in total about 2.3- 2.5 litres. My problem is that the gauge is sitting right up at the top in the black and at times just over. It is also going to the top whenyou put the ignition on but not starting the car. The pressure reamins as normal up and down as the revs go.

Have I put in too much oil ? Is the 993 touchy about the amount that you put in it ?

If I have put too much in , it cant be more than 0.3 - .05 litres, but that gauge seems to be going berserk.

Thoughts and soothing words please.

sounds like you have put too much oil in
Its not the worst thing you can do, the oil gauge in the car is accurate and it only takes a little to max the gauge.

The gauge went from horizontal, when I should have stopped admitidily, to maximum in a matter of no more than 1/2 litre of oil. Thats was what was concerning me. The dipstick doesnt look madly over maximum, if at all. It is quite difficult to read, especially since the oil is very clean.

Suggestions ?

Sack of the gauge – they are not necessarily all that accurate. Are you running the engine when checking your oil on the dip stick? Air cooled 911s need to be running when you check oil level.

If you’re unsure and want to have a conversation pm me with you phone number

Cheers

Hi

First of all when running / driving a 993 the oil gauge will read zero or near zero. That's the nature of the dry sumped engine.

When the engine is at idle it should read 4 to 5 bar.

Porsche suggest that the pressure should read about 3.5 bar at 5000 rpm when at normal operating temperature. However, oil temperature can fluctuate markedly and I never look out for this yardstick. Depends how you drive and traffic conditions.

When it comes to checking the oil level on a 993 it is a bit of a pig. Even more difficult if the dip stick is grey like mine and the oil is clean.

So IMHO here is the best way to do it.

Make sure the engine is hot and is running. Ensure engine is settled at idle speed, this should take no more than 1 minute after stopping the car. On my 993 that is approx 800 rpm. Also, make sure the car is on level ground

Use either your fingers or a paper towel to run down the dip stick until the hot oil is reached and registers on your fingers or paper towel. Beware the hot oil.

Like ThreeTwo says don't put your trust fully in the gauge. I never do; I just use it as an indicator and the real test is the manual check which I perform regularly.

Given the cost of an oil change why not change all the oil and the oil filters; yes there are two oil filters on a 993 engine, one is located inside and at the front of the rear off side wheel arch and the second smaller one is in the centre (roughly) of the engine as you look from underneath. The cost is a no brainer when compared to the cost of sorting out a damaged engine; perhaps it has been changed, was it done properly?

You will read loads on this forum about jobs being done badly by so called expert service providers.

If my oil level was above maximum I would get some of it out. However, if marginally over I would not expect a serious problem but the golden rule is do not overfill a 911 / 993 engine. Likewise never run low on oil, that is even worse.

Finally, there are oil gauges everywhere on the dashboard, watch them all: oil level, oil temperature, oil pressure and oil warning light as well as central warning light which should also come on if the oil warning light comes on.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. Been a great help. I did dip the oil when the engine was running and it was at running temp.

I`m glad somone else found almost clear fresh oil is difficult to see on a light steel thin metal needle.

I`ll keep my eye on all the gaugues, temp, pressure and level. Pretty sure that I`m just over and no more.

Hi Caleyboy,

Made a small error in my posting for you.

Was tired last night after a 300 mile drive.

So to correct matters

At steady idle (approx 800 rpm) with a hot engine, I would expect oil pressure to be 2 to 3 bar

Engine hot on load I would expect oil pressure to be 4 to 5 bar

The key is do not rely purely on the gauges, do the manual checks regularly.

Enjoy!

Further tip, give it a reasonably good thrashing on a regular basis and give the brakes a good work over about once a month. They (discs) tend to corrode from the inside out if not used hard. The cross drillings also tend to block up fairly quickly (assuming OPC pads) and so I try and clean mine out regularly.

..Brakes rust even when garaged?

(Last night was my last thrashing for an intended 6 months.)

I don't know heaps about the 993 (as I have 930) but - if it's anything like the same (which it probably is) - you should be able to put your right hand under the sill of the car (whilst you're sat in the driver's seat) and feel the pipe to the oil radiator. If the temperature thermostat has opened up, this pipe will be HOT! (No point in believing what the gauges/oil stick tell(s) you until this valve is open.)

..If it's not the same, apologies.

Brakes rust even when garaged, you bet they do

No sure why, but with the discs being cross drilled I think this contributes to the problem. I suspect that accumulated dust in the cross drillings holds moisture and then contributes to the corrosion process. May be way off the mark here but from cars I have inspected I think it fotuitous if discs go beyond 45000 miles. The discs also suffer from circumferential ridges and in extreme cases cracks which eminate from the drillings. It is recommended that discs are changed when the wear level reaches 1.5 mm. A full rebuild at an OPC including pads, shims and sensors as well as discs is probably in the order of £1300.

So at least once a month I get mine really hot to get dry and burn out any signs of rust with hard braking.

When my car is serviced the guy who does it also blasts out the drillings with compressed air.

As far as oil movement to the cooler is concerned the idea of feeling the oil pipe under the car is fine. However, on the 993 all oil pipes are enclosed within the driver's side sill cover. I think there are four for some reason, but two exit the rear of the driver's side wheel arch. So, when I start my car up I listen carefully and assure myself that I can hear the oil sloshing about in the floor area of the car on the driver's side.

I agree that the engineering of both cars is principally the same but these minor differences seem to make one hell of a difference between the two types of air cooled 911s!

Hope this is of use to all

May I just add to the thread by clarifying an earlier posted reply?
After over two years of ownership, running on Mobil 1 and with the oil gauge needle almost always at the bottom of its travel until the engine was truly warmed up, my Indie suggested Magnatec to reduce the sweating on the cam covers and timing chain case gaskets. This was done in April and since then not only has the oil mist disappeared but the oil level gauge now registers even when I'm driving very slowly in 3/4/5 gear at 1500rpm. Oil consumption is negligible over 1500 miles and the engine remains completely oil-tight.
Has anyone else experienced this?

Thats a nice lookin car
Never tried magnatec in my car, used in previous cars, but i do like the sounds of it.
I hate the gauge not moving for ages, i get a little worried sumtimes

I've had it the other way round. When I had the Alfa 75 they had a reputation for oil consumption & sure enough mine did.
After it's first service I was staggered to find zero fuel consumption! It turned out they used Shell Helix semi synth for this exact reason.

Russ964,
According to Andy Kirk (the Indy in Birkenhead) when the 993 first came out, Magnatec was the recommended lubricant. I can only speak as I find, but there's no doubt in my mind that in the 1600 miles that I've done since May the oil level is still the same whereas when Mobil 1 was in the engine quite a bit of it would exit out the exhaust pipes and the rest would appear as a fine mist all over the chain cover and the plastic cam covers. I think the grade is 10W-40. Even when the engine is very hot the pressure never drops below 2.5 bar. I'm very careful when its cold as the needle is right up at t'top of gauge!
Not bad for 108,500 and rising steadily!

To the best of my knowledge Mobil 1 has been around since the 1970's.

However, the formulation of it keeps changing as does the number of different viscosity products.

My Indie has spent over 25 years working on variants of the 911

For the 993 he recommends Castrol Magatec 10W 40 for the reasons already stated. I have recently changed over to it but it is early to make a full judgement

He thinks that Mobil 1 0W 40 grade, which many owners seem to use, is too thin when cold for a 993.

At the end of the day it is the viscosity of the oil which is important (as well as being made to conform to the appropriate production specification and standards) in both its cold and hot state.

I've just gone back thru' the service records for my car - Magnatec until 2003 then Mobil until April 2008. Back on Magnatec now and whilst car was on ramps yesterday for MoT had a look at the former "oily bits". Now dry as a bone despite being driven vigourously in order to prevent rust build-up on the inner faces of the front discs, honest, officer!