How to check oil level? 72 911T

[donstevens]

I was attempting to check my oil level today on my newly acquired 72T. I have had other early cars (71T, 73T, 73S). Previous cars always showed some oil on the dash level guage at hot idle. There was never a problem with oil splashing on the 71/73 style tank.

The 72 seems to be a little differentt hough. My dash level indicator was about 1/8 of the way up the scale at idle and indicated dead empty when running. No alarm there. When I opened the cap though with the car idling, there was hot oil pouring in to the top of the tank. I guess I shouldn't be surpised by that as that is where the oil re-enters the tank. However, how do you get the dipstick out without getting burned?

I shut the car off (to stop the flow of oil into the tank) and checked it statically and it indicated full.

Is this car over full? Why does the level gauge on the dash read so low?

Don

[bigchillcar]

don,
the consensus of the board is that the 'gauge' reading is never truly relaiable enough to trust completely. the only true way to know is to warm the car to EXACTLY operating temp (180 degrees)..this is the temp the car must be checked at as the volume of some dozen quarts of oil varies with temperature. car must be on a flat surface and idling when you check back at the filler cap - it isn't calibrated to be checked at any other temperature.
ryan

[RussianBlue]

Best thing to do is sell the car to me.....

... otherwise, the 72 is very confusing in a way when it comes to checking the darn oil.

1) It WILL read empty while you are driving around - it would have to be waaaay overfilled for it to read while in motion.

2) It is supposed to be checked warm, level and at idle as you know...
the dipstick can be very confusing as well - firstly make sure that you still have an original 1972 dip stick.
The stick has those little humps in it BUT do not be fooled they do not demark the "low" and "max" - there is actually a "slash" mark for high and low levels - look for them!
Fairly certain it is same as other models as far as there being 2 quarts between the marks.

3) It is possible to reach in there maybe even with a rag and grab that darn thing - just try not to drop it. Also it should be inserted in it's sheath to measure the level properly.
I grab it bare hands - but I am a bastard.

4) The gauge in the car will work at idle, stopped, warm etc.... keep it in the middle - don't ignore it.

An option on these cars is to fill the car apropriately w/ a known quantity of oil (like at an oil change) and "memorize" the level in the tank based on simple visual cues - meaning you do not have to check the stick if you get good at eye-balling the tank at idle.
That along with keeping the gauge in check should keep you straight.

As a side note - checking it statically will not be very accurate - as oil will have splashed all over the place making it unclear or possibly indicating full to over full....

Post a pic of your baby - they really are the best year

[dafischer]

What RussianBlue said...and in the short time that I've owned my 72, I discovered that a small pair of needle-nose Vise Grips makes a very nice dipstick extender.

You don't have to worry about deep frying the digits, and you won't drop it into the tank when replacing it, as long as you release the Vise Grips after the dipstick is seated.

[RussianBlue]

Thanks. One other thing that may be veeeery obvious to most people - but just in case here goes:

Any time you check the oil be sure to clean of the dipstick the "first" time you remove it THEN re-insert and check the level after that first wipe off.

I know this is well known - but just in case someone out there did not realize the importance of that I posted it here.

[donstevens]

Originally posted by RussianBlue

Post a pic of your baby - they really are the best year

Thanks for the info.

It does have the unique to 72 dipstick (which is nice). I tried to check the oil yesterday when it was at 210F vs. 180F. So maybe it was a little higher due to thermal expansion. One of the neat things about the 72 is that it is very easy to so a visual check.

Here is a photo..



Don

[RussianBlue]

Gorgeous dude.

Uber nice.

Wanna sell it?? Ha j/k

[donstevens]

Originally posted by RussianBlue
Wanna sell it?? Ha j/k

Not right now......But when I do, the folks on this board will be the first to know....Thanks,

Don

[Wayne 962]

Yup, I agree. I think that the 1972 oil tank dip stick can be best described as a "design flaw." With so much oil circulating around in there, an accurate level check is very difficult, if not near impossible. I will admit, I largely rely on the gauge with my '72 - I make sure it's horizontal at idle and 180 degrees. I do also pop open the oil hood too to make sure there's oil sloshing around in there, but I've never been able to get a "confident" reading from the dipstick.

-Wayne

[Hoss3.0]

Don't do what I did and screw the cap on wrong so oil blows all over the side of your nice white car. My car looks exaclty like yours...to a "T" if you will. I'm sorry thats bad. Check my post for the details. Not too serious though just very messy. Your car looks great.

[dafischer]

Don,

Verrrry nice!!!

[Jay Auskin]

I think I have one of the few '72s in existance with a suprisingly accurate oil gage. Yeah, I also burn the crap out of my hand when checking it.

[Christien]

Ok, call me a moron, but how do you do a visual check of the oil tank? Maybe mine's not stock, as it's not transparent/transluscent, and you can't see the oil by just taking the cap off and looking down into the tank. I don't trust the oil guage - I rely on the dipstick, which I probably check at least once a week after getting home from driving, on the level garage floor, at idle. (temp around 80 celsius after city driving, 100 after highway driving, in 15-20 C env. temp). It's damn hot but I just grin and bear it.

[donstevens]

Originally posted by Christien
Ok, call me a moron,

Oh Christien..."people don't say that about, as far as you know".

Seriously, I agree. This is an easy car on which to do a visual check. It was just a new experience for me and I was wondering if I was doing something wrong.

Don

[coldstart]

Last week, one of my friends missed the chute for the oil dipstick and dropped her into the resevoir. Only took me 2 minutes with a coat hanger to get her out....

Christien, I also don't understand how you can do a visual inspection of the oil level in the tank.

[mjshira]

ditto Wayne's comments.

[pwd72s]

Don, beautiful car. The only thing I can add to the above comments is to not worry about dropping your dipstick in the tank. If the original screen is in place, that can't happen. Once again, demonstrating the superior aspects of the 1972 Model year!