No Oil?

[drola]

well, i finally got the brakes all done on my 76 911S. the car has sat for a few years other than my occasional starting since i bought the car a couple months ago.
p.o. said that he put 2 quarts of oil in it. judging by the oil level guage pegging up high after warm up i had no reason to doubt this.
this morning i figured before i get it on the road i would drive it around the block, get everything nice and hot, let it cool, and change the oil. but before i drove it i wanted to take out the excess oil. when i took the drain plug off the oil tank only about one quart of oil came out and nothing more.
so am i missing something here? i was expecting 12 quarts to try to come pouring out and having to plug it up after just 2-3 quarts came out. could the rest of the oil be in the sump and cooler? should i start it and let the oil circulate and try again?

[kodioneill]

When you shut off the engine a lot of the oil drains into the bottom of the case. There should be more than 1 quart in the tank. Are you sure there was only one quart?

[Oh Haha]

DO NOT DRIVE IT without knowing how much oil it has. The tank normally holds ~8quarts.



At this point,I would suggest completing the oil change and fill it properly. Be sure to drain the engine as well.

You can then check the actual level against the gauge to be sure it is reading correctly.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by drola

p.o. said that he put 2 quarts of oil in it.

Never trust the P.O. As someone once wisely posted on this board: all P.O.s are idiots. Gauges like the oil level one can get stuck from time to time and not read properly. The car's 35 years old, after all.

Just drain everything from both the sump and oil tank like Haha suggests, and refill assuming there's next to nothing left.

[drola]

thanks for the input. good to know we are all on the same page.
the car had synthetic oil. would i be ok to just put regular oil for the time being or should i put synthetic back in?
my plan all along was to put fresh oil in it and give it another oil change a week or two down the road. just want to make sure it's all clean in there.

[Noah930]

I'd put in dino oil if you're only going to change it out in a week. Then exchange with good stuff.

[ossiblue]

What I gather from your original post, you did not start the car before you drained the oil, and the car had been sitting for some time. The oil can drain from the tank into the engine sump as liquid seeks the lowest level so having only 2 quarts in the tank may not indicate lack of oil for the entire system.

Follow the above posted advice and drain both sump and tank--trust no previous claims by a PO. And never rely solely on the dash gauge for oil level--confirm with the dip stick with a warm, running engine on level ground.

[drola]

ok, i drained both the tank and sump. took out a total of 11.5 quarts which puts me at ease.
it has been maybe 2 weeks since the car was last started, so yes, all the oil had gone to the sump.
just to double check, the 2.7 does take 12 quarts, right?
i know my 3.2 and 3.6 took 12 but i just want to make sure.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by drola

ok, i drained both the tank and sump. took out a total of 11.5 quarts which puts me at ease.
it has been maybe 2 weeks since the car was last started, so yes, all the oil had gone to the sump.
just to double check, the 2.7 does take 12 quarts, right?
i know my 3.2 and 3.6 took 12 but i just want to make sure.

Might be a good idea to start with 10-11 quarts (since you took out 11.5 and you'll "lose" about one quart to the new filter)--don't worry about low oil with that amount. Warm up car, let idle, and check level with dipstick and add more until level reaches about midway between the two marks (though some prefer to fill just beyond the lower mark)--do not fill to the upper mark.

[gsmith660]

You might check the electrical connections if the sender is not connected properly the level gauge pegs high.

[drola]

going back to the p.o.'s being idiots, there is no dip stick in the filler tube. it was probably dropped into the tank. is it possible to fish it out with a magnet?
i know i can buy a new one but i'd still like to get the old one out.

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by drola

going back to the p.o.'s being idiots, there is no dip stick in the filler tube. it was probably dropped into the tank. is it possible to fish it out with a magnet?
i know i can buy a new one but i'd still like to get the old one out.

It's "possible" but highly "improbable".. I would get a new one ordered or maybe some kind soul here has a spare he/she will send... And I would put 10QT in on the change and once run in and hot fill until the gauge is slightly below the centerline until you get a new stick (or use a friends if possible).

[msk1986911]

Originally Posted by drola

going back to the p.o.'s being idiots, there is no dip stick in the filler tube. it was probably dropped into the tank. is it possible to fish it out with a magnet?
i know i can buy a new one but i'd still like to get the old one out.

You may be able to fish it our with a piece of wire with a hook bent on the end; I missed the small holder for the dipstick and dropped it after I checked the oil one time. I may have used a bent coat hanger or piece of electrical wire.

Mike

[drola]

thanks for everyone's input. i got a $1.99 magnetic pick up at the auto parts and got the dipstick right out.
went to wal-mart and bought 15 quarts of mobil 1. i couldn't believe that they sell a 5 qt jug of mobil 1 for $22. unreal. it's almost cheaper than dino oil by the quart.
put in 10 qts. ran the motor for 10 minutes while i smoked out the whole neighborhood with exhaust smoke. man, it was bad. it finally stopped smoking. my guage was reading low and the dipstick on the min. line. so i put another 1.5 qts and all is well. thanks again for the opinions.
now to get it to run right...but that'll be a whole other thread.

[HarryD]

Best of luck fishing your oil dip stick out. Some say you can determine the number of PO's by counting the number of dipsticks in the tank.

When you go to buy oil, be careful what you get. The current crop of oils may (or may not) meet the lubrication requirements for your car due to the possible reduction of ZDDP in the oil formulations.

While a very long read, this thread has lots of good information on the topic: Ultimate Motor Oil Thread or Why we hate CJ4/SM oils

If you want the Cliff notes version, it goes something like this. Get an oil with 1200 ppm Zn and P. Use a 20W-50 or 15W-40. Brad Penn, Valvoline VR-1 (not their other product lines), SWEPCO 306, and Kendall GT all appear to provide adequate protection.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by drola

thanks for everyone's input. i got a $1.99 magnetic pick up at the auto parts and got the dipstick right out.
went to wal-mart and bought 15 quarts of mobil 1. i couldn't believe that they sell a 5 qt jug of mobil 1 for $22. unreal. it's almost cheaper than dino oil by the quart.
put in 10 qts. ran the motor for 10 minutes while i smoked out the whole neighborhood with exhaust smoke. man, it was bad. it finally stopped smoking. my guage was reading low and the dipstick on the min. line. so i put another 1.5 qts and all is well. thanks again for the opinions.
now to get it to run right...but that'll be a whole other thread.

Be very careful with that Walmart Mobil 1. It is specially formulated for them and may not have enough of the Zn and P you need to protect your camshafts.

Frankly, while I think Mobil makes a fine product, I do not trust their marketing of motor oils. They seem to change formulations and not publish necessary data in a timely manner.

[Wayne 962]

Right. I no longer run Mobil1 in my cars because of the new formulations.

Wayne

[gsmith660]

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

Right. I no longer run Mobil1 in my cars because of the new formulations.

Wayne

Wayne what do you run for oil in the 959?

[James Brown]

Looking at the 959 engine rebuild on the engine forum (fantastic engine)! They are flat tappet engines and should run a "old formulation" oil.

[RSTarga]

Are you running 15-50 mobil 1? I don't think I'd run anything lighter except in cold weather.