This Could Be An Interesting Thread to Follow***
 

I am going to leave out names, in case it becomes a lawsuit, but this is for the sole purpose of potentially saving someone else my troubles.

So I got a discounted oil change card and decided to give the local shop a try. After all I figured it was just an oil change and it was very convenient. This upon looking back was not a good idea.

I posted a while back about overfilling so some of you may recall. But I'll take you through it again.

I showed up and told the shop to be sure to drain the oil in both locations. I said there was a drain under the engine and one under the tank.

And I waited about 2 hours. When all was done the service manager told me he had his guys do some research and yes they drained both "plugs. The car is a 79SC.

Upon getting in my car I was in a hurry to get to the office and just did not think too much about it. (about 9 miles)

When I proceeded home (About 12 miles) I heard weird noises coming from the engine, and it sounded very loud and it smoked. I got home and checked the oil and it was about 2-3 inches over the full mark.

I called the shop and they were very nice and said bring it in, I told him I hoped I did not damage, he said not to worry he'll take care of everything.

Next morning I went to the shop for them to drain. They took about 1.5 quarts out. When I got the car back I immediately noticed the EOL and brake lights were on and stayed on at an idle. 1st time they have ever done that. The service manager said it appears they go out soon as you up the idle a bit with the gas pedal. Yes, true, so I assumed all was OK.

I then drove it back and forth to work for about a week and the weird noise I kept hearing. On a whim I decided best to take it to my Porsche mechanic and see what they thought.

Once there the sound did not make itself known, but the P mechanic immediately noticed the Druck pressure and said shut it off. I cannot drive it.

The pressure would not go over 2.

So the car is at the shop and this is where the story lies right now:

Most likely the other shop removed the oil relief plug thinking it was a drain plug and the piston and spring came out. It went in the oil drain barrel and they just popped it back in without noticing. (Or without knowing what it was).

This would then create the potentially devastating situation of running the engine for a week straight with no more than 2 bars of pressure.

The shop is going to pull that plug Monday and determine that to be the case or not. If the spring and piston are there, I may be having some other issue, but it's almost a certainty that they will not be.

Car symptoms are: Oil pressure not able to breach 2 bars, OEL and brake light on consistently at idle, too much oil (if they did not drain in proper from the plate)

On a side note: This car is a 79 and has a bowed out sump plate with no drain. Mechainic suggested later model oil pump probably (any thoughts on that?)

I will post follow up on Monday when the sage continues.

I meant to say they popped the plug back in without noticing the loss of the piston and spring

i would never, ever, ever let anyone do any work on my 911 unless they knew exactly what they were doing. if i had to tell a shop that there was more than one drain point i would not let them touch my 911. why not go to your trusted mechanic in the first place? looks like saving a few bucks has already been more hassle than it's worth, even before you know the extent of (possible) damage. good luck.

Nineball, yeah, you're correct on all points ! Not sure what i was thinking, guess because it says they work on Porsches, I assumed they could. I'm not sure where things will end up, but the hassle and anticipation is annoying right now.

hopefully it's not some quick-lube style chain. they are the absolute worst to deal with and you will have a mound of paperwork and many moths of fighting ahead of you. my dad went into one for an oil change and while it was draining they asked him what type of oil he regularly used because it was draining out bright red. yep, they drain his tranny instead of the oil pan. my uncle took his newer jag into a quick change place and they raped his drain bolt to the point of me having to use an air chisel to get it out. i avoid them like the plague.

Doesn't feel like much of a "Discount" now, does it?

Sorry for your troubles.

You mentioned to the shop that there were 2 locations to drain out the oil: One on the tank and one on the engine.

Sump plate without a drain plug made them look for a drain and most likely removed the plug for the pressure relieve piston.

May have lost the spring in the process?

Something was obviously done wrong in the first shop and the second shop will confirm whatever. The noises you heard may have come from the tensioners not getting enough pressure or some other part in the engine starved of oil?

You could ask the first "experts" that changed the oil for you how exactly did they drain from the engine? If they didn't remove the sump plate, that's a clue.

If any damage is determined by the second shop, you'll need their statement in writing so you can proceed with further action.

never try to "save" money

I hope your lesson is not too expensive!! I would'nt let 'a quick change place' put air in my tires.. Hopefully, your dipstick didn't end up in the oil tank also.. Good luck.. We all make mistakes, it's just a question of how expensive the lesson becomes..

Gentlemen

There's no need to beat up on the OP. And there's nothing wrong with trying to save a few buck.

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FinallyGotOne

I'm sure the experience has taught you something.
Just deal with it the best way you can and get your car back on the road as soon as possible.

Meanwhile... Why not do what I did over 25 years ago and buy yourself a tool kit and start changing your own oil and filter. Do it twice a year and you can't go wrong.
Learn how to do it properly and you'll get a feeling of satisfaction that's so good it's hard to describe and you'll save a few bucks.

Later when you've gained some confidence try doing a valve adjustment.

I hope it works out OK.

not beating up on FinallyGotOne, just sharing some simple words of wisdom from my experience.
I could give a long winded version of a tale of woe that would empathize with him, but it all boils down to that phrase.

i agree with the diy. every now and then these go on sale at harbor freight. i picked one up last year for $30 on sale.

5 Gallon Oil Drain Dolly

Keeping my fingers crossed that no lasting damage was done.

These are 20-40 year-old exotic cars and really need the attention of a specialist, even to drain the oil. My car goes to a factory-trained technician with 20 years of dealer experience and a decade-plus as an independent, Tim Benson of Fastlane Porsche in Santa Cruz California, for everything including oil-changes or even smog certificates. It's an investment in a partnership making sure that he's still in business when I have a real problem.

It might just be too much oil as you said. Most databases at shops say that sc's take 14 quarts of oil, so they put in 14 quarts. But even after emptying from both locations 4 quarts are still left in lines etc. The 1.5 they removed isn't enough. I don't think there should be too big a problem, this happened to me just last month.

Truer words were never spoken! A great perspective that we all can appreciate.

"both locations" i would have mentioned the sump plate and lack of a plug. did you supply the sump plate gasket or even discuss this with them? speedy oil tech needs to know this.

"waited 2 hrs." on site? id have been in their business the entire time if they needed to "do some research". i would have not left a shop doing work that did not have porsche experience, if i was to even consider such a place. not.

when the dude said "both plugs were drained" knowing you had a plug-less sump that would have been a red flag.

you state this was to inform us of potential problems with oil changes done by jiffy lube sort of shops, so this is not to pile on or kick one while he's down. just to inform of the many red flags i see in your journey through this cluster fuch.

best of luck, and i hope its just a matter of a minor fix and a major lesson.

Wow, I don't know how you assess any true damage short of an engine teardown. That shop has no clue what a proper rebuild could cost, if it comes to that.

Oin Changes
 

Many years ago My wife took the family van to a oil change specialist. On the way home the van stalled. Seems the technician drained the oil but forgot to put any in! I hope you did not go to that guy! The good news, they did not hesitate to put a new engine in. Of course a Dodge van engine does not cost what a Porsche engine does. Good luck.

My friend has an 89 930. He wanted to put Brad Penn oil in and we had no place to do it. Went to Walmart and they did it. We were all over their procedure but the "kids" that worked there double checked what we told them to do against their procedural system. This place should have had reference information.

I am no hydraulic engineer but if any oil was flowing I bet your engine will be ok.

I can top that. My father brought his Chrysler to one of those quicky oil change places and not only did they forget to put new oil in, they didn't even reinstall the drain plug! He got about 1/4 mile away and realized there was a problem.