Perfect motor oil amount in 3.2 Carrera?

[Porsche 911]

11 quarts or 9 quarts? 101 Projects states 9, but not everyone agrees.

After draining the system for a valve adjustment, my trusty mechanic filled the system with 11 quarts (I believe system capacity is 13.73 quarts). Oil level reads a millimeter or two above the upper mark on the dipstick. Is that too much? Though I enjoy the occasional spirited drive, I don't autocross or anything like that.

What's the worst that can happen, and how would I know if the level is indeed too high (what "symptoms" would I see)? Would overfilling cause the temperature gauge on dashboard to overheat at all? I haven't noticed anything too alarming yet..

TIA

[DRACO A5OG]

10.5, per Bentley

I would drain a half quart or you may start smoking until it burns off and leave a mess

[Porsche 911]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

10.5

I would drain a half quart or you may start smoking until it burns off and leave a mess

So you think that 0.5 quart is worth draining.. keep in mind I have not noticed any leaks, smoke, or smell yet. Supposedly I would see "mosquitoes" getting spit out the tailpipe if the oil gets sucked in, but have not detected that yet. Ticking time bomb?

[DRACO A5OG]

Yes, or oil may come up thru your breather hose and into your AFM.

If you don't have a Bentley, get one. Highly recommended

[DRACO A5OG]

You won't harm her, she will just get her butt dirty with oil.

Hell, if you do not see any symptoms, you are lucky, just leave her alone, she will burn off soon enough thru normal use and mileage.

[dasrheingold]

The original owners manual says "appr 10.57 US qts or 10 litres... the difference between marks is approx 1.85 US qrts or 1.75 litres". I usually put about 9.5 qrts in, start it up than top up as needed once the oil is warm. I find I am usually about a 3/4 of a quart short, depending on my spillage (I should get a funnel, but i'm getting pretty good at not spilling). As for overfilling, I'm not sure of symptoms, I'm guessing going to be some oil burn off (exhaust smoke). As for a millimetre over, I don't think thats a problem, but maybe another Pelican can answer that.

[Porsche 911]

Would oil going through the breather hose and into the AFM be something easily detectable while I'm driving? Or is it one of those "silent killers"..

[DRACO A5OG]

It will not harm it but if you do see smoke, I would remove and clean out the AFM with AFM cleaner nothing harsher like carb cleaner a big NO NO.

But like I said, if you see no symptoms you should be fine. After 1000 miles you will probably need to top off anyways.

[Porsche 911]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

Yes, or oil may come up thru your breather hose and into your AFM.

If you don't have a Bentley, get one. Highly recommended

I'm tempted to just leave it be - my mechanic sounded pretty adamant that 11 is the magic number for these air-cooled engines.

For I think the first time, I saw the temp gauge on the dashboard go above 50% yesterday (around 60% at peak), so I was wondering if the high heat reading would have anything at all to do with high oil level. I doubt it, since it was a hot day and I was driving pretty hard with the A/C cranked all the way up..

It sounds like I should just try to make peace with 11.

[DRACO A5OG]

60% do you mean close to 9:00 o clock if it was liken to a clock?

If so that is Normal in hot weather temps. Just make sure it never reach above 10:00 into red. Oil will be shot and need changing asap. Oil Viscosity is Compromised at that high temps.

10.50 or 10.57 Quarts per Bentley or PAG. 11 is just over full not a good habit.

[Porsche 911]

60% up from the bottom of the gauge - so assuming 50% is 9:00, around 9:15ish.

I don't want to overthink this, but part of me just says get 0.5 quarts drained and stop worrying about it.

[dasrheingold]

I think you answered your question, drain some out and you can sleep well. If i had this problem it would bug the hell out of me too. What's a little oil on the hands?

[audi]

Originally Posted by Porsche 911

101 Projects states 9, but not everyone agrees.

The projects book tells you to start with 9 quarts, let it come to temp and then bring it up to where it needs to be.

I'm new at this too, but doing it that way you don't have to worry about overfill at all.

Of course, if you're at the high mark on the stick, as others said, it'll burn down soon enough.

[dshepp806]

make it right,..I'd right that mistake he made to your car....at temp, should be centered on the stick (PERIOD). On my '89, that's 10.5 quarts of oil,..every single time....NOT 11 quarts.

Doyle

[KTL]

Excess oil doesn't go directly thru the AFM. The breather hose from the oil tank is plumbed to the rubber elbow before the throttle body, which is downstream from the AFM. So excess oil gets dumped right on top of the throttle butterfly plate. In closed throttle/idle position, the oil could potentially back up toward the AFM. However that'd have to be a lot of oil spit from the breather hose at idle.

Oil flow from the oil tank breather is minimal at low rpms. When the rpms pick up, the throttle plate is open and the oil thereby gets dumped right into the intake tract. There is a large sump in the intake manifold, so it's not uncommon to see a pool of oil in the intake upon removal. Overfill it enough and that amount of oil gets spit right thru the combustion chamber unburned, into your exhaust system. There's been instances of so much overfill that the muffler has oil sitting in it and it takes a long time of running to burn it off.

All that being said, I agree that 10.5 qts. is the amount you'll typically add for a standard oil change with filter replacement. That means you've simply dumped the oil from the engine and tank and refill. If you've done other work like engine removal or external thermostat, oil cooler work, you'll see more oil is needed.

Also agreed that the 10.5 is typically a top-off total amount. Meaning you add 9 or 9.5, run the car up to operating temp, check dipstick and add until you're 1/2way between min and max marks on the dipstick.

[Drisump]

Originally Posted by dshepp806

make it right,..I'd right that mistake he made to your car....at temp, should be centered on the stick (PERIOD). On my '89, that's 10.5 quarts of oil,..every single time....NOT 11 quarts.

Doyle

Most members on this board will tell you that the sweet spot on these cars is the middle of the hi and low marks on the stick. I rarely add oil between changes but when I do, thats the place I aim for. I've never really paid attention to the EXACT refill amount, as I do it as described in the projects book (9 quarts, warm up, and add until oil level between the middle of the hi-lo marks ). In my experience, 11 quarts is definitely more than I've ever put in. That being said, I would probably drain but IMHO you will do no harm. Cheers

[DRACO A5OG]

Originally Posted by KTL

Excess oil doesn't go directly thru the AFM. The breather hose from the oil tank is plumbed to the rubber elbow before the throttle body, which is downstream from the AFM.

I stand corrected. This is what I meant, my bad

[Eagledriver]

If the tank get's too full it will overflow into the intake system and make lots of smoke. A little of this will not cause any problems. If it's not smoking now when hot, then you don't have to worry about it. In a few miles it will burn down to a normal level. Many racers run above the full mark on the dipstick (including myself). Stop worrying and start driving. Trying to drain oil is a PITA. You'd be better off trying to suck some out of the oil filler hole if you really want to lower the level.

-Andy

[m110]

I add 11 quarts every time I do an oil change and I've never overfilled it (by that I mean its never overflowed into the intake). Especially after a valve adjustment. That used to be a little much but since I began draining the oil with the front higher it ends up about 3/4 the way up the dipstick. The only thing I use the oil level indicator for is if it is below 50%.

[DRACO A5OG]

Originally Posted by m110

I add 11 quarts every time I do an oil change and I've never overfilled it (by that I mean its never overflowed into the intake). Especially after a valve adjustment. That used to be a little much but since I began draining the oil with the front higher it ends up about 3/4 the way up the dipstick. The only thing I use the oil level indicator for is if it is below 50%.

Interesting, does this really drain more oil out of the system? Anyone else experience this?