Engine oil capacity for a 914/6 w oilcooler?

[Urreg]

Hello.

Are there any kind soul out there, who knows how many liters of engine oil I should fill up? I have a 2,7L 6-cyl and 914-6GT spec. oil line with an oil cooler in the front and original oil tank in left rear wing.

I currently run with about 7 liters, but the oil stick shows "very little".

Is it just to fill up according to the oil stick, in the original oil tank? I have also heard, that you should check the oil, with the engine running?

Best regards,
Ulf Gustafsson

Picasa Web Albums - Urreg - Porsche 916

[Cairo94507]

Wow that is one beautiful car. I had a '70 914-6 with aftermarket VW oil coolers (2) installed behind the fog light grills with a thermostat and it would hold 10 quarts.

My current '71 914-6 has a front cooler set-up but it is not running so I can't tell you how much oil it holds, but I suspect about the same as my old six held.

I always checked my other six on level ground after taking it for a ride to make sure it was hot enough to open the thermostat and make sure I was getting an accurate reading off the dip stick.

I was always amazed that engine, 3.0 with CIS, never used oil. My new 993 when I bought it and for the next 6.5 years would go through about 1 quart of oil a month + - 1,000. Porsche told me that was within spec.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The oil capacity for the original 914-6 was listed as about 9 quarts. An external oil cooler would add to this amount, but that usually only matters when filling an empty system, not during a standard oil change.

You check the oil level for all of the air-cooled 911s with the engine running, with the car on level ground, and hopefully with the engine oil at operating temperature. Ditto the 914-6es.

The dry-sumped 911 engines will live for quite a while with a low oil level. Past a certain point, more oil is just adding safety margin. So you're quite OK just putting six or seven quarts into an empty oil tank (when changing the oil) and then starting the motor and letting it warm up. Check frequently during this process--if the level is below the "low" mark, go ahead and add more oil. Don't add any if the level shows at or above the "low" mark. Once the engine is warmed up, put enough in to get the level roughly halfway between "low" and "high", though anywhere in that range should be fine.

Note that if you throw your car around violently (e.g., autoXing) then running closer to the high mark on the dipstick makes it more likely for the oil to wind up getting into the intake, resulting in vast clouds of smoke. And a real Depends Moment(TM) when the smoke starts pouring out of your car's tailpipe. I've seen it in many autoX schools with new 911 owners.

--DD

[larrym]

agree with the prior posts - my euro 914-6/GT with GT Behr cooler holds about 9 qt - if i fill it to the line on the stick, about 10 qt, it spits oil out the breathers - I have bought and seen
alledged "914-6" dipsticks that are not correct and/or cut off - I have an oem 914-6 german engine lid with oem stickers that suggest 'about 9 Qt' ( that would be w/o the GT front oil cooler capacity) - I'll get a pic of that for y'all -

[Scott Walshaw]

I noticed your originial inquiry that you are in Sweden and using 7 LITERS of oil...sooo if 1 liter = 1.057 quarts then you are running with 7.39 quarts which is almost 2 quarts/1.5 liters less than the factory recommended amount, without external oil cooler(s). I have a 2.2 S motor with a front oil cooler. Subsequent to the initial fill (which was so long ago I can't remember) I only use 9 quarts each oil change as some oil gets "trapped" in the lines (closed termostat) and the cooler, so bascially the system can't really be drained. Unfortunately the 6 oil tank wasn't configured for a float, but I have a similar cooler/termostat set up on my 71 2.2 Targa and the oil level gauge reads "in the middle" after an oil change using 9 quarts. So I think you can safely add at least another 1.5 liters. Hope this helps. Regards, Scott

[smontanaro]

I'm in the midst of an oil change on my 914/6. Everything was going fine. Drained the old oil, spun on a new filter, cleaned the drain plug and reinstalled with a new washer. Then I started to fill it up. It started to overflow near the end of adding the sixth quart. I realize the new oil filter might not have much/any oil in it yet, but that can't be more than a quart I wouldn't think. What am I missing?

not-on-jackstands-yet-ly y'rs,

Skip Montanaro

[SirAndy]

Originally Posted by Urreg

I currently run with about 7 liters, but the oil stick shows "very little".

7 Liter does not sound like it's enough.

I run a front mounted cooler (larger than a GT cooler) on my 3.6L /6 and i have about 15 Liter (16 quarts) in my cooling system.

I'm using a (repro) tank in the stock location and added oil until the dipstick read correctly.

And yes, always check oil with the engine running and the oil at operating temperature to allow the thermostat to open and push oil through the whole system.

Andy

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by smontanaro

I'm in the midst of an oil change on my 914/6. Everything was going fine. Drained the old oil, spun on a new filter, cleaned the drain plug and reinstalled with a new washer. Then I started to fill it up. It started to overflow near the end of adding the sixth quart. I realize the new oil filter might not have much/any oil in it yet, but that can't be more than a quart I wouldn't think. What am I missing?

not-on-jackstands-yet-ly y'rs,

Skip Montanaro

Did you drain the oil tank ? On a original six you have to disconnect the hose/hardline connection to drain the tank.

[SirAndy]

Originally Posted by smontanaro

What am I missing?

The oil tank ...
Andy

[smontanaro]

Yeah, I started a thread on 914world where that problem was raised there as well. I was under the impression that gravity would do it's thing, but I guess not. First time for everything...

Skip

[Scott Walshaw]

If the car sits a long time most of the oil in the stock 6 tank will drain into the sump, but the line between the tank and the engine (cooler) will still need to be separated to completely drain the system...

Was there ever an after market fix for having to separate the lines, similar to the drain value you can install on a 911 oil tank...I've been looking for years for something like that, it is a real pain to separate those lines every oil change!!!

[SirAndy]

Originally Posted by Scott Walshaw

Was there ever an after market fix for having to separate the lines, similar to the drain value you can install on a 911 oil tank...I've been looking for years for something like that, it is a real pain to separate those lines every oil change!!!

You can install a T fitting in the line and simply unscrew the cap on the T to drain the oil.
Andy

[Scott Walshaw]

Thanks for the tip Andy...is this something you have done on your car and if so could you provide a pic or 2 and your source for the fitting? Scott

[SirAndy]

Originally Posted by Scott Walshaw

Thanks for the tip Andy...is this something you have done on your car and if so could you provide a pic or 2 and your source for the fitting? Scott

Not yet, but it's on my list of things to do. I have seen it done on a few 914-6 race-cars and it seems like a good idea if you plan on changing the oil in your car frequently.

I have AN fittings on my motor and T couplers are readily available. I believe Summit Racing has a T that fits on the stock /6 oil-line (30mm ??) ...

Andy

[Scott Walshaw]

Thanks...I'll look into this possibility, but it may be awhile before I tackle it as I am also doing "101" projects on my '71 911.

[wobbletop]

[JT914-6]

Here's what I did to drain the oil lines. I'm using an fittlings, got a "T" wielded male fittings on and an oil drain valve mounted on the other end. I loosen the an hose ends just enough to point the drain valve down to drain.



This is what Andy is talking about.....