over oil
Author
Discussion

boxster123

Original Poster:

5 posts

240 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
ive got a 06 Boxster S and seem to have put too much oil in. I was below minimum on the on screen display. I was adding a bit at a time to get it up to full but after running the car for a bit the display is now showing over maximum. Is this because I should have allowed it to settle before recheking the display after adding. is this a problem? Im now not sure if ive got a bit too much or a lot too much. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

nel

4,830 posts

271 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
Not sure for a Boxster S, but certainly the 911s require oil level to be measured (and hence topped up) with the engine running and up to temperature. Topping up the oil with the engine switched off is thus a great way to overfill. Your problem could also have been caused by a dodgy level sensor?

Too high an oil level can be very bad for an engine. At the very least it can cause excessive smoking as the excess oil is burnt off, but can also cause oil foaming or engine failures if the crank is actually impacting the surface of the oil.

Worth ringing your garage and asking advice - they might say a couple of litres too much is no problem, or might tell you that the excess has to be drained off.

Best of luck.

DucatiGary

7,765 posts

255 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
running?

on a non GT or turbo engine?

are you sure?

sleep envy

62,260 posts

279 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
DucatiGary said:
running?

on a non GT or turbo engine?

are you sure?


yes it is for air cooled

nel

4,830 posts

271 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
sleep envy said:
DucatiGary said:
running?

on a non GT or turbo engine?

are you sure?


yes it is for air cooled


Ah sorry - my antique ownership experience raises its ugly head again...

fidgits

17,202 posts

259 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
hmmm...

I dont think so - otherwise why would the oil filler only show at startup? (and not display if you start the engine before the countdown has finished?)

boxster123

Original Poster:

5 posts

240 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
yes - on my Boxster you can only check the oil with the engine off and with the engine in the right temperature- it works this out and gives you a count down of when its going to give you an accurate reading. So i was putting oil in and then going back in and turning the ignition to see the display and then went and added some more. not sure if I should have been waiting longer though. theres no dipstick to really see how much too much i have in...

Finn997

113 posts

241 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
Not sure about a Boxster but according to the 997 manual you should never add more than 0.5 litres of oil in one go. ie. measure the oil, add 0.5l, start the engine and let the oil settle and the repeat the whole process.

If I remember right in a 997 each segment of the readout is equivalent to 0.4l of oil.

BliarsGoing

72,863 posts

269 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
IF you've overfilled it could be harmful (depends on how over full overfull is) and without a mechanical dipstick it's a bugger to be certain. Let it do the countdown thing and see where it ends up. How much do you think you've overfilled by? A few CC's or a litre or so? If you've only just lit the top segment it should be ok but much more and it might be worth draining/sucking some oil out.

egbert

449 posts

251 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
how much did you put in?

boxster123

Original Poster:

5 posts

240 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
I reckon I put in about 2 litres...

BliarsGoing

72,863 posts

269 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
boxster123 said:
I reckon I put in about 2 litres...
Can you remember where it was on the guage after one litre? We could work out how far over full it is.



Oh, and slaped wrists for letting it get below the min, that would have took ages to get that low!

boxster123

Original Poster:

5 posts

240 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
i was surprised it was that low. I bought it ex demo from Porsche in April and have only done 2.5k miles since. Should have checked it sooner though! Dont know where it was when i bought it - just assumed they would have sorted all that out and I wouldnt have to worry about it for a while.
Im not sure where it was after a litre but I kept topping it up a bit at a time until the top light had just lit (the one below the max line - not the one thats lit now). Trouble is I was topping it up and going back and looking at the light without starting the engine and running it. The manual didnt say to do this but its pretty obvious in hindsight I should have just added a litre then run it for a while before going crazy and putting loads more in!

BliarsGoing

72,863 posts

269 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
Gimme a min, I'll find out the low to full capacity

BliarsGoing

72,863 posts

269 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
Ok, on the 986 there's 1 1/4 litres between the low and high marks on the dipstick. I would say you've possibly overfilled her by up to half a litre. The potential problem is that you increase crankcase pressure when you overfill and hence risk blowing seals out or worse.

Now you have two choices.

1) Wait for it to burn off and keep your fingers crossed that your engine doesn't expire in an expensive unwarranted heap.
2) Have the excess sucked or drained out.


I've never known an engine actually go through overfilling but it can happen and you should be aware of the risks.

Is there a service garage locally that could remove a small amount for you via the drain plug? Doesn't need to be an OPC to do that.

boxster123

Original Poster:

5 posts

240 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
thanks for your help - I think ill ask the garage to drain some out. whats an OPC?

BliarsGoing

72,863 posts

269 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
boxster123 said:
thanks for your help - I think ill ask the garage to drain some out. whats an OPC?
A place where you and your money are easily parted. Actually stands for Official Porsche Centre but it could just as easily mean Open Pockets, Cash lick

sleep envy

62,260 posts

279 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
I thought it was Offical Poor Customer?

BliarsGoing

72,863 posts

269 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
sleep envy said:
I thought it was Offical Poor Customer?
Could be... Do you know what, I was actually waiting for you to start reminiscing about dipsticks when you saw this

sleep envy

62,260 posts

279 months

Wednesday 11th October 2006
quotequote all
Didn't think I needed to as the point has already been proven