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Oil Level Woes
Hey all, first post as a new 986 owner! I bought an '02 S just two days ago and am extremely excited as it's my first Porsche and first true performance car.
I'm having a little trouble finding a reliable baseline oil level.
Upon picking up the car, I noticed that the startup oil level report (key in accessory position) was showing one bar above full. I didn't think too much about it, but did take note in case I noticed any symptoms later on. A day later, I started my 350 mile return journey home.
About 150 miles into my return journey I got gas and the startup oil level report was showing three bars below full. This confused me/kinda freaked me out and I grabbed some oil and added an 1/8th of a quart (trying to go slow and not overfill). I rechecked the oil level using the startup oil report and it showed full to the top arrow. I assumed it was good to go, but was perplexed by the erratic nature of the startup oil level report.
After returning home, I wanted to check the oil again to establish a baseline and I have been having a hard time getting a reliable readout. I have tried the oil dipstick (both semi-cold and warm engine) and the results didn't inspire confidence...one side of the dipstick has oil to the top of the tip (indicating too full) and the other side only has oil to the full mark and not beyond (indicating level ok). See attached pics.
The car is essentially on level ground (the rear might be an inch or two lower than the front, but I assume that shouldn't affect the readouts too much)
Additionally, I checked the startup oil level report once and it returned perfectly full. 20 mins later, I checked again and it showed one bar below full.
I am seeing a small bit of white smoke while idling with larger puffs (but nothing crazy) occurring with revs. See attached pic for rev smoke.
From reading other forum posts, I know an overfill can cause this symptom. Overfill can also ruin the AOS which has the same symptoms. I tried removing the oil cap with the engine running to test the vacuum variance and I felt a small amount of vacuum, but it wasn't difficult to remove the oil cap which would indicate AOS is ok. I know this is subjective and can be hard to judge.
I'm thinking I should first try removing the oil filter housing and draining a bit of oil that way to see if that remedies the white smoke and also returns a different oil reading on the dipstick and startup oil level report (would help me learn baseline levels). From there, I would probably need to look closer at AOS.
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!
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