oil level question

[theboogins]

When I bought my 97 it didn't come with an owners manual so I've always been a little in the dark about some of the gauges. Mostly the one that shows oil level occasionally.
Has hash marks for the high and low marks on both sides. Usually it's dead center between the marks-I assume this is a good sign? (I had the oil changed about 3500 miles ago ).

Yesterday I let me wife drive it to work and she called from the road with a CEL a and said the oil level light stayed on instead of going out in a few seconds. Hmmmm.
Unbeknownst to me she stopped at an auto parts store and had them read the dipstick in the trunk and there was no oil on the dipstick. I'm told that they added a quart of Mobil 1.

Now the Oil light qo all the way to max and the dipstick is wet.

Overfill? What to do about that?

[san rensho]

The manual says to check the oil with the motor at full operating temperature, which means a good half hour or longer of driving. Then turn the car off and wait a few minutes. I wait 5. Then check with the dipstick. The level should be between the marks.

Using this method, when the stick shows full, if I check the oil in the morning, before I start the car, the dash oil level is above max and the dipstick also shows above full. I believe this is perfectly normal since the specified method for checking the oil is a few minutes after shut down, not in the morning after its been sitting all night.

If your dipstick shows the correct level with the above method, you are ok.

[thstone]

The electronic dash oil level gauge on the early (97-99) Boxster's is notoriously poor. Just follow San Rensho's advice and use the manual dip stick. That way you always know exactly what is in the sump.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by theboogins

When I bought my 97 it didn't come with an owners manual so I've always been a little in the dark about some of the gauges. Mostly the one that shows oil level occasionally.
Has hash marks for the high and low marks on both sides. Usually it's dead center between the marks-I assume this is a good sign? (I had the oil changed about 3500 miles ago ).

Yesterday I let me wife drive it to work and she called from the road with a CEL a and said the oil level light stayed on instead of going out in a few seconds. Hmmmm.
Unbeknownst to me she stopped at an auto parts store and had them read the dipstick in the trunk and there was no oil on the dipstick. I'm told that they added a quart of Mobil 1.

Now the Oil light qo all the way to max and the dipstick is wet.

Overfill? What to do about that?

Remove the oil filter housing & dump the oil in it, reinstall it, start the engine, run until coolant temp gauge reaches 180. Turn engine off & wait 20 minutes before checking oil level with dipstick. If level is over 2nd line from the bottom, repeat process until oil level is at or below full mark.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by san rensho

The manual says to check the oil with the motor at full operating temperature, which means a good half hour or longer of driving. Then turn the car off and wait a few minutes. I wait 5. Then check with the dipstick. The level should be between the marks.

Using this method, when the stick shows full, if I check the oil in the morning, before I start the car, the dash oil level is above max and the dipstick also shows above full. I believe this is perfectly normal since the specified method for checking the oil is a few minutes after shut down, not in the morning after its been sitting all night.

If your dipstick shows the correct level with the above method, you are ok.

Anytime you properly check oil level with the dipstick & the oil level is above the full mark it's because there is to much oil in the engine! If the car is parked on level ground & the dipstick is correctly installed, there is no way for the oil level in the sump to read higher than it should. It may read lower since oil does not drain well from the heads. That's why there is a oil evacuation pump in each head, but they stop when the engine is not running. It takes weeks for oil to stop draining into the sump, that's why it is so difficult to add enough oil to be perfectly full & not over full. 3/4 full is fine.

[theboogins]

If I need to remove some oil- can I syphon through the filler?
Thnx..
John

[theboogins]

Syphon extra oil through the filler in the trunk?

[Steve Tinker]

Its a whole lot easier to remove any excess oil by removing the oil filter housing and pouring the oil into a container. The filter housing holds about 200 ml IIRC.
Its a long, tortuous rout trying to syphon oil from the filler neck to the sump.....