Determining Motor Oil Level

by: Bill Gregory (sansho@rennlist.com)

Date: August 9, 2002

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Traditional advice in a 911 has been to never, ever... use the oil level gauge to top off or refill the oil tank, and that advice is still good with 964's.  However, as you check your oil level, you'll learn just how accurate your gauge is, and it can be useful to general monitoring of the oil levels.

Note that for the gauge to be most accurate, you need to be on very flat ground, and more importantly, engine temperature must be hot, indicated by the oil temperature gauge needle at the second gradation (about 8 o'clock) or above. Even being on a very slight incline can change how much oil is reflected on the gauge. When driving, it’s normal for the needle to be pointing to the bottom of the gauge, as the 964 employs a dry-sump oil system.

The oil dipstick is located at the upper right side of the engine compartment, just under and to the right of the hood hinge. Figure 1 presents a photo of the dipstick location.  

Figure 1. Dipstick location in a 964.
To check your oil, you need to be on a flat surface, with the engine warmed up, and let it idle for a minute or two. Pull out the oil dipstick, wipe it off, put it back in and pull it out again, and read it. You'll find that one side of the dipstick will usually be smeared with oil, making a reading impossible. Turn over the dipstick, and you should see the oil line. The right amount of oil will come up roughly halfway between the empty and full marks, and it's OK if it's a bit more than half. However, you do not want the oil to be up to the full mark - that's too much.

With enough practice, you'll eventually be able to determine the dipstick oil level with sufficient accuracy.