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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Different marks on the dip stick

Posted by: bandjoey Jul 4 2010, 11:33 PM

The owners manual for a 73 and 1.7 - 2.0 and shows the min. - max oil dip stick marks as a 1 quart difference.

The 74 manual for a 1.8 - 2.0 shows .74quarts as the min. - max difference.

Haynes = 1quart for all models.

Oil volumn total is exactly the same on all 3.

Why did Porsche change the min. - max amount and does this mean there are different dipsticks by year?

Somebody with other years manuals check to see what they say.

Posted by: Tom_T Jul 5 2010, 12:23 AM

Hey Bill -

My 73 914 2.0's 1.7/2.0 manual says between the marks is 2.1 US pints or 1.7 Imp. pints - which is +/- 1.05 Qt. - and the total volume on a change with new filter is 7.4 US pts./6.2 Imp. pts. (+/- 3.7 Qts. US).

Also for reference, the manual for our 88 Westy 2.1L says it's "approx. 1 U.S. Qt./1 Liter" between high & low marks. Since a Liter is different than a Quart - that's not a very precise +/- range. It's total capacity is a bit more than the 914-2.0, but not by much.

I think it's just that they were a bitt loosey-goosey on the numbers, not different dip sticks on the same engine - i.e.: for all 1.7's, 2.0 GAs, or GC's, 1.8's would be the same stick.

Don't get so hung up on how much is between the ticks, as to always check it often & regularly - adding about 1/2 qt. or a pint - whenever it gets near the bottom tick. That should be every fill-up, or every 500-600 +/- miles. Monitor it at least monthly - if not bi-weekly - if it's sitting not driven - esp. if you see leaks on the case, pavement, etc. When it's low, add 1/2 a Qt. bottle roughly.

We've always done that with the 88 Westy & 73 914 before (& soon again!), especially on long trips cross country with either/any car.

I recall my factory trained 914 mechanic Hans used to tell me that they didn't leave much tolerance because the motor relies about half on oil cooling (other half air) - similar with the waterboxer in the van, but more on water/coolant cooling - and the total capacity is relatively small at less than 4 qts. total.

Hope this helps!

Posted by: jaxdream Jul 5 2010, 06:30 AM

The engines where designed with a given +/- oil consumption , yes , do check frequently. Just saw it yesterday in a VW spec manual on Type 1,2,3,4 engines there was a listed oil consumption amount per km / mile for the different type engnines . The max mark should be the one to monitor as to keep the level topped off to maintain proper oil capacity. YMMV...
My $.02...

Jack / Jaxdream

Posted by: charliew Jul 7 2010, 06:13 PM

I think the higher oil temps in the air cooled motor make the oil break down faster and oil consumption go up so the most important thing is to top it off as often as it needs it. Turbo subys also use more oil than a honda and that is a lot of times the achilles heel for young suby hotrodders, they don't check the oil.

Posted by: bandjoey Jul 7 2010, 09:08 PM

I blew all the seals by over oiling the motor last winter, so I'm paranoid still.

In checking hot and cold, I discovered about a pint difference in measurements on the dip stick after a 30 minute cool down. Oil drains back into the pan when cooling I guess. For the unmechanical like me, the trial and error method is expensive.

I finally finished with the rear seal last weekend, and on a half dozen drives of 10-15 miles, NO LEAKS..for now. I'm going to put on a couple of hours driving this weekend and see what the stick shows hot at the 1/2 way point, back at home and after cool down. Getting to MUSR is 2, 8 hour days, so I'll know how to keep up the right amount of oil by then.

Thanks for the advice guys.

PS. If he's listening. Thanks to John B for helping me pull the tranny.