I pulled the engine to do a valve adjust, rebuild my webers, and give it a general clean up while my transmission was being rebuilt.

Finally got it back in and all hooked up this weekend, but when I googled how much oil I needed answers varied from 9 quarts to 13 for a 6 with a front mounted oil cooler, depending on whether any was left in the lines to the front cooler. I never removed the front cooler, so I have no idea if any was left.

Given I have to fire it up to get a true idea of where the oil level is at, but I'm not sure how much oil is actually in there already, what's the least amount of oil I can add and safely fire up the engine?

Cheers
John

There is no correct answer to your question since every install of a remote cooler will be different.

My car uses over 16qts of oil ...

Damn, that's a lot of oil.

Okay, so if the only way I can find the real level is to fire up the engine, how do I do this? Or am I missing something?

I do think they hold 9 stock. I would start with 8 and just let it warm up with no hard driving and then park it level and check and fill to full.

Assuming you have a thermostat mounted that opens when the oil gets hot enough to require the front mounted cooler, I think you'd be safe to start with the recommended amount for a -6 (8 quarts or more), then keep checking the levels as the cooler lines open. I seem to remember mine takes 10 quarts/oil change, but it will depend on the size and routing of your cooler and related lines. Probably best to overfill rather than under fill if the engine was out and you're not sure how much was drained out.

Be very careful.

You of course have to make sure that you have sufficient oil but also that the oil is pumped through the system and that there are NO air pockets in any of the hoses, etc. If it was me I'd call Matt Lowrence in Reno (https://renorennsport.com/about/) and find out exactly what to do, because otherwise you can spin a bearing. Please take this seriously!

pull coil wire check for oil pressure if you have a guage..or light on the dash if low

good luck

Having done this three times in one week, here is my experience. When my system was bone dry from the front oil cooler to the newly rebuilt 3.0, I added three quarts down the thermostat on the top of the engine / slowly and over a three day period / to fully drench the cam lobes oil passages and all kinds of internal nooks and bearings. this advice was followed and came from a very well respected builder in SoCal who has done hundreds of 911 first starts.. I added 8 quarts of oil to the 914-6 original oil tank. I plucked 6 plugs then turned the key with the dizzy disconnected from the coil / the light went off immediately and oil pressure popped up immediately on the gauge. I reinserted the plugs.

After the engine fired up the mocal opened up in a few minutes and the front cooler was noticeably warm at which time there was no reading on the dipstick. I added three more quarts and got a decent reading while the engine was running. I shut off the engine to address a leak hitting my headers directly under my oil cooler......

I drained the oil from the system the next day by disconnecting the line that connects the tank line to the line going to the bottom of the cooler. That would leave the oil in the front lines and cooler (I think). Then I removed the drain plug on the sump cover plate. A bunch of oil came out of there...... enough to make me wonder why they call this a dry sump engine... mostly when running i guess.. Moral of the story: these things take a varying amount of oil depending on size and route of oil system, size of cooler up front (if one is there) and type of engine.

So with that said, I have a half of a 5 gallon bucket full of oil - maybe ten quarts - with the tank, some lines, and the sump dumped into it.

I am now going to make a spirited attempt to seal the pinhole leak that the @##hole who sold me the cooler said was not there....

And by the way, I have a few days to do this task because I am having my beautiful Webers rechecked for shaft leaks and butterfly leakage.......

I just love being under a car working with my buddies on ever present danger......

don't overfill. If you have a front cooler, add 8-9 quarts, drive casually to let the car warm up and add oil while the car is warm and running. There is still some oil in the engine even after the oil change. It does not hurt a 6 to be a little low, especially if you have good pressure. Check again after a longer drive.

I keep mine so that the tip of the dipstick is just showing oil. Too much and you'll be fogging the neighborhood for mosquitoes.

While on the subject what brand, viscosity oil? Synthetic?

I use Valvoline VR1 20w50. Regular dino oil with zinc.

Brad Penn 20/50.

Thanks for all the replies. Suddenly seemed more daunting that I expected

Ethan ('73-914Kid) has kindly offered to talk me through what I need to do to help minimize my chance of 'having a moment.'

that was my choice tell the new motor got mobile 1 with zddp additive

good luck now the Bradford Pennsylvania oil goes in my diesel truck

So my 'I'm a dumbass help me figure out my oil level' post has turned into a 'my oil is better than your oil' thread?

Hijackers dude! You've got to be on the lookout for them!

Geez, filling a 911 engine with oil sounds like the scariest project ever. If you don't put it in after 8pm, the engine will start dropping valves. Make sure you put a chicken in the passenger seat before adding ANY oil.

-Add 8 qts.
-Start the engine, confirming that the oil pressure light goes out and stays out.
-While the engine is running, add oil until it shows on the dipstick within the safe range.
- Close things up. Go for your first drive, just long enough to bring the oil up to temp, and upon return check the oil before you shut down the motor. Add oil as necessary.

Don't make this hard.

sorry thought your the one asking about the oil .... I agree with mark don't make it harder then it is, start with 8 have at least three on hand and drive the car to get it hot ! it wont get warm enough idling in the driveway unless you have another issue....good luck

Haha, aint that the truth. I spoke to Ethan yesterday, he kindly talked me off the ledge with pretty much the same instructions. Apart from the chicken... he said I needed a weasel, stoat, or other river bank dwelling mammal.

All this has confused me further,my oil sticker underneath the engine lid says 5L minimum and 7L maximum,I have larger oil hoses 21mm ID from memory so I allowed for another .5 litre which makes 7.5 total .
I put one 5L pack of Penrite 20/60 full zinc mineral oil into a dry system,it started up and oil pressure went up almost instantly.
Perhaps my complaining about the PMS oil filler /dipstick is unfounded or is it made for one of their tanks only and not my stock one...I don't know.
What I do know is overfilling can cause serious issues as my mate found out with his 911 SC.