Paranoid owner with testarossa question...

You have to check it at temperature (fully warmed up), right after shut down.

 

Bo, the oil level should be very close to the same whether cold or hot. The oil's viscosity will change, but its volume should not change much. As mentioned, the most important issue is to check the level immediately after shutting down the engine.

It is too early, based on the data presented, to tell whether you are using too much oil. It does not appear to be a leak, as you describe a few drops on the floor. You may be burning oil, but it is not at all evident by your description of the oil level.

I would check your oil several times with the same conditions (cold or hot) immediately after shutting down. It will take two quarts to go from the low mark of the operating level to the upper mark. You may have started off low, added, two quarts to top off, and then had a variation in reading. I would study this a bit more.

Even if it is burning oil, I would not do anything about it. Oil is (relatively) cheap. Major engine service is (relatively) expensive.

Jim S.

 

Have you -changed- the oil since you bought it? Or just added?

If the car sat around a lot, and was only driven short distances by the PO, a lot of the oil may have been replaced over time by water and gasoline. Then when it's driven properly, the stuff flashes off and makes the percieved oil level go down. I knew one dude who bought a garage queen Camaro that was full by the dipstick when he bought it, drove it around for 2 days, and had it go 2 quarts low. He changed the oil and used about 1/2 a quart per fillup from then on. An extreme case, I'll admit.

 

I had a 87 TR - it was my first f-car. It was also a learning experience.

TR's as well as the 348 series I currently own need to be warmed up to shift smoothly. I had to double shift the clutch on both cars until trans fluid was warmed up.

I change the oil in my TR and checked and rechecked the oil level. It always appeared low. Well I kept adding until it was full on the stick....guess what it was about a gallon over full.

You can only accuratly check the oil after the engine has warmed up and you shut down the motor. Now check it. It should be in the middle of the range not to the top.

Too much oil will blow seals in your f-car as well as any newer car.

You do not state how many f-cars you have experience with but if you continue to ask around and you will gain the necesarry knowledge to keep your NEW Experience going and making you smile.

ferrarchat is a great place to get info and the guy and gals on this chat have always been willing to help.

 

Please read the TR manual. You need to follow the prescribed method per Ferrari. That is how the car is designed. I am not sure if TR's are dry sump motors but I think they are. If so you have to check hot and immediately after shutdown. do it the same way every time then report back here. And yes Ferrari's leak! You can loose more oil than you use. Even though you have minimal drip on the garage you can have more under power. This is because things get hot and pressures rise and the oil gets thin and drips out all the nooks and cranies. Also, if the TR oil spec is regular dino oil not synthetic you will leak more. Use the prescribed oil type for factory results. sometimes even if you reseal a motor that was not designed for synthoil you get leaks.

 

I echo your thoughts. The oil level on my 92 512 stays right between max and min, only if I check it 10-15 mins after shutting down. Not a "lets start it because I wont drive it in the rain" exercise, but at least 20 miles. If I check it cold, it does not register on the dip stick and always looks low if I check it right after shut down. The amount being added to this car would cover the whole engine compartment if it was leaking. SO my guess is its now way over full and the owner will have to syphon the excess.

 

You have to be methodical or your oil level readings are meaningless. When you first checked it was at the bottom of the stick and you added 1 qt. That would not have been enough to make much of a difference. Then you checked again and added 2. That may have been the first time it was full but none of us know that because we have no evidence that it was ever checked properly.

Oil does change in volumn hot to cold, it changes quite a bit in level in those tall skinny tanks. So forget that bad piece of info. Billy Bob said to follow Ferrari's method and he's right. Do it their way or don't bother. No information is better than bad information.

Again, check it hot only. Over 160 degrees of oil temp. Ck it with the motor off within 30 seconds or so of motor shut down. That is THE way and the ONLY way it should be checked and it is not that hard.

 

If it has a dry sump check the oil with engine at operating temperature and idling.

 

WRONG

 

I guess even such a beautiful V-12 won't be different from any other engine, so if you want to check if it's likely to burn oil, find a long down hill slope and let the car motor the engine all the way down. Put your foot down at the bottom and if you get a cloud of smoke then the piston rings and/or valve guides are a bit tired.

 

If the cats are doing their job they will burn the oil so completly that smoke will not be seen.

 

This is EXACTLY what I was going to suggest. I have done this "engine oil pump" test on all the cars I have bought, with somebody in another car behind me on the cell-phone to report back at me. As for the only correct way to check the oil level: check the owner's manual of YOUR car.

 

Stone cold it often does not register on stick but that does not matter it is an invalid test. Let me repeat that as some do not seem to understand, IT IS AN INVALID TEST. You do not take a persons temperature by holding a thermometer against their forhead, the info you get is gobledygook and means nothing so why bother? The oil level has one way and one way only of checking. It states in the owners manual to warm the motor until the oil is 158 degrees or more and to test a few seconds after motor shut off. Is there some reason you cannot do that? It is a method that was devised by some pretty smart people, just do it their way.

 

I have a 1990 Ferrari Testarossa it will not run over 4000 rpm is running rich check the cats and full presser are both good check fuel relays are good was tooled it was the cold start the was the problem ? car runs good to 4000 rpm then cuts out new wire set and caps rotors plugs new gas new fuel pumps and accumulators cleaned all wire connections and gowns tested fuel distributors pleas help if sum one has had this problem thanks.

 

Hello and welcome to the forums! Might want to start your own topic with a very specific subject line, you tend to get more help that way and it won't get lost in this thread. Also, no offense intended but proof-reading is important. Not everyone will get "grounds" from "gowns" and the less confusion the better.

 

Richard, post your problem over in the TR section ( introduce yourself first and a bunch of people will chime in to help you diagnose your issue. Will need some more info, when was the car last serviced? is this a sudden issue? etc. The fuel system is very sensitive and in my experience very difficult to get spot on unless you know exactly how all the components influence the system. Sounds like your car might be suffering from being poorly setup, if it doesn't run well when its cold (open loop) there is a good chance it won't perform when gets warm (closed loop) There are a series of test to perform while the engine is cold and then once it warms up.
Cheers!