Oil Change
 

Well. I bought a 99 boxster with 80k on it. Put a few thousand on it and now I wanna change the oil. I haven't even looked under there yet to see how hard this is. Am I better off jacking it up myself and draining and replacing the filter or taking it all to a shop and paying them to drain it?

Just curious how hard this is.

Thanks much!

-Matt

I haven't personally changed the oil myself yet. But as far as I know it's a simple procedure and unless you don't want to get a little dirty it's not worth taking it to a mechanic.

Just be prepared for a LOT of fluid to come out at a fast rate.

Just did my first DIY oil change
 

"Just be prepared for a LOT of fluid to come out at a fast rate."

Ditto on that, I use a metal dishpan for oil changes and it filled it up almost to the rim. It will help to get a cap style oil fiter wrench that you can use with a ratchet. There isn't a lot of clearance for a strap style oil filter wrench and if you are anal about the proper torque for the filter housing, you will need it to use a torque wrench anyway.

It's pretty easy, though may be a little messy your first time. As they say, the oil really comes shooting out initially---be ready for that. I still spread newspaper under the catch pan and, these days, I typically don't get a drop on the driveway.

These will get you started:

http://www.986faq.com/7-0/oil.asp
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/box_oil_change/box_oil_change.htm
http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Change_the_Oil_%26_Filter.html
http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/22045-1st-oil-change-question.html?highlight=oil+change
http://www.realtime.net/~rentner/Blog/B600322026/C339116892/E466985417/index.html

I didn't make a specialized oil catch arrangement like Pedro talks about (too much work :D ). I suppose it might be helpful, but I do fine without it.

Then there's the ramp vs jacking questions. I use the former, largely because they're easy and I already had made some out of 2x8s I had laying around. (I did that years ago, when I was only using them for a Toyota. These days I'd use 2x10s.) Here's a thread with a pic of what I use:

http://www.986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19924

Since that pic, I have added bigger blocks of wood at the high end to prevent driving too far on (and off the end of) the ramp. I added them after the last time I used them, got in a hurry, and nearly did exactly that---would have been a bit of a disaster. The little strips that I used to depend on to prevent that were only 3/4" tall---you hardly feel them. The blocks on there now are about 2 1/2" tall---it would be pretty tough to drive over them.

As is suggested in the above links, you really want the Boxster level for draining the oil. I (and others) accomplish that by driving up my sloped driveway and then backing onto the ramps. Works great.

Are there any other good options besides taking my car to the dealer? I'm not really ready to try this myself LOL

Sure---any decent independent shop mechanic could just about do this with his eyes closed. They'd have to order parts (oil filter insert, crush ring, etc.) and might or might not have your preferred type/weight of oil on hand.

Thanks! Is Mobil 1 the best thing to use?

Most experts on here say avoid mobil.

We have a monroe muffler chain store that let me give them $10 to use their lift on my Mercury mountaineer, it was well worth the money. But I did my own oil change on my box. The only thing you need to really get (besides filter, 10quart oil drain thingy and oil) is to get a round oil wrench socket that fits on the bottom. It was only $7 ish at autozone. It is very easy to do your own oil. Do a search on here as this topic has been beaten to death.

I do suggest, my own opinion, getting a new crush ring for oil plug and put Castro Sytnech 10 or 5 W 40. Also I have heard napa gold filters are highly suggested. You need xx W "40", do not use "30". If you live in a cold climate get 10 if you live in a warmer area get "5".

Couple other things .... great idea to change the crush rings. But not something you absolutely MUST do every time if yours is still in good shape.

Getting the oil changed at the Porsche dealer is a supreme rip off. But I also think the hassle factor of doing it myself has some negative value -- especially as it pertains to the sloppy inconvenience of draining, storing and moving the spent oil to a recycling location. Add that to the jacking and wrenching etc... maybe I'm just lazy.

I found a good middle ground at the local Quick Oil Change place. I take in my filter and tools which they wouldn't otherwise might not have (correct size allen wrench etc...) and let them do the wrenching and draining. Costs me $90 on the button. I can live with that given how much I drive her.

I'm sure it's been noted before but just to re-iterate - you may have a special Porsche drain plug that requires the Porsche special socket to unlock it. Some people (including myself) would simply use a screw extractor to remove it and then replace it with a hex head drain plug. Don't let that catch you by surprise~

Wow MP, that's great for you, given the potential insurance risks I'm shocked you could get that place to let you use the lift at any cost.

What is this you are speaking about? I was going to go and try to buy stuff tonight for the weekend. Can I get a filter at autozone or whatever or is this a special one I need to order from Porsche?

Thanks for the tips everybody. I appreciate it!

Speaking only about my own experiences, the special tool I bought was for the plastic housing that retains the filter cartridge. The drain plug on mine was just a metric allen, nothing special.

Call the Zone first. Mine happened to have one filter when I got there. My drain plug (I think) needed a 8mm allen to remove. And when they say a lot of oil comes out quick... that is a very accurate description. I used two plastic oil pans as I did mine. Have some oil dry handy.

I placed the rear end of the car on jack stands to do my change.

Actually the drain plug came off easily with a big allen wrench. I cant remeber which one, but it didn't take much to move it. Just beware that if the oil is hot, which it should be (so the gunk stays in the oil and doesn't settle), it will come out extremely fast!! Use a walmart or autozone $8 / 10 quart drain pan. It will fit under the car when you lower the jack. It takes about 20 minutes for the oil to drain.