Spring
 

On my 2001 S, there is a spring that sits inside the core of the filter.

you don't have one?

Nope. Nothing in my OEM replacement filter. No mention of it in Bentley or any of the internet info sources that I've looked at...

Went to AutoZone today and picked up two of the Castrol Syntec 10W40 specials (5 qts plus K&N Gold filter for $27.99).

Needed 9 qts or so for the Box, plus my car has the LN billet adapter, so I was able to pick up two of the recommended K&N HP-1007 filters with the special (normally $13.99 ea) basically for free!

Funny part was, I attended a PCA Chicago tech clinic yesterday where Charles Navarro (LN Engineering) was one of the guest speakers; drove the Box since it was 70+ degrees, and he discussed motor oil advantages/disadvantages.

Here's what my LN magnetic drain plug looked like...kind of a "metallic paste" on the end of the magnet...around 2k miles on this fill.

Good timing all around and now my Box is ready for hibernation.

FYI. Pep Boys has 5 qts of Castrol Syntec + a filter on sale for $27.99 for the month of May. Even without the filter that's a great deal compared to my alternative, $7.49/qt at Autozone. Time to stock up...

Castrol website shows 5w-40 as the recommended Castrol oil.
I do not see this weight at Pep Boys here in NH.
Autozone carries it though.

"The Boys" here in NJ stock the Syntec 5w40. Didn't see any Castrol products on their website, but on Castrol's site they're listed as a retailer, so I called. BTW, their standard price is $7.49/qt.

Maybe Autozone's going to have the same promo, but I called them before I knew about the Pep Boys deal and they said nothing about it. Then again the mouth breathers working at the local store don't seem motivated to sell anything.

I've read threads here and elsewhere about Walmart having a standard $27.50 deal on a Syntec 5 qt jug, which is what I was really looking for because there's so much less packaging waste. All of Walmarts within reasonable distance only have 10w30 and a couple other more common weights that aren't recommended for our cars, and all said they can't order the 5w40.