Transmission oil change
 

I have a 2001 S 3.2L and my car is close to 90,000 miles. I was wondering which transmission oil is the absolute beeeeeest :D
What i have in mind is Swepco 201 80w90. Any suggestions??

Porsche genuine transmission oil if you want the best shifting hot or cold.
Do a search and settle back for a couple of hours reading.....

+1
Nobody complains about how their car shifts after a change to this fluid.

....and everyone complains after using Mobil One.

Tip: make sure you can get the full plug loose before you drain the oil. Some have encountered difficulty getting the fill plug out.

And while you're down there is a good time to bleed the clutch. When I did mine I had some other work to do so I can't remember if I took of the sheetmetal brace and the diagonal reinforcement plates for the transmission oil change or something else, but with those off it is easier to get up to the bleed nipple on the clutch slave cylinder.

I used the Porsche OEM fluid, got it from ECS Tuning which was the best price by a fair margin. Now that Sunset Porsche has an online store (PorschePartsHub) it looks like they have the best price:

ORMD-TRANS OIL 1LTR | Genuine Porsche | 999-917-546-00

Transmission Fluid Change
 

How many liters?

Consider doing the sticky finger test - after the trans oil has drained stick your finger in the drain hole. Curl your finger down to feel the lowest surface around the hole. You should find a magnet-shaped like a large coin. Collect some of the stickiest goop from around the magnet with your finger and examine.
Very sticky/slimy goop =grease from the "sealed" bearings =bad!
Bright gold metal bits = synchromesh debris = bad.
No stickiness and no metal = consider fitting fit the detent mod.to prevent 2nd gear pop-out problems in the near future.

Best Oil.....errrrrgggggg
 

Well I can be of some help to you with regard to your desire to utilize swepco 201 in your gearbox. It is a excellent oil and you will not be disappointed with using it.

If you are going to see a lot of track time this summer switch it up to 210, but for overall general street driving, 201 is what you want.

There are several oils out there, but the swepco is certainly one of the best. It gives very good protection to the internals, and will not let you down. It also allows the synchronizers to continue to bite as they need to against the gearing surfaces, which has been a issue with some synthetics.

I would recommend doing the detent mod if you are there anyways. This will help to protect the 2nd gear dog ring by allowing for a deeper engagement of the operating sleeve to the gear. Let me know if you need to pick one up. I still have two of these already made so no worries on that.

If you have additional questions about your gearbox feel free to contact me directly, we work on these all the time. I hope that this is helpful.

Erik Johnson
(970) 344-7761 phone

With regard to how much oil to use. Just get a gallon of the swepco and fill until it starts to run out of the fill hole. It was placed in that area of the gearbox to ensure that overfilling would not take place during maintenance. It should take nearly the entire gallon, but perhaps not quite.

Happy to help.

Erik Johnson

I'm interested in picking up one of your detent mods. Every once in a while when the car is cold it will pop out. Changed the trans oil not too long ago and everything appeared okay. Is it a fairly easy mod to install? Let me know. Thanks.

I am interested in the detent mod as well.

Three litres.

I did the detent mod 1 1/2 years back. Had to contort a bit, easy to do.

+1 on removing the fill plug first.
I had to use a 3 foot cheater bar to break it loose.

The reports in the Porsche Forums on Swepco vs the OEM 6-speed trans oil are rather confusing. There are reports good/bad about both oils. The obvious variable seldom mentioned is the condition of the internals of the gearbox. The well known weakness of bearings(the seals fail -just like the IMSB !) and the 2nd gear synchro +dog teeth /pop-out seem a more likely cause of variable results from the two oils?
Part of the reason for the confusion is that there are very few diy gearbox inspection guides. This is a pity because if every time the gearbox was out for clutch/RMS/IMSB work, the gearbox was inspected internally ,it may help? Meanwhile the 'sticky finger' test I mentioned previously is an easy predicter of future bearing problems and perhaps synchro +dog teeth also?
Another issue is that the trans oil is seldom changed as frequently as the gearbox re-builders recommend. Yes the oil change+ the detent mod is expensive -but compared to a gearbox rebuild ,it is a bargain! Justa sk Erik how much a rebuild costs and you'll love the alternative/preventative.

Before using a 'cheater bar' - may I suggest a gentler alternative ? Try PB Blaster or Kroil several times over a few days.It worked for me.
And put some anti-sieze on the threads when you replace the filler + drain ?

Just did this
 

my 2001S had the original oil in it and it didn't look too bad. I drained out 2.8 L and put 3 back in. Pelican says it should hold 3 quarts...so if you buy 3 1 liter bottles put it all in.

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