crankcase drain plug
 

Learned yesterday that those billet Al drain plugs don't survive 37 lb/ft of torque should one not seat the 8mm hex driver properly. The head of that thing will shear right off. With nine quarts of fresh DT40 leaking. Bought a new drain plug from Pelican - surprised that Suncoast was 50% higher for same part. Did not consider my local Porsche Palace as a vendor. Best news of the day was no bright shiny stuff in the folds of the oil filter.
Found that the previous owner had transmission oil changed when the IMS, RMS and clutch were done. The line item price for the 75W-90 they used was $15. Hoping that the 10X price of the Porsche brand improves notching shifting when cold.

The billet plugs have a different torque spec. According to LN the plug should be torqued to only 19 ft/lb.

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Well, that explains a lot. THANKS! I probably would have sheared two or three more off before I figured it out. Is that info posted anywhere? I looked at 101 Projects and Bentley, and only found the 37 ft/lb value.

Found it on the LN site. Had no clue. Thanks again.

You need to be aware that along with selling the factory parts, Pelican also features aftermarket substitutes, usually at a lower price to catch the shopper's eye. If you want to always get the real factory parts, and at substantially discounted price, try shopping on Sunset Porsche's web site. Sunset has has historically been the lowest priced source of the real items.

As for the gear oil, Porsche has use a unique spec full synthetic lube in their gear boxes. While some have had limited success with aftermarket lubes, we find that many lead to problems including problematic shifting in the cold, while the original product does not. Over the years, we have literally lost count of how many gear oil changes we have had to make for customers that switched to the aftermarket, only to find shifting issues when the weather turned cold. When switched back to the factory lube, the problems disappeared. So while the lube may cost a bit more, it does work.

Sorry, but I just have to ask... why were you torquing the drain plug AFTER you filled the engine with oil?

Saw a drip and was checking torque. Didn't seat the hex driver and, attempting to impart a 2X torque value (37 lb/ft vs19 lb/ft) I spun the head off.

I have a Fumoto valve in my Oil Pan on my VW Jetta. Quick and easy way to drain the oil. No chance of stripping your plug.
Check it out here: https://www.fumotooildrainvalve.com/?target=model_product&modelId=145168

These are great for most vehicles. :cool:
I wouldn't use anything that protrudes from the bottom of the oil pan like that on the 986, though (sump is too low).

On the wife's 05 VW TDI Beetle, it has the Fumoto valve also, however being quite low, I installed the 1/4" thick aluminum Evolution Skid Plate. The skid plate has a octagon cut out held in place with recessed allen head bolts. I remove one, and loosen the other and swing away to access the Fumoto valve. Not sure if Evolution in British Columbia sells a skid plate for the Boxster. The skid plate is well worth the money on a Beetle. Many oil pans have been busted from hitting curbs, etc.

No problem, glad I could help.

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I bought the Porsche oil based on the posts read here - many from you on the virtues of the special OEM oil. Really was wondering what would cost $15 for 3 liters. Looked, but did not find the LN part at Sunset. Thanks for your input - I've learned a lot here in the past two years from many.

Sunset does not sell LN parts, but they are one of the lowest cost Porsche parts dealers in the country.

Porsche gear oil price is based upon being a low production volume item; no one else makes the same products for that reason, there just aren't enough sales volume to justify making a substitute.