New Member – 1998 Boxster (Arctic Silver/Red) + Some Oil Analysis Concerns

[Jvarghese]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself and my car. I picked up a 1998 Porsche Boxster about a year ago—Arctic Silver with red interior, 5-speed manual. I bought it with 183k miles, and it’s now at 188k. The car wasn’t in perfect shape, but not terrible either. There was a small rip in the driver’s seat bolster that had a rough repair, and the top of the door cards were peeling a bit from sitting in the Arizona sun.

I’m the third owner—the car originally belonged to someone who passed it down to his nephew, and I bought it from him.

The car came with a few mods already:

-2008 Cayman wheels (which I think look great)

-LN Engineering oil filter spin-on adapter

-The suspension had been upgraded to Bilsteins at some point before I got it (confirmed during an inspection when I had the airbags serviced).

Since owning it, I’ve done the following:

-Installed clear headlights

-Continental head unit

-Rockwell slim subwoofer behind the passenger seat

-Replaced ignition coil packs with Rennline units

-New spark plugs

-Replaced O2 sensors (helped clear a misfire/O2 code initially, but the code has since returned)

-Swapped out an eBay exhaust (great at full throttle but droned too much in traffic) for a stock system

-Replaced a leaking coolant tank

-Routine maintenance: oil & air filter changes every 1–2k miles (I only drive it ~3 days a week)

Now for the concern:
I just did an oil change after about 2k miles. The oil looked pretty dirty—probably from the way I drive it. When I cut open the filter:

I noticed a few very small non-ferrous (aluminum?) bits near the paper

Found a decent amount of magnetic/ferrous material in the pleats using a magnet

I took a video of the pleats and saved the oil from the filter in a bottle.

A few questions:

Should I get the oil analyzed?

Is the oil from the filter enough for a sample, or should I send some of the drained oil as well?

Any recommended labs or services for oil or filter analysis?

Should I be concerned about the ferrous material, or am I just being paranoid?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and getting more involved with the community.

Thanks,

[Gigi]

Welcome to the forum man!

How did you managed the problem with particles of metal in oil filter? At your Boxster’s mileage I would check the ims bearing condition. This is a very serious problem. Do not ignore it. Good luck!

[Starter986]

Next time you change your oil... catch some oil, midstream, and send it off for analysis.

Go ahead and open for inspection the IMS. Me... at that mileage... I'm passing. Maybe drop your oil pan and inspect the bottom for debris.

I don't see anything extraordinary in the filter or on the magnet... but I'm just a shade tree mechanic.

Someone with far more knowledge than I will pay a visit to your post. Good luck.