New here. Just got a 2001 986 S with 142 on the clock
 

Hello all. Glad to be here.

I just got my first Boxster S that has 142K. Oil is bit black so gonna do an oil change and filter.

Going to use 5/40 Rotella T6 and a Mann filter. Is this a good choice?

Also, might as well do the plugs as well. NGK BKR-6-EIX-INT. Is this a good choice as well? I have always used NGK on my Bmw and Benzos.

Thanks all in advance!

Leo

Congrats and enjoy your car. Oil and filter are your choice. All good (within reason) as long as you change often. NGK plugs are fine. Lots of folks using Bosch and others as well. Inspect your coils for cracks while doing the job and don't over torque when you put stuff back together!

Thanks for the reply. Which Bosch are ones are you using? Want to use what you pros use. Like I said, new to me car so want to get it right the first time.

Read some threads and it looks like Bosch 7413's

+1 on above. Don't get lost in the weeds of all the opinions and options out there. Sticking with the OEM speced replacements will work just fine and doing so on a reasonable maintenance schedule
Definitely check those coil packs for cracks. They do crack. I had 3 of 6 cracked under 95k miles.
Check the plug tubes for oil leaking as well. It's all in the same place
You may want to replace your oil filter canister as well as there is a relieve spring in there that can age. Cheap part even though it is a Porsche replacement (My only actual Porsche replacement part)

And let the fun begin

Roger that. Will buy a new canister as well.

I have a 2001 s, that i have only had 6 months. I used Mobil 1 0- 40 with a Hengst filter. That is what previous owner used, so I decided to continue with same

Well, looks like I have other issues. Since I am waiting on parts I ordered from Pelican. I gave the old girl a detail. Looked in the coolant reservoir and saw milky stuff. Yup, oil in the coolant. I know this can be multiple things, but is there a known issue on these boxsters? Here are some pics of the brownish milky residue in my coolant cap and reservoir.

Also, what seems to be the reservoir overflow tube hanging under the right front part of the engine was leaking coolant everywhere after a test drive.

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The oil cooler is the obvious place to start. If it were my car I'd simply replace it.

Oil cooler is the best case for oil in the coolant because it's the cheapest and easiest. Cracked head will get you there too. I've also seen threads on accidently pouring oil in the coolant as the caps are so close. Browse this forum and you will find a lot of information. Head gaskets typically don't fail in these cars so that would be a long shot.

As far as the over flow you noticed, the coolant cap can cause that to happen. Failed or If you cross thread it not tight enough, can cause some issues.

Thanks for that.

Was thinking this too, but I would think clean oil wouldn't turn dark brown like that. Hence why I thinking of intermixing.

It's definitely tight as it's not leaking in the trunk. I'll replace the cap anyways. Good call.

Going to order the oil cooler and cap. Is there anything else I need to order, like what else gets removed where I may need to replace more gaskets, etc?

yes....order a second mortgage, you now own a Boxster!
Just kidding, they are the so fun to drive that the occasional headache and wallet emptying are worth it!
This forum will help save you thousands of dollars, the gents on here are most helpful!

If this were mine I would not throw an oil cooler at it. I'd drain the coolant, flush the system a couple times with distilled water, and then run it up to 185 degrees with distilled water only to see if the oil returns. You'll have to watch the temp as water does not cool as well as water coolant mixture. If the oil stays gone then you have the data point that it appears to be the last person contaminated the coolant. If it comes back. I'd remove the oil cooler and pressure test it with air before buying a new one.

I'm with James - before you start throwing parts at it, do a pressure test of the coolant system. That will help to identify where the problem is. If the test points to the oil cooler, then remove it and pressure test it.

I went and bought the Harbor Freight Cooling Pressure tester. The black adapter worked perfect. Put 12 psi (cap pressure) and it held with no leaking. I even removed the oil cap if that makes a difference.

Is it possible I just have a bad cap and the PO put oil in the overflow tank by mistake?

What are your thoughts guys?

https://youtu.be/5IYbhv-xGpw

I'm a little confused by the pictures. When you opened the cap, did you then see all the gunk? It looks as though there is no coolant in the tank at all? Or, had it been drained? IF there is no coolant in the tank, or hasn't been, that seems very odd. Sometimes, a cap can get white/brownish gunk as you see from condensation. Notorious in my Jeep, totally harmless, just means I need to drive it harder. Not sure if the Boxster has this issue potentially or not. I agree with the rest, no matter what route you take, you need to flush the snot out of your coolant system, until the entire system runs completely clear, then test from there.