Gearbox oil change......

Just finished changing the gearbox oil. I'm getting slower in my old age, things seemed to be dragging on. The old oil was in there for a tade less then 30k and you could notice the difference in shifting afterwards.

Sorry for the tilted pic, I was lying on my fat old belly. Getting the car positioned to remove the cross braces was mildly taxing.


Cross members removed and cleaned afterwards. It is amazing how much debris collects on those pieces.


For those out there on the fence, in my opinion, the Porsche fluid is worth it. I find it better then Redline.


regards

I'm replacing my fluid this week - the original Porsche gearbox oil was replaced by the OPC in 2008 (@ 40,000 miles on my request) when I purchased the car - but then I found out that they use Mobil gearbox oil, not the specified Porsche stuff.....
I can't buy the genuine Porsche oil here in Australia apart from @ the OPC, and its too expensive postage wise (because of weight) from the US - so I had to bite the bullet and pay out $160-00 for 3 litres from Porsche...
I hope it improves the shift quality or I will be as sore as hell.....

but for the 996 Turbo and GT2 manual transmissions (G96/50, G96/88) the proper transmission (and front axle final drive (awd) and rear axle final drive (Tiptronic)) lube is Mobil (Mobilube PTX) SAE 75W-90. Part #: 000.043.204.20 (20 liter container).

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Last year I did some research into alternatives to the Porsche-labeled product. I no longer have the specific product information, and I gave up on locating a Shell station anywhere near me that knew what I was asking about. There's a notion out there that the Porsche product is manufactured by Shell.

VERY IMPORTANT: if the transaxle has an LSD, there could be a different lubricant requirement.

There is a Shell fluid (Shell Transaxle SAE 75W-90) approved as well. Part #: 000.043.204.19 (20 liter containter) or a one liter container Part #: 999.917.546.00.

The info I have is this Shell fluid can be mixed with the Mobil (Mobilube PTX) fluid and vice versa.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

fluids. I used to buy Shell machine tool lubricants from a Shell distributor in San Jose out on East Santa Clara St. but a search doesn't turn up anything there now and it has been years, make that decades, since I was last in that area of San Jose.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

for the 6-sp, a Porsche unit, or the newer Aisin trannies in the 987, i cannot say.

Grant

isn't the Porsche gearbox fluid p/n 999 917 546 00 a lifetime fluid like the coolant?

160 km. Same goes for the ATF and ATF filter and the final drive in ATF equipped cars.

'lifetime coolant'?

Well, what does 'lifetime' mean, exactly? One could argue that this covers the car's first 4 years and 50K miles at which time the car is no longer under warranty. Now some used Porsches receive a CPO warranty that extends this to up to 8 years and 100K miles, so this is another hint at what 'lifetime' might mean.

I do note that Porsche does give service intervals in both miles and time for almost every other fluid and yet does not for anti-freeze, so in some respects Porsche does know the difference between a really long time or lots of miles and never.

Now while Porsche gives no specific anti-freeze/coolant change interval it does advise the coolant level be checked and the anti-freeze protection checked at 40 km and every 20 km afterwards. That's at 24K miles and every 12K miles thereafter. It is possible that upon checking the coolant the tech might find it unacceptable and a full (or just a partial) drain is called for with topping up with Porsche anti-freeze. This would work to perk up the car's coolant and improve its anti-corrosion fighting while at the same time bringing the coolant up to spec regarding freeze protection. (It is the coolant system's ability to hold pressure that mainly provides boil over protection.)

Additionally Porsche states "The engine cooling system was filled with a lifetime coolant filling at the factory. This coolant must not be mixed with or replaced by other coolants. Only Original Porsche coolant [the bold is the way the text appears in my copy of the documentation] must be used when changing or topping up the coolant."

So if anyone adds anything to his engine's cooling system but Porsche anti-freeze (or distilled water?) then my impression is the lifetime thing might no longer apply.

Now some advise testing the coolant for its anti-corrosion protection level and if this is low replace the coolant. I've never done this thought I think there are anti-freeze test strips that make this pretty painless.

But I don't test the fluid I just change the fluid every 4 years or so. Well, that is I have it changed. As I've mentioned before circumstances beyond my control (for the Boxster I hit some road debris the 1st time and the 2nd time a water pump needed replacing and for the Turbo a mule deer took out the passenger side radiator) have resulted in a coolant change in the Boxster about every 4 years and the Turbo had its coolant replaced shortly after I bought it in 2009.

My biggest concern is corrosion. While the block and heads will never corrode through I'm always worried about the head gaskets. Their sealing area is very narrow and any corrosion foothold means the gasket's sealing functionality at risk. Also, I'm worried about the radiators. They're thin and there's not much metal to spare to corrosion. Then there's the oil/water heat exchanger. Oil and coolant are in close proximity to each other and I want those passage walls to remain as thick and free of leaks as long as possible.

In an older car, often it is a coolant leak that spells the end of a generally otherwise good car. A leak happens then is ignored until the engine suffers from serious overheating.

My July 3, 2009 drive up 50 highway from CA to South Lake Tahoe really pressed home the issue of overheating. The ambient air temp was near 100F and the last 20 miles or more was bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic. I spotted many a car on the side of the road with overheating problems. And many were not that old (but not real new either) BMWs. (It was seeing all these BMWs on the side of the road that also made sense of why Mike Miller in Bimmer mag advises preventative water pump and radiator replacement for late model BMWs.)

Not everyone keeps a car as long as I have kept my Boxster and not everyone drives his car as much as I have driven my Boxster, but I wanted from the outset to provide the car and engine with reasonable servicing to ensure both lasted as long as I wanted them to last. Thus I elected to follow a 4 year or so coolant replacement schedule. I just didn't intend to follow it by running my cars into things that damaged the cooling system and forced a coolant replacement.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

"Bart, with $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like...love!"

and many of us have observed improved shifting after changing it.

coolant tank or water pump, whichever dies first.

I should have searched more before I made my post. I just posted a separate topic on how badly my '00 6 speed now shifts after the shop put in non-Porsche fluid. TERRIBLE!!!!!

As I think there are different Redlines.

(Sorry about the double post; I meant to edit the previous one.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2011 12:16PM by Laz. (view changes)

The fluid looked like maple syrup coming out. I do seem to notice a slightly smoother shift, but if was good before and good now, so now I'm covered for the next 90K \

Thanks to Alden at Flintworks for hosting a great event.

Flintworks Spring Car Care Day





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2011 09:59PM by BoxsterBob - San Carlos. (view changes)