Planet 9

I am going to change my oil. I am contemplating using a engine oil cleaner before I change the oil. By oil cleaner, I mean one of the treatment products one can pour in just before an oil change to help clean out the internal oil passages in the engine. I have not gone to the auto parts store to read the label yet, but I think one pours the product in the engine and then drives the car for a certain amount of time or miles then changes the oil. I think these products are supposed to help dissolve the oil sludge that may build up. Do you think it is safe to use?

My salesman said the oil needs to be changed every two years or 20,000 miles. I thought well Porsche knows what they are doing so I waited for the two year period. I now have 16,000 miles and it is time to change the oil but I feel apprehensive about sludge build-up after waiting so long to change the oil.
Do you think I should use the oil cleaner or not?

No, don't use it, just change the oil. I seriously doubt there's any sludge build-up in your motor after 16k miles.

brad

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22-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor

+1 regarding what beez said. If you're really worried about sludge change your oil more often. Porsche does not recommend any additives.

I can't imagine you have any sludge to speak of after 16,000 miles.

If you do want to use an oil cleaner (perhaps on a different car?), do NOT use one any of the harsh cleaners you get at your local auto parts stores. They are solvent based. If you don't have sludge, you don't need it, and if you do have sludge, the solvent can loosen enough of it to clog oil passages.

The only cleaner I would consider is one called auto-rx. It's a slow cleaner, not a harsh solvent. It's discussed a lot on this forum:

Oil Additives - Bob Is The Oil Guy

I used it with good results in a car that had ~100,000 miles on it. It was no sludge monster, but I believe the rings had some sludge on them. After one oil change with this cleaner in it, compression was up and the engine was running much smoother.

But like I said, I doubt your 16,000 mile Cayman has any issues, and should not need this.

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’08 Cayman S, 6 Speed, PASM, Sport Chrono, Sport Seats & Steering Wheel, 19” Carrera Sport Wheels, PCM, Bose, Xenon, plus some other stuff not worth mentioning

Thanks for the info. Just an oil change it is then.

keep that stuff away from your baby.

None of that marketed mystery stuff is going into any engine I own. Besides, sludge is attributed to non-detergent oil, moreso than detergent oil, which traps that which the filter doesn't pick up. That's why it looks dirty.

Non-detergent oil, while letting the **** become sludge, looks clean far longer than detergent oil.

While there are lots of different opinions on what is the best oil change interval, its pretty common practice to change the oil at 1 year or 10,000 miles.

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LL

At work don't have manual handy, but wasn't the frequency changed to 12k or once a year due to guy's not putting any miles on..

I don't know the reason but the interval is 10k or 1 year in the newer manuals.

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Les

If you want to avoid oil deposits just change your oil more frequently, I do mine every 6000-7000 miles. I believe that Porsche changed their recommendation for oil changes to no longer than 10,000 miles not too long ago. The "sludge cleaning fluids" you speak of are basically glorified Kerosene and do not have the viscosity to protect your engine when you add it to the oil and then run your engine for a few minutes per the instructions.

I work for a Porsche dealership, and have been told by my Porsche reps the reason the oil change interval was cut to 12k miles for North America is the poor quality of fuel and oil in Mexico. North American cars all have to be on the same standard, and Mexico is our lowest common denominator.

Then again, as my father used to say oil is a cheap mechanic...not a bad idea to change it more often, especially the way many of us are likely driving these cars.

***** I agree. 20 K is way too long to leave oil in the engine. 7500 or 10000 between changs to be safe. Same for the cabin filter. Mine looked bad after just 10 K. Now I change it every 10 K.

I agree on oil changes annually, for me about 6-8K miles per year.

I believe there is another issue for oil changes. As i remember Chemistry so long ago, heat plus water plus sulfer produce acid. Gas has some residual sulfer. To some extent, changing oil also removes this contamination from the car.

As some have said, oil is a cheap mechanic. IMHO Ed