[mitch48]

I can't help you with the questions but I encourage you to DIY, it's really easy. A lift certainly makes it more comfortable so hopefully someone in your area can help you find one. The plug is out in the open and the filter is just tucked up out of the way but not hard to access. A little searching should yield some photos. I'd help you if I could.

 

[ICNU]

After a quote of "around $450" for my first 981 service by the dealer, I am seriously considering doing my own first oil change. Two questions: 1) does anyone know what happened to the pictures at the beginning of this thread, and 2) does anyone know of a garage rental place in southeastern Pennsylvania? Renting a lift looks more appealing than using Rhino Ramps (but I'll probably still use the Rhino's if I have to). Thanks in advance.

The photos are still here in the articles section. http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/service-items/p470-981-oil-change-.html

The OP must have removed them from their original source for some reason, so they no longer show here in the thread.

 

[maukadream$]

I just did my own oil change two days ago with the help of a friend at his house. He has a 986 Boxster S that he does his own maintenance on, and I just wanted someone with know how to help me through the first time. Oil changes before this were done at the dealer where I bought the car. Felt good to have the guidance on where to put the jackstands mostly! The wrenching is like most other cars. I can do it solo the next time. All up cost was about $75 for the oil, filter, and washers for the drain plug, so I saved about $200. No oil on my garage floor so I guess we done good! I put in almost 7.5 quarts at his house, and have been adding a cup or two at a time at home to get the oil meter back up to where it was before the oil change. Feels good to have accomplished the oil change!

 

[Stringfellow]

Oil changed. Exactly 1 year from the date I picked it up in Stuttgart. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[lrcipo]

I just did my own oil change two days ago with the help of a friend at his house. He has a 986 Boxster S that he does his own maintenance on, and I just wanted someone with know how to help me through the first time. Oil changes before this were done at the dealer where I bought the car. Felt good to have the guidance on where to put the jackstands mostly! The wrenching is like most other cars. I can do it solo the next time. All up cost was about $75 for the oil, filter, and washers for the drain plug, so I saved about $200. No oil on my garage floor so I guess we done good! I put in almost 7.5 quarts at his house, and have been adding a cup or two at a time at home to get the oil meter back up to where it was before the oil change. Feels good to have accomplished the oil change!

I just had mine changed and saved $200 on the dealer cost by having my indie change it on his lift. I supplied the oil, filter, new magnetic plug and washer and he charged me only $18.75 for labor (was there for state inspection). Total cost was under $100 (would have been only $80 if I did not replace the OEM plug with magnetic plug). BTW, the 19 ft/lb torque warning tag on the magnetic plug can be ignored; I had told him what it said on P9 about that issue (there are several posts), and he did confirm that 19 ft/lb was too loose and that he took it all the way to the 37 ft/lb spec on the OEM plug with no issues. Drained oil for a half hour and re-filled to exactly 8.2 quarts to bring it the optimum one bar low.

 

[Snip's]

BTW, the 19 ft/lb torque warning tag on the magnetic plug can be ignored; I had told him what it said on P9 about that issue (there are several posts), and he did confirm that 19 ft/lb was too loose and that he took it all the way to the 37 ft/lb spec on the OEM plug with no issues.

torque specs- 37 ft-lbs drain plug, 19 ft-lbs oil filter cover.....

 

[lrcipo]

torque specs- 37 ft-lbs drain plug, 19 ft-lbs oil filter cover.....

It is then confusing to me why they put a 19 ft/lb sticker on the drain plug itself.

 

[RSchwerer]

torque specs- 37 ft-lbs drain plug, 19 ft-lbs oil filter cover.....

It is then confusing to me why they put a 19 ft/lb sticker on the drain plug itself.

I think Snip is talking about the OEM plug and you're referring to the magnetic aftermarket one.

 

[dcharnet]

I just did this today. I used 19 on the new magnetic drain plug because it makes NO sense for the manufacturer to put a number on it that is incorrect. I attribute the difference to a different design and perhaps material. There are no leaks whatsoever.

 

[JCtx]

It is then confusing to me why they put a 19 ft/lb sticker on the drain plug itself.

When I called their tech guy, he told me that's what is safe to use. I had to use 25 on mine, because it leaked at 19. At 37, the threads might give up next time around. I don't feel comfortable using the factory spec on an inferior product designed for 19. And yes, I said inferior because that's exactly what it is compared to what it needed to be. If Porsche calls for 37, why the heck put something on the market with only 19? I'll carefully examine mine next time, but will probably go back to stock. Wish GoldPlug made one of their excellent S/S ones for Porsche, but they don't.

 

[Snip's]

Wish GoldPlug made one of their excellent S/S ones for Porsche, but they don't.

Dimple makes a good product...DRAINPLUGMAGNETS.COM

 

[TheFlyingMouse]

I had written a long post about this the other day but my phone reloaded the page and I hadn't gotten around to rewriting it from scratch. Long story short, tightening torques are set by the bolt being used. If you look in any real shop manual for BMW and also probably Porsche, you will find a generic table of torques to be used based upon bolt size and composition. Any special cases where the threads the bolt is going into cannot take the torque are called out specifically in the manual with a torque spec, but you'll find that pretty much all torque values you find match what is in that table.

The torque spec provided by the manufacturer of these drain plugs at 19 lb/ft is based upon mechanical engineering for that specific plug. You should not use the factory torque spec on it. It eventually will fail with the heating and cooling cycles our engines go through. Common practice is 50% safety margin. 37 lb/ft is 94% ABOVE the design spec for the plug.

There are other plugs on the market that are made of proper steel that you can use with the factory torque specs. (Do not overtighten or you can damage the aluminum pan threads because the steel is stronger). These plugs also have extremely good magnets and are $35. See Dimple Magnetic Drain plugs. I've been using them on all my cars and transmissions, and my father used them when they first appeared long ago. Very high quality parts. I'm really surprised so many people keep buying these 19 lb/ft plugs. They don't meet the factory requirements if they can't tighten to 37 lb/ft.

 

[JCtx]

Dimple makes a good product...DRAINPLUGMAGNETS.COM

Thank you for the info. But notice the head on those things; it'd be dangerously exposed. The LNE one sticks down a little, which I don't like, but only a mm or so. The stock one is perfectly flush. If you hit something solid (extremely unlikely, I know) with that thing, you could break (or more like destroy) the aluminum pan, with dire consequences. With my luck, I wouldn't do it.

 

[TheFlyingMouse]

Thank you for the info. But notice the head on those things; it'd be dangerously exposed. The LNE one sticks down a little, which I don't like, but only a mm or so. The stock one is perfectly flush. If you hit something solid (extremely unlikely, I know) with that thing, you could break (or more like destroy) the aluminum pan, with dire consequences. With my luck, I wouldn't do it.

You'd lose a lot more than the oil pan if you hit something like that. It's in the middle of the car width-wise and there are lots of parts that would have to be destroyed, to include your front bumper before anything tall enough is going to get that plug. Unless you reverse over a fire hydrant, of course...

Up to you, but Dimple makes an excellent product that meets all the requirements otherwise for you. It's a heavy well-made part.

 

[JCtx]

The oil pan is basically as low as the bumper man. Get behind a Cayman/Boxster with a flashlight, and check for yourself. In fact, when changing the oil on the BGTS, there was what looked like something wooden (a 2x4, perhaps) hit right ahead of the oil drain plug. And the front lip is perfectly fine (oh, and both have sport suspension, so they're quite low). The drain plug is recessed for a reason. I'm not going to risk any kind of damage for a freaking magnetic plug that it's not factory-installed, but to each his own. I prefer having one, but not the expense of having one protruding underneath. I could live with the LN because it's only 1mm or so, but it's too wimpy. Thanks for your help anyway.

 

[TheFlyingMouse]

Wonder if our oil pans are different. I can't remember seeing any kind of recess. I'll take a look back there later, but my pictures from the last oil change show the plastic coverings under the car sitting lower than my drain plug.

 

[JCtx]

Looks a hair higher to me too. But such a drain plug would become the lowest point IMO. Since almost nobody puts magnetic drain plugs on engines, maybe they're not really needed. Who knows.

 

[TheFlyingMouse]

Looks a hair higher to me too. But such a drain plug would become the lowest point IMO. Since almost nobody puts magnetic drain plugs on engines, maybe they're not really needed. Who knows.

More frequent oil changes will work better than any magnetic plug. The advantage is you get a consistent sampling of how much metal is floating around in your oil. You won't catch wear from an engine block since it's not ferrous material, but you will find evidence of bearings letting go, etc.

 

[Westcoaster]

Wonder if our oil pans are different. I can't remember seeing any kind of recess. I'll take a look back there later, but my pictures from the last oil change show the plastic coverings under the car sitting lower than my drain plug.

Here is my car's oil pan, everything is recessed on it...

More frequent oil changes will work better than any magnetic plug. The advantage is you get a consistent sampling of how much metal is floating around in your oil. You won't catch wear from an engine block since it's not ferrous material, but you will find evidence of bearings letting go, etc.

I too am convinced that a magnetic plug only tells part of the story, full oil analysis at each change would tell more considering the materials used to build these engines.

 

[syswizard]

Pic 1-After I got the filter out. Cleaned up a couple of tiny drips. Ready to install the new filter

Pic 2- Oil filter cover in ziplock bag used from the filter kit O-ring. It caught most of the oil drips.

Pic3- Note the notch in the filter cover. I was able to grab the O-ring with a pair of needle nose pliers without causing any damage to the threading. I'm not sure if that's what it was made for but it made it easy to remove the O-ring.

Great write-up, but where are the links to the pictures ?