jakfrost

Hi guys, just looking at my oil reservoir and thinking...before I start the oil drain procedure, part of my 'spring oil change ritual'..., I was wondering if I removed the cir-clip on the thermostat housing and pulled the plunger out...would I be able to get the oil trapped on the other side of the thermostat to drain out from the oil cooler back?

Now I say 'trapped' because I'm not sure that its possible to keep the oil temperature above 83c, and consequently the thermostat 'open', for very long given the ambient temperature these days in my garage.

Also since it snowed again this morning...no chance to 'drive' the car to the point where the oil is hot enough to open the thermostat, so...can I get it warm enough running the engine on the Max-Jax? How long might that take...??

Jim

Ed Hughes

Personally, I'd wait until you can drive it to warm up. Idling your car in one place, to warm it enough to change the oil, will likely do more wear and tear to offset any good new oil can bring.

jakfrost

Yea I was thinking about that, then began to wonder what 'wear' or 'tear', am I worrying about, specifically...there is lots of oil pressure, OK, the 'flow' might be less than at speed, but should be more than adequate to reach all the important bits, no?

And when you take it to the Porsche shop for service and ask for an oil change to be included...and you don't drive directly onto the lift...do they take it out for a possibly 'lengthy' run around the neighborhood to bring the oil temp back up to optimum? Doubt it. I imagine they just start it and let it idle to 'warm up' the oil. Probably the thermostat rarely gets to the open mode in those circumstances...

IXLR8

Jim,

Although I take my 993 for a good spin before draining the lubes, by the time I get the car lifted (before I got my MaxJax), get my back wheel off, remove the fender liner/rocker cover, etc, I am sure my oil and thermostat has cooled down a bit.

And I still got 11.4 liters into it to take the oil level to the "max" indicator.

We have so much oil in these engines that gets changed far sooner than its end-of-life, I would not worry about it.

Alan 91 C2

The oil change intervals are developed with the recognition a small percent of oil will remain.

Recommend you do not open up new areas for leaks.

If you want to be very thorough, submit a sample of your oil for analysis, and change based on suspended/disolved constituents.

jakfrost

Yes, I'm aware of all the above, and agree with all...

I'm not really concerned with maintaining either an 'overkill', or 'if a little is good, a lot must be better' philosophy regarding oil change intervals or procedure. As we all agree, there is lots of (excellent, modern) oil in our engine lubrication system, and missing a change interval by a little, and/or leaving a small percentage of oil in the system during a change is hardly a reason for concern.

But, while contemplating the drain procedure, I began to wonder...if you wanted to ( for whatever reason...), be relatively sure of draining the oil cooler lines as well as the reservoir/crankcase, what would be the best procedure. Then of course the question came up in my mind, does the Porsche tech EVER drain the cooler lines? They probably worry less about it than anyone, haha.

Just bored and can't drive the car yet!!!! Guess I'll go out and clean/wax the inside fender liners...now THAT is bored, hahaha.

Jim

trophy

One of the tricks the dealers used to warm up the oil before a change without driving the car was to start the car and put a blanket or towel over the engine grill. This reduced air flow and allowed the car to reach temp quicker.

Of course you have to keep an eye on the temp so it doesn't get too hot.

Ed Hughes

An idling air-cooled motor is going to get much higher temps in some spots, than in others. Best to drive it, to equalize the heat. Just my opinion.

trophy

Just an option that is used by dealers when it cannot be driven.

paradisenb

Waste of time trying to get the last qt and a half out. Change the oil cold, but more often. No chance of burning your hands that way either.

jakfrost

WOW, now there is a fresh, BOLD opinion...like your caffeine I'm sure

Brave man...

Jim