bda10889

I have just inherited the maintance and up keep of a couple of P-Cars.... on is a 1990 911 Cabriolet and the other is a 1984 Targa. Then both need some attention. First thing is an oil change. I will be using Redline Oil, but wondered what Oil Filters you all recommended. or any other quirks that I should know about. I am brand new to dealing with the Porsche world, but I have a good bit of experience in the VAG world. I am a member of various forums for that stuff.

Any info would be great...

thanks

84_Carrera

Welcome aboard.

Personally, with my '84, I use Mahle filters & Brad Penn Racing Oil. Just be sure the oil you choose is NOT SM-rated & you're at least one step ahead of the average shmoe who's not asking the question you did.

http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

Remember to get new crush washers when you change the oil (2 per change on my '84). Remember also to NOT overfill. You're better off being low a quart than high a quart. I put in about 9 qts, then add to suit after the car gets up to temp.

ked

I would thoroughly review the Owner's Manuals & acquire the Bentley Service Manuals for those models. The Porsche 911 is almost the definition of quirky (Frere's book on the development history is a great overview) - for instance, its dry sump engine-oiling system has two oil drain plugs. These cars are not difficult to maintain, just very specific in nature. Enjoy!

KC911

+1 and welcome aboard! This board and Pelican are great resources. Ditto on the Bentley manual and "101 Projects" too...

Keith
'88 CE coupe

bda10889

9 quarts?????? jesus.... i was thinking 6 would be enough....

84_Carrera

Buy a case. I usually go through 10.5 on mine, leaving .5 for a top-off after a spirited run & an extra full qt in the front trunk.

Shop around for your Brad Penn oil... it's available online a few places, but after you pay shipping, it's still ~$65-$70 / case. BP is a semi-synthetic, has lots of zinc & phosphorus for our older engines. In my case it was just a little cheaper going to http://theoilwarehouse.com/ vs. my "local" 40 mile away BP distributor.

bda10889

So Redline oil is NOT the way to go then?.... at least that is what it sounds like.....

3.2SLANTNOSE

I personally don't have any knowledge about Redline Oil. You really do need to know just what equipment is on the 84 model. My 3.2 holds a case of 12 to change oil and filter. My car also has a front center oil cooler, in addition to the cooler at the rear. I know that after draining and changing the filter, I can go ahead a dump 11 quarts in, then top of with almost all of the 12th quart. You will need as stated earlier, new crush washers for both the oil tank plug, and the engine drain plug. You also need to have a very large catch pan, because when you remove the oil tank plug, it will seem to explode out of the tank, faster than you will care to mop up. You need one of the 15 quart or so tub types with the little drain hole in the center opened up to about 3-4 inches in order to keep up with the oil flow, otherwise it will overflow, because the hole in the top of the pan is too small to allow the oil to enter fast enough, and it WILL overflow. I can't help you on the 90 model, don't have a clue, but it should be pretty much along the same lines as the 84, but I can't say for sure. I personally do not use synthetic motor oil in mine, but that will be saved for another topic and debate for you later on. Get whatever info you can on the cars, get the right equipment, and choose an oil. I use the MAHLE, OC-54 oil filters on mine. Good luck!! Tony.

84_Carrera

according to Redline's website, their 20W-50 synthetic is for "SJ / SH / SG / SF" requirements. However, the following page on their website indicates their 20W-50 is for "SM / SL / SG". They do not indicate ZDDP levels, so you might want to contact them directly.

http://www.redlineoil.com/pdf/4.pdf

There are a number of threads in this forum regarding oils to use & oils to avoid for your air cooled 911. I listened to a bunch of those more in the know than I, and have been pleased with the oil they recommended (Brad Penn). FYI, BP is made from what used to be the old Kendall (GT-1) stocks (before ConocoPhilips bought Kendall). This is the "green" oil.

Edit, on the point of additives below...
I bought up tons of GM EOS to use as a ZDDP additive. After considering going oil + additive vs. oil that has what the additives have, I went with the non-additive route.

Bearclaw

Redline is perfectly fine, and a good choice. You basically just have to pay attention to the additives that are good for a flat-tappet engine, and Redline has plenty, per their engineering dept. It is spendy in the quantity you will need, but if you're only changing once or twice a year, it's survivable. I favor it because it's a full synthetic and I use it in my other cars. Give some thought to the grade; I use 10W-40, you may want to use 15W-40 or 20W-50. The other oils mentioned here are also good, do a search if you have a few idle days to do some reading. You'll find that each brand has its own cheering section. Be careful if considering any of the Mobil 1's, they have been reformulated and most grades aren't what they used to be.

The Mahle filter is just fine.