991 DIY Oil Change
 

Decided to change the oil and filter on my 991 C2S Cab this weekend. I have 1750 miles and this is my break-in oil change (old school). 8 quarts of Mobil 1 0W40 and one Porsche filter total cost with tax $85.00. First, you do not need to take off the bumper. Second, you do not need to take off the rear wing. It is an easy task that took me 35 minutes including driving the car up on 3” ramps for the rear and raising the front with 2 scissors jacks the same 3”. I have a Cab so the rear engine cover doesn’t flip up but it is the same cover that slides up and back when the top goes down. As a result the Cabs are a little more difficult to change oil because you have to duck under the raised cover. Picture 1 shows the plastic engine cover in place. First you pull out the plastic stiffener (Picture 2) from the air intake (this makes it easier to remove the plastic cover as the intake bellows is more flexible). Then you pop off the plastic engine cover. There are four fitting holding the top and four holding the bottom (Picture 3). These are plastic male fitting that pop into rubber grommets. I just pulled up on the cover at the top and started from right to left pulling them free one at a time. Then pull off the bottom four and the cover is free. Then move it out of the way. Then pull the two fans off (picture 4). There is one pop off fitting at the bottom (do that one first) and then it has two fittings at the top that pull out laterally. Finally, you pull off the air intake (picture 5) that has just two pop off fittings. Everything just pops off no tools needed.
Now the filter is visible (Picture 6) and there is enough room to unscrew it (36 mm socket) pull off the top and remove the filter. Before I did that, however, I removed the drain plug using an 8mm allen socket. Everything goes back together the reverse of removal. I know there have been some rants about Porsche’s design on the 991 concerning oil change but honestly it was quite easy and fast. Much faster and easier that my SLK 55. The only tools needed are a 36mm socket and an 8mm allen. I drained out a little less than 7.5 quarts. The owner’s manual says the capacity with filter is 1.98 US gallons. I read that as 8 quarts. I added back 7 quarts and I will check the level and add as necessary. The oil temp when I drained it was about 150 degrees.

Thanks. I have been wondering how to do that without taking off the bumper. 5-40?

Mobil 1 0-40.

Thank you very much.
Your post is a keeper !
Also thanks for clarifying what has indeed become a bit of a negative rant around the 991. Cearly, another one has been exposed as not only groundless but plain wrong.

Yes, this looks much easier than the oil change on my C220 CDI Merc where removing the heavy underbody panel is a royal PITA. Nevermind inching out the oil filter cover bit by bit ad you just can't grip the thing.

Rainier

I did some investigating myself mainly because I wanted to "see" my engine (not much to see by the way). I lifted the cover up in the rear and then pulled rearwards to release the front. No need to remove the fans from the cover as their power connectors are easily disconnected, allowing you to move them out of the way also. I did have one of the rubber sockets push out while refitting the cover. Fortunately it bounced through the engine bay and fell to the floor - so care is required here!
I'm tempted to do an early change myself, but since Porsche doesn't recommend it and the car will likely not see over 50k miles while I own it, I'm letting it go the full year!

i've seen my tech perform an Oil change and he did remove the wing. My dealer charges the same $180 as the 997. Interestingly I've heard others charge more vs the 997.

Thank you for the great post, very informative and definitely a keeper. I do my own oil changes for 993 and compared to it, this one looks very easy. I was quoted 300+ for an oil change at the dealership.....

Thanks for sharing. This is good stuff.

Just a quick follow-up. I thought I drained 7.5 quarts out of the pan so I added just 7 quarts to be sure I didn’t overfill the car. The day after when I checked the oil gauge it showed all the way down at the yellow. I added ½ quart, ran the engine for a couple of minutes and rechecked the oil gauge and it showed half way up the electronic dip stick. So I guess it will take the full 8 quarts on an oil and filter change. Also I guess the range of the dip stick is probably 1 liter.
Also WCE raises an interesting point. I will probably still remove the cover and the fans separately but I think I will also unplug the fans in the future. The owner’s manual states that the fans can come on at any time so for safety sake I will now unplug the fans.

Great post, thank you! Will plan on changing the oil in the next few weeks with this info in hand.

Great informative post and pictures. Thanks!
J

The manual on page 201 states that the difference between min and max marks on display is 1.8 quarts (1.7 liters).

Engine oil capacity with filter is 1.98 gallons or 7.5 liters.

It would be nice if they listed instructions on something simple like an oil change.

ha, would never happen in a million years.

Does anyone know of a publication that shows how all the parts involved in servicing are attached? Suncoast lists some sort of short technical manual that woul dbe best seller if it did.

I took mine in for oil change. too cheap to bother with all of that work.