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I followed Mike in CA's step and I met some problems that I think some of you who wants to DIY oil change in the future may want to know.
My car came with two plastic retaining clips. The best way to remove it is drill a whole through it(Update, not the best way, but is the easiest way if you have a drill and if you don't want to keep the clips). Than the clip will automatically fall off. Vise or scissors is not a good tool since the upper space of the aluminum panel is very limited. The position of the clip is very hard to reach because an exhaust pipe is nearby and it is very hot.
Be really careful when unplug the oil tank plug. The oil will gush out very hard. It made a mess in my garage and I'm still cleaning it. My advise is do not remove the oil cap first. Unplug the oil tank plug first, then take off the oil cap.
The work space to unplug the oil pan plug is very very limited. My wrench could not goes into that space so I did not release the oil in the oil pan. The oil capacity without releasing the oil in the oil pan is just over 5 quarts. At first I add 6.5 quarts, put everything back, car on the ground, start the engine, wait until oil reach temperature (I really hate that electronic oil measurement stuff), and "above the max". Than lift the car, get away the panel and loosen the oil filter to release oil. This step took me an hour....
I bought the oil filter from suncoast. It really is the most expensive oil filter I have ever bought. Does any other oil filter fit this car, like Mobil or KN?
I followed Mike in CA's step and I met some problems that I think some of you who wants to DIY oil change in the future may want to know.
My car came with two plastic retaining clips. The best way to remove it is drill a whole through it. Than the clip will automatically fall off. Vise or scissors is not a good tool since the upper space of the aluminum panel is very limited. The position of the clip is very hard to reach because an exhaust pipe is nearby and it is very hot.
Be really careful when unplug the oil tank plug. The oil will gush out very hard. It made a mess in my garage and I'm still cleaning it. My advise is do not remove the oil cap first. Unplug the oil tank plug first, then take off the oil cap.
The work space to unplug the oil pan plug is very very limited. My wrench could not goes into that space so I did not release the oil in the oil pan. The oil capacity without releasing the oil in the oil pan is just over 5 quarts. At first I add 6.5 quarts, put everything back, car on the ground, start the engine, wait until oil reach temperature (I really hate that electronic oil measurement stuff), and "above the max". Than lift the car, get away the panel and loosen the oil filter to release oil. This step took me an hour....
I bought the oil filter from suncoast. It really is the most expensive oil filter I have ever bought. Does any other oil filter fit this car, like Mobil or KN?
I hope you used the edited version of my DIY. I didn't originally mention the plastic retaining clips because my car didn't have them after the engine replacement so I updated the DIY after hearing about problems others had had with the clips. You shouldn't have to drill them out. Using a drift or nail punch, just drive the central pin up out of the clip and it will release. Personally, I would leave out the clips when reinstalling the engine tray as they aren't really needed.
Sorry for your troubles with the oil gushing from the tank. I did warn about that in the DIY. The pan has to be placed in anticipation of the fact that the oil won't drop straight down out of the tank. Releasing the cap after removing the plug would probably help, but it means climbing out from under the car in the middle of the operation and the pan will still have to properly positioned.
The space is really tight but I would hate to leave a couple of quarts of dirty oil in sump. I had to remove the 8 MM allen key from my socket, insert the key in the drain plug, and then use a small 8 MM wrench on it. If you can't find a stubby enough allen wrench it might be worth it to make your own tool by cutting off the end of an 8 mm allen wrench so you can use a small crescent wrench on it. Also note that there are drain plugs at both the front and rear of the sump. One or both can be removed (the workshop manual only shows removing the forward one), but one may be more easily accessed than the other.
Even when you are able to drain the entire tank and sump you should start by refilling with no more than 7 quarts of oil, even though the listed capacity is 7.5, otherwise you risk overfilling. As you discovered, 6.5 quarts is way too much to add when you haven't drained the sump.
At least next time you'll know what to do.
BTW, I wouldn't use anything other than the OEM Porsche filter. Porsche can't give you a hard time warranty wise over doing your own oil change as long as you keep documentation and receipts, but if you use a non standard filter and something goes wrong with the engine it could be a very sticky situation.
I hope you used the edited version of my DIY. I didn't originally mention the plastic retaining clips because my car didn't have them after the engine replacement so I updated the DIY after hearing about problems others had had with the clips. You shouldn't have to drill them out. Using a drift or nail punch, just drive the central pin up out of the clip and it will release. Personally, I would leave out the clips when reinstalling the engine tray as they aren't really needed.
Sorry for your troubles with the oil gushing from the tank. I did warn about that in the DIY. The pan has to be placed in anticipation of the fact that the oil won't drop straight down out of the tank. Releasing the cap after removing the plug would probably help, but it means climbing out from under the car in the middle of the operation and the pan will still have to properly positioned.
The space is really tight but I would hate to leave a couple of quarts of dirty oil in sump. I had to remove the 8 MM allen key from my socket, insert the key in the drain plug, and then use a small 8 MM wrench on it. If you can't find a stubby enough allen wrench it might be worth it to make your own tool by cutting off the end of an 8 mm allen wrench so you can use a small crescent wrench on it. Also note that there are drain plugs at both the front and rear of the sump. One or both can be removed (the workshop manual only shows removing the forward one), but one may be more easily accessed than the other.
Even when you are able to drain the entire tank and sump you should start by refilling with no more than 7 quarts of oil, even though the listed capacity is 7.5, otherwise you risk overfilling. As you discovered, 6.5 quarts is way too much to add when you haven't drained the sump.
At least next time you'll know what to do.
BTW, I wouldn't use anything other than the OEM Porsche filter. Porsche can't give you a hard time warranty wise over doing your own oil change as long as you keep documentation and receipts, but if you use a non standard filter and something goes wrong with the engine it could be a very sticky situation.
Thanks for the information, Mike.
My clips are in pieces now. Whatever, I think Porsche installs the clips just to prevent someone like us who wants to DIY oil change from hitting by the panel.
My wrench could not reach both front and rare plugs of the oil pan. Maybe I need to buy a new smaller wrench for my GT3
I had the clips on my car and decided to leave them out. I bought a set of shorty Brondus allen wrenches which came in handy as they easily reach in on the case drain bolts. Set set was $10.00
I had the clips on my car and decided to leave them out. I bought a set of shorty Brondus allen wrenches which came in handy as they easily reach in on the case drain bolts. Set set was $10.00
I had the clips on my car and decided to leave them out. I bought a set of shorty Brondus allen wrenches which came in handy as they easily reach in on the case drain bolts. Set set was $10.00
Thanks!! Always looking for good excuses to buy new tools.
Here is another secret. I bought 25 oil filters from Sunset Porsche in Portland and the price worked out to 30.00 each including shipping. All my GT3 buddies went in and we each took 5. Call sunset and talk to Jesse South in parts.
Here is another secret. I bought 25 oil filters from Sunset Porsche in Portland and the price worked out to 30.00 each including shipping. All my GT3 buddies went in and we each took 5. Call sunset and talk to Jesse South in parts.
04-02-2015, 12:03 AM
My GT3 DIY Oil Change Experience and a Question
