Ron

I just drained the oil in my gearbox. First I loosened the fill hole and observed the color of the oil coming out. It looked new, it was clear. Wondered if I should drain. Well I did and the oil that came out was as black as crankcase oil from a diesel engine. I suppose the top oil had separated because I have not driven it for 6 days.

If the gearbox oil gets that contaminated that fast why does Porsche specify such long intervals between renewing gearbox oil? I think I'll change mine every 5,000 miles, it's easy and the oil is cheap compared to gearbox repairs.

I was very surprised the grearbox oil was so black. My car has only 5500 miles on it, it's a 97. The magnetic drain plug had no shavings on it just a little of what I can only decribe as a bit of magnetic sludge on it.

993,951,944

Ron,

I just had the tranny oil replaced.
The oil was black in appearance with
some fine iron filings on the drain plug
magnet. My mechanic indicated it was
common with the 993 tranny and said not
to worry. Although, I concur with your
recommendation of having the fluid
replaced every 5K miles. After watching
the mechanic, it looked like an easy
DIY project.

H20NOO

It's a 30-45 minute DIY job. You'll need a warm tranny and a long tube and funnel to run out of the wheel well for the fill.

While you're under there you can bleed the clutch if needed.

MC