catamount

last night I changed the oil and filter on my '12 Cayenne V-6. Once again, I take a semi-bath in oil when I removed the filter housing. Either I'm missing some simple step/tool, a whiner about it or really found out how Porsche intended for real men to moisturize their skin.

So, is there a better way to avoid this oil bath via a tool, procedure or something like a spin-on adapter? (I haven't been able to find a spin-on adapter specific to the Cayenne V-6.)

wrinkledpants

Pig mat + rubber gloves + stop whining

CTTS520

I'm planning to do an oil change this weekend. Does the Cayenne have to be level to properly drain the oil or can I just drive the front wheels onto some 2x8 ramps to get some room to work underneath?

hacker-pschorr

Go to Jiffy Lube
Bring your own oil and filter - cost you $14.95 for their time.
Once home (or in the parking lot), make sure everything is tight.

No I would never do this, just an off the wall idea.

wrinkledpants

I'm pretty quick at changing the oil. It's at least a 30-40 min job. Consider that when you're dropping off your car with your own filter and oil at a Jiffy Lube and paying $15.

I would also kindly refer you to this thread about a quick lube place and what happens when they get confused. If you can't do the oil change yourself, go to the dealer or find an indy. Both are reasonably priced for the most part.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...nge-shop-quot&

wrinkledpants

Put the car in spec terrain mode. Lock the air suspension. Add a jack for security. Plenty of room to change the oil that way without using ramps.

You'll still have a little oil left using ramps, but that's just the nature of the beast when the car is sloped like that.

CTTS520

Great idea. Thanks!

catamount

Quick lube place, I shudder at the thought having seen first hand and heard the stories about these places.

gnat

Depends on your definition of reasonable I suppose. All my local dealers want $375 or more to change the oil in my diesel. And that's sucking it out from the top, not even draining it

My Indy is about $200 which is at least palatable to me. I feel he gouges me a bit on the oil changes, but he's taken care of me on some big stuff so it's a wash.

I have had a VW dealer do it (which OP can probably do too since he has the VR6) and they did it for about $100, but I had to supply the filter and do the OCI reset myself (VAG-COM won't reset the 958s).

wrinkledpants

A good oil will run $10 a quart. Filter is about $10. Most labor rates are around $140 an hour. So, minimum cost you should expect to pay is $250 for the whole thing. And that's if you supply the oil. If you are paying dealer rates for oil, then yeah - $350 makes sense.

Also remember the dealer is often giving you courtesy car or rental, they'll check other things and reset your oil reminder, and they'll wash and detail the car. Our 3 main indy shops here in Denver charge the exact same labor rate as the dealer.

If those things aren't important to you, then a lower-cost indy is the way to go.

catamount

Back to the original question though...

Is there a better way for DIYers to not make a huge mess when removing the oil filter? Ideally, there would be a spin on adapter for the 958 V-6 motor or some way to drain the oil out of the filter housing prior to removal.

wrinkledpants

Nope. My 2006 Treg V8 had a small drain plug on the bottom of the oil filter housing. I tried to see if the housing was the same as the Turbo, but it wasn't. I use pig mat to hold the filter while I pull it off slowly. If I don't have any pig mat, I just keep the oil pan under the filter housing. No way around the spillage. There are some spin-on filter setups, but the ones I've seen also remove the bypass during full-flow, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that.

IMO - there are a number of benefits with the cartridge-style filters. You can easily inspect the filter for contaminants or metal particles, where you'd need to cut open the spin-on filter. Plus, you have a fair amount of tech that you're relying on to work correctly with spin-on filters. Anti-drain back valves, bypass valves, various seals, and the construction of the filter element and how it's bonded to the plates. If you've ever cut open a filter, there is a fair amount of tech in there. Personally, I like just the paper element and o-ring idea, and leaving the rest of that stuff to Porsche.

If I had a design choice and could pick spin-on or cartridge, I'd do cartridge but include a drain plug! I feel like this is something ripe for an aftermarket company to design.

gnat

Is there enough clearance in and around the cover that you could tap it and add a drain?

docwyte

Just did the oil change on my CTTS last weekend. Didn't find it an overly dirty job. I did get a few oil spots on one of my favorite t shirts tho from the gush of oil that came out of the main drain plug. Oil filter housing came right off and didn't dump oil all over me or the floor. Not sure what the issue is?

catamount

We have different engines and the oil filter housing is very different. In the 3.6 ltr V-6 the housing is about 3/8 as tall as the filter. So, about 1/2 of the oil within the filter and filter housing gushes out once the housing is removed.