Comments from my 60,000

[binaryc]

I decided to tackle my 60,000 mile maintenance this week. I also threw in an air/oil seperator change for the fun of it. Comments below:

Cabin Filter

That the dealer charges for this service is a crime. Less than 5 minutes. Unscrew a screw, slide the old one out, slide the old one in, rescrew the screw.

Air Filter

You have to take the engine compartment lid off, which takes at least 5 minutes. After that it's pop-out/pop-in. Couldn't be much easier.

Multirib Belt / Poly Belt / Serpentine Belt

Super easy. 30 minutes or less. I had to buy a 24mm socket and a cheater bar, but the socket was cheap and I've been needing a cheater bar for a while anyway.

Engine Clean

Not too bad. I bought 2 cans of Gunk Engine Bright and sprayed the underside profusely. It had a ton of caked on road grime that emulsified and dripped down the driveway. Just make sure you are not in the stream.

Oil / Filter Change

Moderately Easy once you get the car jacked up. I couldn't find an oil filter wrench that fit anywhere (74mm 14 dimples). I found a 74mm 15 dimples but unsuprisingly, that didn't work. I ended up having to use a strap, which are always awkward. I prefer the kind you can jab a screwdriver through :) My drain plug was stripped to almost a complete circle. I hammered in the biggest torx bit that would fit, then I had to take an unplanned 1 hour trip to the dealer to get a new one :( At least it gave the oil time to drain... I did discover Porsche provides an allen wrench of just the perfect size in the tool kit under the hood.

Spark Plugs

Not too bad once you get the rear wheels off. You pretty have to remove a trim panel to got to the front plugs, but it's not hard to do. Be sure you have a 6" extension bar for your ratchet. I had to go buy one (yet another unplanned trip...) :-/ Make sure you plug in all the plugs before starting the engine or you will get a sound like a cat caught in the engine (don't ask me how I know this).

Brake Pad Change

Moderately Hard. Changing the pads is super easy (again, once you get the wheels off). The hard part is getting the stupid sensors out of the old pads :angry: I found a good trick to that. Get the pad out, pull on the sensor wire while pushing in one of the tabs, it should come out a tiny bit, now push the opposite tab and it should pop out.

Brake Fluid Flush

Since I was already down there changing the pads, it wasn't too bad. I have a Motive Power Bleeder so I had to keep pumping it up and letting it out (pump it up to flush one brake, let it out to change the next pad).

Air/Oil Seperator

No man should ever change this... ever. It was not designed to be replaced while the engine is still attached to the car, this much is obvious. The threads here were very useful. I would have killed myself trying to get the clamp reattached, buying a screw-type clamp was much nicer. My old one did have a cracked bellow, so I hope that will cure my CEL.

Things I did not do:

Change fuel filter

I bought one, but really didn't feel like tackling it just yet (not after everything else... I need a vacation).

Clean Radiators

I may do that this weekend. I had planned to do it while the front right wheel was off, but by that time I was getting tired and decided to put it off to another day.

Flush Cooling System

I flushed it about 3 months ago.

Misc Notes on jacking it up

When buying a jackstand... make sure it's shorter than your jack maximum height. Jacking it up in the middle rear (right behind the oil pan) then putting the jacks on the rear strut things like Toolpants suggests worked out nicely.

Total Time: 18 Hours

including all the unplanned shopping trips (4 in total), cleanup, testing, eating, etc...

[986Jim]

Cool thanks for that. I'm going to be doing much of this stuff myself shortly.

Do you have a factory service manual to help you out or did you just use common sense? I have worked on a lot of cars before (see my list) so there is no problem with tools or know how but I do sometimes like a book before I get my hands dirty. Nice to know what tools you will need etc like you found out with your 4 unplanned trips.

[nick49]

You can buy a plastic oil filter socket wrench at most any auto parts store or Walmart if you care to shop there. It is the "J" model and is usually less than $3. I bought one and later found out that I already have one as it fits Harley-Davidsin filters as well.

[binaryc]

Cool thanks for that. I'm going to be doing much of this stuff myself shortly.

Do you have a factory service manual to help you out or did you just use common sense? I have worked on a lot of cars before (see my list) so there is no problem with tools or know how but I do sometimes like a book before I get my hands dirty. Nice to know what tools you will need etc like you found out with your 4 unplanned trips.

Mostly I used this forum. The search feature is fantastic, just make sure you put a + before each word or it will search for posts that contain any of the words (so "air oil seperator" will return any post with 'air', 'oil', or 'seperator' in them but "+air +oil +seperator" will only return posts with all three words).

Most of my store trips were due to me thinking I had a part when I really didn't. This could have been avoided if I had just laid out all my tools that I will need ahead of time, but I'm not that smart.

Here are the tools/parts I needed for each of the jobs. I put a star next to the ones I had to make an unplanned store trip for. I'm doing this from memory so it may be incomplete.

All the parts (except the Air/Oil Seperator) should run you about $330 total if you replace your brake pads, or $150 otherwise. It'll probably take a couple hours if you don't do the Air/Oil Seperator, much less if you don't change your brake pads either.

Tire Removal Tools

Torque Wrench (~100lbs of force)

19mm socket for torque wrench

Lug Nut Key (if you have locks)

* Jack + Stands (I wish I remember who I loaned my old ones to...)

Cabin Filter

Fresh New Cabin Filter 996-572-219-02

?? Allen wrench (just get a whole set of allen wrenches and you'll be fine)

Air Filter

Fresh New Air Filter 996-110-131-04

No Tools Needed!

Polyrib Belt

Fresh New Polyrib Belt 996-102-151-66

10mm socket

* 24mm socket

* Long handle socket wrench/ratchet (Breaker bar)

Oil Change

9 Quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic (15w50)

Fresh New Oil Filter + O-Ring 996-107-225-53

* Oil Drain Plug (if it's badly stripped) 900-219-009-30

* Oil Drain Plug Seal (Aluminum 'Crush' Ring) 900-123-106-30

?? Allen Wrench (Included in the tool kit under the hood next to the spare tire, the same wrench used to extract the headlights)

* Oil Filter Wrench (74mm, 14 dimples)

Oil Drain Pan (should hold at least 10qt)

Jack + Jack Stands

Spark Plugs

6 Bosh Spark Plugs 999-170-201-90

Anti-Seize (Some People say to use this, but I didn't because of this note )

?? Allen Wrench (not sure of the size, I just grabbed one out of my set that fit)

Socket Wrench

* 6" Socket Wrench extension

Spark plug socket

10mm socket (for removing the trim panel)

Tire Removal Tools

Brake Pads

Front Pads 986-351-939-15

Rear Pads 996-352-939-03

Needle Nose Pliers

Screwdriver + Hammer (for tapping out a pin)

Tweezers (for removing sensors)

Curse Words (for when the sensors don't come out)

Tire Removal Tools

Note: You only need one set of front pads, and one set of rear pads. They are sold 'per axle' rather than 'per wheel'. There are cheaper pads, but those are the ones that were on my car already, so those are the ones I got.

Brake Flush

Motive Power Bleeder PEL-0100

Brake Fluid SUPER-BLUE or SUPER-GOLD

* 11mm box wrench

Jug to put the old fluid in (I used the empty brake fluid can)

Tire Removal Tools

Fuel Filter

Fresh New Fuel Filter 996-110-253-01

?????

Air/Oil Seperator

Fresh New Air/Oil Seperator 996-107-023-03

10mm socket

2 flat-head screwdrivers

* Screw type hose clamp (don't remember the exact size, get an assorted multi-pack)

Insanity / Masochism

You can buy a plastic oil filter socket wrench at most any auto parts store or Walmart if you care to shop there. It is the "J" model and is usually less than $3. I bought one and later found out that I already have one as it fits Harley-Davidsin filters as well.

I went to walmart and autozone, neither had one :-/

[mathos]

I decided to tackle my 60,000 mile maintenance this week. I also threw in an air/oil seperator change for the fun of it. Comments below:

Cabin Filter

That the dealer charges for this service is a crime. Less than 5 minutes. Unscrew a screw, slide the old one out, slide the old one in, rescrew the screw.

Air Filter

You have to take the engine compartment lid off, which takes at least 5 minutes. After that it's pop-out/pop-in. Couldn't be much easier.

Multirib Belt / Poly Belt / Serpentine Belt

Super easy. 30 minutes or less. I had to buy a 24mm socket and a cheater bar, but the socket was cheap and I've been needing a cheater bar for a while anyway.

Engine Clean

Not too bad. I bought 2 cans of Gunk Engine Bright and sprayed the underside profusely. It had a ton of caked on road grime that emulsified and dripped down the driveway. Just make sure you are not in the stream.

Oil / Filter Change

Moderately Easy once you get the car jacked up. I couldn't find an oil filter wrench that fit anywhere (74mm 14 dimples). I found a 74mm 15 dimples but unsuprisingly, that didn't work. I ended up having to use a strap, which are always awkward. I prefer the kind you can jab a screwdriver through :) My drain plug was stripped to almost a complete circle. I hammered in the biggest torx bit that would fit, then I had to take an unplanned 1 hour trip to the dealer to get a new one :( At least it gave the oil time to drain... I did discover Porsche provides an allen wrench of just the perfect size in the tool kit under the hood.

Spark Plugs

Not too bad once you get the rear wheels off. You pretty have to remove a trim panel to got to the front plugs, but it's not hard to do. Be sure you have a 6" extension bar for your ratchet. I had to go buy one (yet another unplanned trip...) :-/ Make sure you plug in all the plugs before starting the engine or you will get a sound like a cat caught in the engine (don't ask me how I know this).

Brake Pad Change

Moderately Hard. Changing the pads is super easy (again, once you get the wheels off). The hard part is getting the stupid sensors out of the old pads :angry: I found a good trick to that. Get the pad out, pull on the sensor wire while pushing in one of the tabs, it should come out a tiny bit, now push the opposite tab and it should pop out.

Brake Fluid Flush

Since I was already down there changing the pads, it wasn't too bad. I have a Motive Power Bleeder so I had to keep pumping it up and letting it out (pump it up to flush one brake, let it out to change the next pad).

Air/Oil Seperator

No man should ever change this... ever. It was not designed to be replaced while the engine is still attached to the car, this much is obvious. The threads here were very useful. I would have killed myself trying to get the clamp reattached, buying a screw-type clamp was much nicer. My old one did have a cracked bellow, so I hope that will cure my CEL.

Things I did not do:

Change fuel filter

I bought one, but really didn't feel like tackling it just yet (not after everything else... I need a vacation).

Clean Radiators

I may do that this weekend. I had planned to do it while the front right wheel was off, but by that time I was getting tired and decided to put it off to another day.

Flush Cooling System

I flushed it about 3 months ago.

Misc Notes on jacking it up

When buying a jackstand... make sure it's shorter than your jack maximum height. Jacking it up in the middle rear (right behind the oil pan) then putting the jacks on the rear strut things like Toolpants suggests worked out nicely.

Total Time: 18 Hours

including all the unplanned shopping trips (4 in total), cleanup, testing, eating, etc...

My god, that sounded fun, im scared to do it though, the oil separator change freaks me out, how much do you want to do all of that to my car? lol

happy boxstering =)

[Loren]

Just a caveat here...

All part numbers are subject to change without notice.

And one link (to a supplier) would do also.

[binaryc]

And one link (to a supplier) would do also.

yeah, I figured people might think I'm a shill for pelican, but I already had all the links handy from when I bought my stuff so I figured I'd post them so people wouldn't have to go searching.

[PBXJedi]

I decided to tackle my 60,000 mile maintenance this week. I also threw in an air/oil seperator change for the fun of it. Comments below:

Cabin Filter

That the dealer charges for this service is a crime. Less than 5 minutes. Unscrew a screw, slide the old one out, slide the old one in, rescrew the screw.

Air Filter

You have to take the engine compartment lid off, which takes at least 5 minutes. After that it's pop-out/pop-in. Couldn't be much easier.

Multirib Belt / Poly Belt / Serpentine Belt

Super easy. 30 minutes or less. I had to buy a 24mm socket and a cheater bar, but the socket was cheap and I've been needing a cheater bar for a while anyway.

Engine Clean

Not too bad. I bought 2 cans of Gunk Engine Bright and sprayed the underside profusely. It had a ton of caked on road grime that emulsified and dripped down the driveway. Just make sure you are not in the stream.

Oil / Filter Change

Moderately Easy once you get the car jacked up. I couldn't find an oil filter wrench that fit anywhere (74mm 14 dimples). I found a 74mm 15 dimples but unsuprisingly, that didn't work. I ended up having to use a strap, which are always awkward. I prefer the kind you can jab a screwdriver through :) My drain plug was stripped to almost a complete circle. I hammered in the biggest torx bit that would fit, then I had to take an unplanned 1 hour trip to the dealer to get a new one :( At least it gave the oil time to drain... I did discover Porsche provides an allen wrench of just the perfect size in the tool kit under the hood.

Spark Plugs

Not too bad once you get the rear wheels off. You pretty have to remove a trim panel to got to the front plugs, but it's not hard to do. Be sure you have a 6" extension bar for your ratchet. I had to go buy one (yet another unplanned trip...) :-/ Make sure you plug in all the plugs before starting the engine or you will get a sound like a cat caught in the engine (don't ask me how I know this).

Brake Pad Change

Moderately Hard. Changing the pads is super easy (again, once you get the wheels off). The hard part is getting the stupid sensors out of the old pads :angry: I found a good trick to that. Get the pad out, pull on the sensor wire while pushing in one of the tabs, it should come out a tiny bit, now push the opposite tab and it should pop out.

Brake Fluid Flush

Since I was already down there changing the pads, it wasn't too bad. I have a Motive Power Bleeder so I had to keep pumping it up and letting it out (pump it up to flush one brake, let it out to change the next pad).

Air/Oil Seperator

No man should ever change this... ever. It was not designed to be replaced while the engine is still attached to the car, this much is obvious. The threads here were very useful. I would have killed myself trying to get the clamp reattached, buying a screw-type clamp was much nicer. My old one did have a cracked bellow, so I hope that will cure my CEL.

Things I did not do:

Change fuel filter

I bought one, but really didn't feel like tackling it just yet (not after everything else... I need a vacation).

Clean Radiators

I may do that this weekend. I had planned to do it while the front right wheel was off, but by that time I was getting tired and decided to put it off to another day.

Flush Cooling System

I flushed it about 3 months ago.

Misc Notes on jacking it up

When buying a jackstand... make sure it's shorter than your jack maximum height. Jacking it up in the middle rear (right behind the oil pan) then putting the jacks on the rear strut things like Toolpants suggests worked out nicely.

Total Time: 18 Hours

including all the unplanned shopping trips (4 in total), cleanup, testing, eating, etc...

Can you help me out here, I read the following you posted "Multirib Belt / Poly Belt / Serpentine Belt

Super easy. 30 minutes or less. I had to buy a 24mm socket and a cheater bar, but the socket was cheap and I've been needing a cheater bar for a while anyway." - can you send me a picture or some simple instructions for changing this, I have access to the eng, just not sure which roller is the one I need. thx! PBXJedi (2001 Boxster S)