Oil Change, should the car be level?

[Westcoaster]

OK, I posted this in another thread but it appears to have gone unnoticed, I would like to know before I do the next oil and filter change (I would like to know that 'all/most' of the old oil is out)...

Well, I finally received the Hazet wrench (2169) in the mail last week and changed the oil on my06 Boxster.

Interesting that I have seen a number of specifications on how much oil was required; 7.75l to 8.5l because...

I drained the oil, replaced the filter and added 8 of the 9 liters of Mobil1 0w40 that I had bought. Since I was aware that over filling was frowned upon I stopped there and set up all of the empties to drain into there partners (4 on 4 so to speak!)

So I started the engine and let it warm, drove it around a bit until it was fully warmed up and then parked back in my shop perfectly level so I could check the oil level after dinner. A turn of the key and the OBC revealed that it was 1 segment down. I added the oil that I had collected from the 8 donor containers which was about 200ml. I again went through the process to check the oil and now the OBC showed the level was correct.

So only 8 liters (with filter) on my car, it has been nearly a week now and it still registers full. Just in case I thought it could be on the cusp to needing more, I parked on a very slight "right to left grade (2-3 cm difference) and the OBC registered an over-full condition.

Is there much of a variance between engines?

hmmm, maybe there was some oil left in the engine? I did not have the car level when I removed the oil, only the rear wheels were on ramps (6")

[Loren]

On the 987 the Service Manual says:

"Oil change quantity with oil filter 7.75 litres"

[paulv]

.....................................

hmmm, maybe there was some oil left in the engine? I did not have the car level when I removed the oil, only the rear wheels were on ramps (6")

Loren's correct about the service manual stating 7.75L as this came up before in a thread that I started. When I did my first oil change back in October, I raised the car up level and waited ~20 mins for the oil to drain out. This provided about 1 drip/sec at the end of the drain time which is the drip rate I've been using for decades. That's when i replaced the plug and added the oil.

I bought the Hazet 2169 a long time ago because it fits Mercedes as well which was my car prior to buying my "mid-life crisis toy". I was happy to learn that the Boxster has the same cap wrench (didn't have to spend another $26).

here's the link to my older post: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=16552

Regards,

paul...

[por911]

You should not have any issue with just putting the rear of the car up on ramps to drain the oil. I've done it this way on the families 986(and others) for years with no issues what so ever. I would install the factory spec amount , then run it for bit to see how the level settles out over time(hot and cold levels). As a rule of thumb, I always check the oil level after the oil has warmed up a bit and is on a level surface. This has worked for me for years without issue. Good to see another BCer on the board. Gulf Islands here, at least in the summers anyway. :)

[percymon]

i just raised the rear axle onto ramps when i did mine - took about 7.5 litres with the filter

[Westcoaster]

I ended up adding another 200mL of oil in 100mL steps and the indicator stayed at the 3rd bar. So, I'm either on 8.5 or very close to it. What prompted me to add some more oil was when I park the car at work, I'm on a very slight incline. Before I changed the oil, the indicator always read 3 bars, but after changing, I only got 2 bars so it was obvious that the oil level was borderline when on this slight incline.

Thanks for the help.

Regards,

paul...

I read your post, interesting, also interesting that you are at 8.5l where as all I put in to achive all bars lit was 8l...

Hence the reason for my original question, does the car need to be level to get all of the old oil out, I can't really see that the engine oil capacity would vary between engines by 500ml, but maybe?

[RFM]

The best you can do ( if you have time ) the car on a flat level, drain the oil, remove the oil filter and let drip overnight. Install the drain and the filter, you can fill easily 8,25 liter motor oil.

[paulv]

I ended up adding another 200mL of oil in 100mL steps and the indicator stayed at the 3rd bar. So, I'm either on 8.5 or very close to it. What prompted me to add some more oil was when I park the car at work, I'm on a very slight incline. Before I changed the oil, the indicator always read 3 bars, but after changing, I only got 2 bars so it was obvious that the oil level was borderline when on this slight incline.

Thanks for the help.

Regards,

paul...

I read your post, interesting, also interesting that you are at 8.5l where as all I put in to achive all bars lit was 8l...

Hence the reason for my original question, does the car need to be level to get all of the old oil out, I can't really see that the engine oil capacity would vary between engines by 500ml, but maybe?

Sorry if my original description was confusing -- I really don't know exactly if I'm at 8.5L -- I think it's more like 8.35L. When I was finished, and had a partial liter of oil remaining, I squeezed the oil container to evacuate the air inside and replaced the cap. I ended up deforming the container to a point where I couldn't accurately read the remaining oil level using the container's measuring window when I allowed air to reenter the container.

It is interesting that the 2003 986 owner's manual shows that an oil change with a filter has a capacity of 8.25L.

Regards,

paul...

Edited February 27, 2008 by paulv

[Westcoaster]

I ended up adding another 200mL of oil in 100mL steps and the indicator stayed at the 3rd bar. So, I'm either on 8.5 or very close to it. What prompted me to add some more oil was when I park the car at work, I'm on a very slight incline. Before I changed the oil, the indicator always read 3 bars, but after changing, I only got 2 bars so it was obvious that the oil level was borderline when on this slight incline.

Thanks for the help.

Regards,

paul...

I read your post, interesting, also interesting that you are at 8.5l where as all I put in to achive all bars lit was 8l...

Hence the reason for my original question, does the car need to be level to get all of the old oil out, I can't really see that the engine oil capacity would vary between engines by 500ml, but maybe?

Sorry if my original description was confusing -- I really don't know exactly if I'm at 8.5L -- I think it's more like 8.35L. When I was finished, and had a partial liter of oil remaining, I squeezed the oil container to evacuate the air inside and replaced the cap. I ended up deforming the container to a point where I couldn't accurately read the remaining oil level using the container's measuring window when I allowed air to reenter the container.

It is interesting that the 2003 986 owner's manual shows that an oil change with a filter has a capacity of 8.25L.

Regards,

paul...

No worries Paul, It really does sound like it may be tough to get all of the oil out, I am positive that that mine took 8l because all 8 containers of oil are in the engine, nothing left...

I guess that all you can do ensure that the OBC display reads full and leave it at that.

On a related note, it sure seems like the engine rev's free'r now and pulls harder? (placebo effect!) :rolleyes:

[paulv]

No worries Paul, It really does sound like it may be tough to get all of the oil out, I am positive that that mine took 8l because all 8 containers of oil are in the engine, nothing left...

I guess that all you can do ensure that the OBC display reads full and leave it at that.

On a related note, it sure seems like the engine rev's free'r now and pulls harder? (placebo effect!) :rolleyes:

I really wished that the OBC display/level sensor provided resolutions of 0.5L instead of 1.25L. This, and the fact that Boxsters don't have oil pressure/temp gauges are the only two gripes I have with the car after almost 1 yr of ownership, but these are minor issues. I know some people have replaced the instrument cluster with Carrera clusters, but I don't feel like doing that.

I noticed in the 996 DIY section, Loren's post on the oil change does state the 20 min drain period. Later in the same post, he shows how he raised the rear by putting a couple of 2" thick boards (actually 1.5" thick) under the rear tires which raised the rear end up 3", and also suggested the same for the front tires. I used this same idea and stacked 6 boards (final height of 9") for all 4 wheels. This gives me an opportunity to look around under there while I'm waiting 20 mins for the oil to drain out!!

Regards,

paul...