oil and tranny oil change + oxy sensor

[darshie76]

hi guys!

Another weekend of fun is started! so after changing the seals on my targa, i am about to do my first oil change, and my first tranny oil change.

I've checked the forum, and seems that i've got an idea of what to do, but would like to hear some suggestions before starting, since this is my first time (never changed oil ever on any car )

1) which oil? i heard castrol GTX 20W50 (dino, not synth) for the oil (i live in north CA), and swepco 201 for the tranny, or can i use any brand/with any specs? any other thing that i may need when changing these fluids? (that can be found at Kragen or autozone instead of ordering it) and how much? 12qt of oil and 2 Gal of swepco are enough?

2)jack or not jack? i've got a small 3T jack with 2 2T stands; is this enough to work on the car? i heard of people that change fluids without jacking the car....what is the best way?

3) i want to change the oxy sensor too, since i have no records of the previous work done...can i buy the 24 dollars one that is sold at kragen? (i think is a Bosch), or do i need a specific one with particular specs? (i have a 1980 SC)

I have the 101 projects book, and it's giving me ideas about what to do, but i am no mechanic, so for now i am sticking with the 1 or 2 mechanics projects for the weekends gotta get the bentley soon!

Any suggestion is really appreciated...i wanna do it right (since i will do it often), and any suggestion/help will increase my confidence to do it right

Thanks in advance!

[RWebb]

"I've checked the forum".. but not enuff!

search on Brad Penn before buying anything

loosen trans. FILL plug FIRST

if you jack the car, research jack stand placement and jacking points
and KEEP a cell phone in reach always - best to have any other human watch - no experience needed - they hold the cell phone and dial 911 when the car crushes your chest*

many other tips to glean but do homework first - buy yourself a Bentley and read the SAFETY part very carefully.

do you have a 911 experienced friend who can watch/advise/help?


excuse my brevity, but I am recovering from a very severe L hand injury that makes it hard to type - not from 911 work but don't want to see any one go thru anything similar

[darshie76]

good advices rwebb

Got the brad Penn brand in some posts, but it needs to be ordered and is kinda expensive....my idea was to get some dino oil that is good and can be found easily...after all i simply go to work with my car, do not race on track

Same for the tranny fluid....swepco is 50 bucks a gallon, and if there is no big difference with other brands that Kragen has, i save the hassle and the money

I know how to jack the car from what is on this forum and what is on the porsche 101 projects book; but i never attempted yet because seems that is very easy to damage the car if not done correctly (saw a couple of ramps on another site; $399 for them, but the clearance is only 11 inches, so dunno if is the right way to go, considering that i have to move the car out of the garage, because my garage barely fits the car itself )

what you said is kinda scary....if i have to save 20 bucks on the oil change to get the risk to go to the hospital i prefer to pay the mechanic to do the oil change

I do have a trusted mechanic; but of course he is there to work, so i cannot ask him to help me while he watch for free I do not know anyone in my area (even the PC members are not too active in my area) so all that i do is try to follow this forum (that for many things is much better than the one from PC) and follow the books that i have; hoping to not make damages LOL

I am planning this operation since last month, so i do not really know what else to research for, since seems that everyone has different ways to do the same operation, with different parts and procedures ...

Sorry about your accident...if i screw up my hands i am not able to work anymore, since i type almost all day T_T

[RWebb]

yeh me too -- got a trusted friend?

you are in San Josey - not at the outer reaches of civilization, should not be hard to get the right help and materials there

some mech.s will let you do the work and guide you for a simple job at their normal or even a reduced shop charge

or PCA club - or post for help here

use Brad Pen and the Swepco - do not attempt to create a false economy.

if that does not persuade you -- ask your mech. for the price to rebuild the motor and tranny.


to save $$ - get some old timbers - jack up car and set tires on them - keep level to change oil or trans lube

go slow and post any questions in a thread w pics of your problem - not difficult tasks

I'd rather scare you than see pics of you pre-op or in a morgue -- that is the general "you" not you you nec'ly

[darshie76]

thanks for the suggestions

SJ is not isolated, but i noticed that here people are pretty much taking care of their business...found only one owner of a 911 similar to mine (brown 911 carrera i think), that actually even said hi with his hand while we crossed each other people with newer cars rarely even look at me LOL

i will go for BP and swepco, since seems that there is no real gain in getting different brands....this means that this weekend is lost, since i gotta order the fluids

My car has 170K on it, and afaik there was no rebuild ever done (i am the 3rd owner);so i assume that soon i will need to pay an expensive visit to my mechanic I heard that rebuild cost around 3K for the tranny and 5K for the engine...scary

So 12 qt of bp and 1Gal of swepco should be enough; I've got also the gasket for the sump screen, as suggested by Wayne in his book....do i need anything else? (gaskets/seals for the tranny plugs or the oil plug?)

So i jack up the car and put the timber instead of the jack stands? or should i keep them as safe precaution? if i would have space and money, i would love to get one of these nifty things that lift the car...but i doubt that a good quality one would cost less than 3-4K

Thanks again for the hints!

[RWebb]

employ as many redundant safety systems as you can

[porsche930dude]

I made some wood ramps out of two 4x4s side by side and a 2x8 screwed on top and all cut at an angle to drive up. There just tall enough to fit under my rockers so i can back up onto them for the front wheels. It eliminates most of the jacking which is great. Definatly a "why didnt i do this before" kind of thing. I never ever jack it by the engine reguardless who says its fine. Too much $ to put at risk for such a mundane task. I change engine oil without jacking but to do the tranny you need it jacked up.

[9dreizig]

Darshie, I'm in San Jose pretty much every week. Not to mention the BAP group is pretty active.. I'd be happy to swing by anytime and help you out.. Don't go cheap on the Swepco,, makes a big difference in the shifting...

[darshie76]

porsche930dude, indeed is a great idea i saw these ramps that are basically similar to the one that you build by yourself, but the price is kinda high...but depends from personal preferences...after all all Porsche is expensive :P

Thanks 9Dreizig; is nice to see that somebody in the bay is active...i posted on the forum of the pc gg area, and i never got back any answer, and the frequency of posts there is so low that is depressing to be a PCA member and not see any kind of activity

I do not expect to go out every weekend, since i have a family (and being with them is the reason why i have got the 911 instead of a bike), but is nice sometimes to meet people on teh forum , and then meet them in these meetings; after all we all have a Porsche, no mater if old or new

[9dreizig]

Oh I wouldn't bother changing the O2 sensor without checking it's functionality first, not sure how to do it but I don't think it's too tough..
Here's the link to the BAP http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BAPelicans
Check it out, they are pretty active..
T

[darshie76]

Thanks for the link

If it cost 29 dollars and has to be changed every 20K miles, it would not hurt to get a new one, especially because i have no idea of when was changed last time

Then from the things that my car shows (cold start difficult, hot start difficult, power loss, high fuel consumption), i would go for it just for the sake of trying to make the car more environment friendly :P

[RWebb]

btw - how old are the rubber brake hoses on your car?

how old is the brake fluid itslef??

[darshie76]

i have no idea about the first question RWebb; but i can tell you that i've got this summer the brake circuit purged, for a work on the calipers; so the fluid is fresh.

How can i tell if the rubber hoses are still good?