Newbie Oil Change- 1983 911SC

[koff]

Guys,
I am doing my first oil change myself on my 911SC. It is currently running Valvoline VR1 and I am going to switch to Brad Penn.

Do I need to worry about anything during this switch? Like making sure I get ALL of the VR1 out, or just normal drain (not jacking the front of the car up to get all of the current oil completely out) and then fill with BP.

Sorry if it seems like a dumb question, I am just a little anal and want to make sure I do it right.

[livi]

Welcome!

No, you do not have to worry about anything but overfilling with the new oil, burning your hands and mopping up old oil from the floor. Particularly overfilling however.

[CORNICE6]

Nothing to worry about. I too went from Valvoline to BP. Just make sure the car is well warmed up when checking the final oil level.

[porkee]

Hey koff, welcome! & not a dumb question. But I am curious. Why the switch from VR1 to BP? I am running VR1 20-50 and was planning on using again.

[Gunter]

koff:
Where are you located?
What weight are you getting?
In warmer climates 20W50 may be good but in cooler areas I recommend a lighter weight.
I use 15W40.
When changing oil, it's a good time to check/set the valves.
I let it drain the night before. Next morning the engine is cold with most of the oil out.

Make sure you'll get a LARGE container for the oil from the tank, it comes out VERY fast.
Have a friend take a picture of your face when the flood gets away on you while using a small container.
It's hot, use rubber gloves to catch the plug. Clean out the sludge on the magnetic plug. If you find too much metal on it, more investigation is required. Use new seals if you like.

To refill, start with no more than 10 Quarts/liters when using a new filter.
I use a small funnel to prevent spilling.
Go for a drive to get the engine really hot, check the level. It should be in the middle between max and min. Top up but don't overfill.

[koff]

Thanks Guys. I am Eastern Washington (Spokane). Should I be using a different weight? VR1 20W50 is what the Porsche dealership has been recommending, but from my research it seems that most guys are using BP and seem to be extremely happy.

(Everybody sigh, because here it comes) What do you recommend stay with VR1 or move to Brad Penn (which is hard to get in Spokane)?

[Gunter]

Spokane climate is similar to interior BC meaning: 20W50 in the hot Summer months (maybe) but lighter weight for Spring and Fall.
Use what you like.
I like Shell Rotella 15W40 (Diesel) along with 1 bottle GM-EOS.

[S2GART]

To make filling the oil tank easier, I bought a galvanized metal funnel with a long goose neck. This way you can fill it up without having to be hunched over. Just be sure to have your rear fender covered incase of spills. Since the car takes 11 qts., I buy 2, 1 gallon jugs and 3 individual quarts.

I will avoid commenting on what brand of oil to use, seems to cause fires around here. I will say that what weight you should use is simply based on what the temps. are in your area. Check the owner's manual. If you are a member of PCA, as fellow members in your area what they use.

[KNS]

You will most likely refill with about ten quarts - BUT, start with nine and a half quarts and go little by little until you reach half-way on the dipstick (engine running and relatively warm). Better to underfill and have to add than overfill and try to subtract. You can drive around the block several times to warm it up with nine and a half quarts in there just fine. Also, be aware that on a hot day and on a long drive, the oil dipstick will read higher - that's normal.

[911s55]

koff
You would be fine with either 15/40 or 20/50 in your climate, I'm guessing the Porsche didn't get much road time with the six feet of snow you folks got this winter.
15/40 will flow a bit easier and the 20/50 will help in the heat.
Check at race or performance shops for Brad Penn, there are a lot of hot rodders in Spokane and you can get Swepco 15/40 delivered to your location through their website and local distributor.

David

[G50targa]

I just did my first oil change about a month ago on my 911. It is a simple job but it was very rewarding. The only tricky part is how much oil to put in. I would say start with about 9 to 9.5 quarts if using a new oil filter and get the car running hot and then check and add as needed.

Another thing is that due to the location of where the oil fill, you will need a funnel with long (adjustable?) neck that is also wide enough so you don't have to sit there for 30 minutes pouring in 10 quarts through a straw hunched over like me.... LOL

Good luck!

[austin552]

Don't forget your trans fluid also. Changing that is easier than the oil.

[koff]

Thanks Austin. I was just reading through my 101 projects book and you're right, it is easier.

[enzo1]

Bradpennracing.com(will give you a rep near you)......swepcousa.com(they will reffer you to Pelican, because of where you live, or sell direct..oilwarehouse.com(carries-Brad Penn), I have contacted all of these through phone or e-mail & are nice & easy to deal with. Pelican also sells the cut-off valve so you can drain out a certain amount of oil then cut off the valve, put another container under & turn back on

[koff]

Alright, I did my first change. You guys were right, that is alot of oil. Now onto the oil level. The dipstick reads about .5 between the high and low, and the gauge on the dash reads at about 2/3 between top and bottom, at idle on level ground in my garage at operating temperature. Is this the right level?

[GrantG]

Originally Posted by koff

Alright, I did my first change. You guys were right, that is alot of oil. Now onto the oil level. The dipstick reads about .5 between the high and low, and the gauge on the dash reads at about 2/3 between top and bottom, at idle on level ground in my garage at operating temperature. Is this the right level?

Yes, that sounds fine. You should rely more on the dipstick and halfway between the marks is just fine (at operating temp, idling on level ground). Check the oil after your next good drive (where the oil gets warm enough to open the thermostat and run through the cooler awhile) just to confirm. I like to be closer to the top mark, but anywhere between the lines is good (never go over). But, it sounds like you're fine.

[S2GART]

Koff, The guage on the dash is not reliable. I was just on the highway running about 80 mph and the oil guage said there was no oil. The needle was in the red. Obviously if I was out of oil, I wouldn't be here typing on the computer. If you put in the prescribed amount of oil, 11 qts, and you got it up to temp, where ever the oil line is on your dipstick, that's your full mark. Use that as a reference for any oil usage (burning).

And yes, there is alot of oil coming out of the tank. I have a very large container that is meant for collecting oil and then taking to a recycling place. It holds about 9.5 -10 qts. Well it of course only has a relatively small hole in the middle. With the volume of oil coming out of the tank, it was too much for the container, even with the small vent hole it has. So I took a 1/2 inch drill bit and drilled several holes around the rim to help the air escape. I never did/do use it to carry oil to a recycling center. After the oil has cooled down (next day), I dump the old oil into the gallon jugs from the new oil.

You should see my garage, I have about 15 gallons of old oil lined up against the wall. My Mercedes 300TD takes 2 gallons, the Volvo and my daughter's Benz each take 1 1/2 gallons of oil.

[GrantG]

Originally Posted by S2GART

Koff, The guage on the dash is not reliable. I was just on the highway running about 80 mph and the oil guage said there was no oil.

Both the gauge and the dipstick are meant to be read only when idling, so unless you have a really tall 5th gear (80mph at 850rpm), there's no way to check it at 80mph

A dry sump motor works totally differently with respect to oil level in the tank (outside of the engine) and this is why you have to check it while idling...

[koff]

Thanks GrantG. Yeah i put 11 quarts in, and it seemed like everybody else was putting more like 10 in, so I was a little nervous. Of course it wasn't a full 11 quarts, I am not patient enough to let each quart bottle drain until it is completely empty

[GrantG]

Originally Posted by koff

Thanks GrantG. Yeah i put 11 quarts in, and it seemed like everybody else was putting more like 10 in, so I was a little nervous. Of course it wasn't a full 11 quarts, I am not patient enough to let each quart bottle drain until it is completely empty

If you ever find that it's overfilled (sounds like it's not), you can buy a cheap plastic hand pump at an Auto Parts store and pump out a bit with the vinyl hose fed into the oil tank (I've had to do it a few times). It's worth the trouble as overfilling is best avoided...