new car what oil should i use

[masterdave]

I just bought a 1978 911sc targa turbo, it has 140,000 miles on it with a rebuild done about 20k miles ago.

what oil should i be using for the summer months, I live in westchester NY it never gets up above 100F on the worst of days, usual around 85-95F

Also, what type of trans fluid should i use, where do i drain the trans from, where do i fill it from

Thanks
Dave

[PCA7GGR]

It might be a good idea to ask the mechanic you plan to use to service it.

[masterdave]

i do most the service my self but I will ask one of the mechanics i know, i was wondering what other people ran in there cars.

[wildcat077]

Dave,

Best advice i could give you is to buy a Bentley manual for your particular car and read it over a few times before you attempt any servicing ...
You have to be careful because parts are expensive.

There is a lot to learn about a Porsche car,eventually you will enjoy working on it yourself.
As far as oil goes,i would go with a good 20W50 oil,do a search,there are endless posts on the subject !!!

Cheers!
Phil

[schumicat]

there are about 100 threads on what type of oil and trans fluid to use, which you can find using the search function.

[dshepp806]

What's presently being used?

Doyle

[DRACO A5OG]

Engine
10.5 quarts: Valvoline VR1 20W50 (non-synthetic)
Mahle OC54 Oil Filter
Drain Sump and Crank

Trans:
3.5 quarts: Kendall 80W90 ( if you have LSD, 80W90 with LSD Additive) 1 fill/check level 17MM Allen Bolt on the side and 1 Drain 17MM Bolt at the bottom. Just make certain the fill bolt can be removed before draining the trans, it need to be removed FIRST!

+1 on Bentley, 101 Book or at least Haynes for Torque Settings

[James Brown]

Besides the Valvoline, Swepco and Brad Penn are the other choices. Check with LN Engineering for others. Do not stray from these choices.

[kramer747]

Castrol 20W-50

[Gerry van]

Haven't l been on this merry go round before....

[GaryR]

Engine - Mobil 1 20w50
915 - Kendall (w/LSD additive or not)

Get a small NAPA oil pump for the tranny, makes it a LOT easier to fill. Also always remove the fill plug before draining, it's a ***** if you drain it and find you can't get the fill open...

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by masterdave

I just bought a 1978 911sc targa turbo, it has 140,000 miles on it with a rebuild done about 20k miles ago.

what oil should i be using for the summer months, I live in westchester NY it never gets up above 100F on the worst of days, usual around 85-95F

Oil selection generates lots of discussion.

Originally Posted by HarryD

Long answer:

Ultimate Motor Oil Thread or Why we hate CJ4/SM oils

Cliff Notes version:

Buy and use whatever you want. It used to be true that "oil is oil". But be aware that motor oils have changed and not for the better.

A bit of history:

Prior to the mid 90s most cars on the road had flat tappets to actuate thier valves. It turns out there is a huge amount of pressure on the tappet/cam surface when it is actuated. This effect was discovered in the '50's (I may have the wrong decade but you get the picture) and a minor outfit called SAE noticed that cams were wearing out very quickly.

SAE paid some PhD's to do some research. They published lots of research papers and found out about these high pressures. They also found that a Zinc/Phosphorus additive known as ZDDP would provide protection to these parts at a resaonable cost. Gosh those guys were smart!

The SAE folks spoke with the API folks and asked if they could require ZDDP added to their required oil formulations to increase the service life of these critical components. Much to the pleasure of SAE, API agreed and based on the PhD recommendations, required about 1200 ppm of Zinc (Zn) and Phosphorus (P) added to oil formulations so the oil maker can get his product API certified.

This worked great but then in the 90's car makers went to more expensive Roller tappets which offered the advantage of lower reciprocating losses in the engine (i.e. better gas mileage). The use of roller tappets became standard in cars in the mid-90's.

In the early 2000's, the USEPA (for what ever reason) became concerned that the Zinc and Phosphurus in the oil would partially exit the engine via the tail pipe. This is a big deal since these two elements tend to kill the catalytic converters and, in theory diminish their service life. As a result EPA wanted the reduce the Zinc and Phosphorus in motor oils.

Fortunately (for EPA), car makers had already gone to roller tappets. Again the PhD's went to work. The clever PhD's found that the roller tappets do not exert the high pressures that flat tappets do. They did some more reaserch and found that for car with Roller Tappets, you could safely reduce ZDDP to a much lower level with no adverse impact on cam service life.

This change was codified in the API SM/CJ4 (and newer) oil standards. And while some formulations are permitted to have higher Zn and P, the cost of ZDDP relative to base motor oil is much higher and if the oil maker wants to save some money (i.e. increase profit or lower price) he merely needs to reduce the use of this relatively expensive additive and still claim conformance to API requirements.

Older engines (pre-mid 90's) STILL need high levels (around 1200 ppm plus correct level of detergents) of Zinc (Zn) and Phosphorus (P) to protect cams and other high pressure surfaces.

Use 20W-50 or 15W-40 oil. Brands frequently sugggested here, in no particular order, include:

Brad Penn 20W-50
Valvoline VR-1 20W-50
Kendall GT 20W-50
SWEPCO 15W-40
Royal Purple
Redline
Motorcycle Oils

There are others as well.

Also, what type of trans fluid should i use, where do i drain the trans from, where do i fill it from

Also much debate but most feel SWEPCO 201 or Kendall as noted above. To change, here is my story:

Originally Posted by HarryD

I'm a cheapskate.

I just use a funnel and gravity.

Changing the Oil in an Early 911 Transmission

This is a better plan than mine.


thanks to jadams1.

[GaryR]

Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W50, 1600PPM .... that's what I use.

[James Brown]

Notice Mobil-1 is not on the list (except there motor cycle oil) Why?

[paulgtr]

motorbikes don't run cats, and maybe they run solid lifters so they need the same oil additives that our early cars do?

[kramer747]

Originally Posted by James Brown

Notice Mobil-1 is not on the list (except there motor cycle oil) Why?

I have been told by p-mechanics not to use Mobil One in the older 911's because it tend to migrate to areas where it shouldn't and create leaks? It didn't leave the factory with Mobil 1

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by kramer747

I have been told by p-mechanics not to use Mobil One in the older 911's because it tend to migrate to areas where it shouldn't and create leaks? It didn't leave the factory with Mobil 1

Mobil 1 creates leaks? Find new "p-mechanics".

[jdbunda]

Originally Posted by James Brown

Notice Mobil-1 is not on the list (except there motor cycle oil) Why?

Read the Ultimate Oil thread linked above. The problem with Mobil 1 and may other current oil formulations are recent formula changes that do not provide enough phosphorous and zinc for older engine designs.

[GaryR]

I believe their 20W50 "regular" does (1200PPM?), know their Racing oil does, and their V-Twin 20W50 is very high at 1600PPM (advertised).. Brad Penn is fine for a road car, I noticed increased temps (20-25%) on track using it, NG for my particular car. May try it in my hot rod but doubt it.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by GaryR

Mobil 1 creates leaks? Find new "p-mechanics".

+1. I think back inhte day (when Synthetic oil was first introduced), this was an issue for some cars. Since those days, time has marched on and the synthetic formulations have changed to elminate this as an issue.

At this point in time, I feel that the dino vs syth issues are mostly academic. In regular service (99% of the cars out there), it does not matter which oil you use as long as you have the proper additve package for antiwear, etc. Due tot he higher temperature tolerance of synthetic oils, those highly stressed engines (race cars, for example) may see a slight benefit from synthetic (group IV and V) oils due tot he better tolerance of excessive heat.

No, I am not a lubrication expert but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn express!