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Originally Posted by superskid
I have a 2001 Boxster S that I purchased last year and would like to do an oil change on it myself instead of paying so much at the dealer. I have a Jetta that I have been doing for years so figure I'll stick with the German engineering. I do have a couple questions though.
1.) The article on this site says to raise the left side of the car, so I put both the front and the rear on jack stands then go under and pull the drain plug? Do I have to lower the car to let it drain properly or will it drain with the left side higher? Seems to me lots of oil would not drain with it raised.
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I jack up the rear of the car at a jack point near the inside of the rear wheel, then put a jack stand under the side jack point for safety. Once the plug is pulled, lower the car and let it drain for half an hour. Make sure you have a big enough tub!
Quote:
Originally Posted by superskid
2.) I have always gone by the electronic gauge on the dash, when I look at the actual dipstick it has a big rubber end, where on this do I want the oil level to be?
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I use the dipstick too. The range is marked on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by superskid
3.) I am located in Northern Canada (Edmonton) so I only get to drive the car 6 months a year max, what weight of Mobil 1 (or maybe other brand) Oil is recommended?
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I've gone away from Mobil1 on the advice of a well-respected forum contributor with his own shop and lots of used-oil analyses to back him up. His recommendation is Castrol Syntec 10W-40, but it's not available in Canada, so we're stuck with 5W-40 (Walmart or CT). Just means you have to change your oil a little more frequently. If you're like me, you don't put on more than 8000 km in a driving season anyways, and so I change my oil just before putting the car to bed for the winter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by superskid
4.) Lastly, I assume this is the best place for me to order all the parts necessary? Even with me located in Canada?
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Parts: Filter, o-ring, crush ring, oil. The OEM filter is known to have problems: end cap splitting or rips near the center opening, missing or failed glue joints where the paper endcaps are butt glued to the media; either will allow oil to by-pass the media. At my next change I'm going to start using the Wix/NAPA Gold units (#57211). Much better made, and they use the same media as the spin-on units, so the pore diameters are about 30% smaller. I don't know if Wayne handles those, but NAPA in Canada does (probably not the cheapest). But you still need the crush rings (buy 'em by the dozen) and the o-ring for the filter canister. Whoever you buy them from, if it's from the States, make sure they send by USPS, not UPS, as the latter is well known for ripping off Canadians at the border.
Quote:
Originally Posted by superskid
Oh I should add that I had an oil change done at the beginning of May, and now the electronic gauge when I first turn the car on is down to either 1 bar or 2. Is this a little fast for it to be low on oil? I park the car in my driveway and there is NOT a single drop on it?
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May - August? Don't worry unless you start to see oil dripping from where the tranny mates up to the engine.
Welcome to the DIY world, and you'll see how easy these cars are to work on.
Norm
2001 Boxster, 5 spd