Oil Change for '89 Targa

28tbsfan · 28tbsfan's Garage

Question - first time owner and looking for general maintenance to be done after a winter in the garage. I have an 89 911 Targa (non turbo) with 114K on it. Is Jiffy Lube suffice or do I need to go somewhere special? Any other general maintenance you recommend for this many miles?

GrantG · GrantG's Garage

Do not go to Jiffy Lube! This is easily done yourself, but if you'd rather not, go to an independent service station that works with aircooled Porsches or get a buddy to do it for you (takes only 20 minutes, but lots of oil, a proper Mahle filter and a couple crush rings).

Pelican has a DIY in the Technical Articles.

wildcat077 · wildcat077's Garage

Oil changes are best done by the owner of the car,that being you !
Read up on the procedure,get yourself a very large pail... i use an empty chlorine puck bucket from my pool for draining the tank and one of those flat regular oil trays for the engine.

Pelican sells the Mahle filters and as far as the oil to use,i use Mobil 1 15w50 in my 89 and i'm very satisfied with it.There are endless oil threads and you will get dizzy before you finish reading up on them ...

Cheers !
Phil

rnln · 05-08-2010, 10:35 PM

after being my cars to several places and watching them doing it, I decided either do it myself, or only the "air cool 911 mechanics" do it only.

Wilhelm · 10:54 PM

NEVER take it to Jiffy Lube or any of that sort of place for ANYTHING! I wouldn't even take my Ford to them. As stated in a previous post, it is not a difficult job to do an oil/filter change on a 911. Just have a BIG drain pan.

eauboy · eauboy's Garage

I would wager that at Jiffy Lube you would get the engine case drained, they would miss the oil tank, and would then overfill it.

Made the mistake of taking my Acura MDX there for an oil change winter before last when it was seriously cold one weekend and ended up with stripped threads on the oil pan.

Lesson learned.

redranger · 05-09-2010, 04:01 AM

I'd be most worried about one of these places jacking up the car in the wrong place and either crushing an oil line or damaging the underbody. These cars can be tricky to jack up if you aren't familiar with them. Changing the oil in this car is very easy, no jack is required. Trickiest part is the filter given the risk that oil can get all over the engine bay if you aren't careful.

GrantG · GrantG's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by redranger

I'd be most worried about one of these places jacking up the car in the wrong place and either crushing an oil line or damaging the underbody.

At places like Jiffy Lube, I think you drive your car over a pit and it's never jacked up (I haven't been to one in many years), so that risk is not a serious as the others mentioned.

kodioneill · kodioneill's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrantG

At places like Jiffy Lube, I think you drive your car over a pit and it's never jacked up (I haven't been to one in many years), so that risk is not a serious as the others mentioned.

Would you take your RS there for an oil change ?

wildcat077 · wildcat077's Garage

I don't see myself running my car with Jiffy oil ... lol

GrantG · GrantG's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by kodioneill

Would you take your RS there for an oil change ?

No, I like changing my own oil.

Paul K · Paul K's Garage

How to change the oil on an '89 targa...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/374532-first-oil-change-success.html

initial · 05-09-2010, 07:36 AM

Jiffy lube is not that scary.. I do my own oil changes which are quite easy, but when it came time to change the tranny oil, I felt is was easier and quicker to go a Jiffy Lube..

I just drove over the pit, handed them the oil I had prepurchased, gave them a few simple directions (where the plugs are, how much oil should go in, filing till it comes out the top plug, etc..) and the job was done in no time at a very low cost..