Change my own oil on the 996

Hi everyone, I wanted to change my own oil this weekend and have heard that it is not a small job. as this is my first porsche, I wanted to estimate the level of effort involved and see if there were any special tools that I needed to get a hold of. Is there detailed instructions in the owners manuals? And is 10W 40 Mobil One the consensus on the best oil to put in? Also, what is the best oil filter? Thanks

I asked the same question about oil weight, and was answered, and have also seen elsewhere, the Porsche now recommends 0w-40 for all 996s. good luck finding it. I need to start a hunt as well. I am NOT paying dealer prices if I dont have to. Art

Thanks Art, I will check around here and let you know if I can find it. All the Trak Auto's got turned into Advanced Auto Parts here, so we can give them a try. Any ideas on the best filter? and also, I heard that to change the oil on the 993, you had to remove the rear quarter panel, I am hoping that this isnt the case on the 996s' but wanted to get tips from the experts (all of you guys in cyberland).

[quote]Originally posted by Ash996: <strong>Hi everyone, I wanted to change my own oil this weekend and have heard that it is not a small job. as this is my first porsche, I wanted to estimate the level of effort involved and see if there were any special tools that I needed to get a hold of. Is there detailed instructions in the owners manuals? And is 10W 40 Mobil One the consensus on the best oil to put in? Also, what is the best oil filter? Thanks</strong><hr></blockquote> Simple operation. Filter is a paper element that gets changed. The filter housing is hard plastic and gets reused. You just need to buy a filter and aluminum crush ring (for the drain plug) and you're good. Only required tools are a 10mm HEX bit, a torque wrench to correctly torque the drain plug, and a filter housing removal element that you can buy for $10.00 at Walmart. I think that you need 11 quarts of oil or so. I've done it many many times and it's really easy JM

[quote] I heard that to change the oil on the 993, you had to remove the rear quarter panel <hr></blockquote> Yikes! Actually it's "just" the fender liner, and a "few" other things. No bodywork is necessary. I would imagine the 996 would be similar. Chris

[quote]Originally posted by cmoss: <strong> Yikes! Actually it's "just" the fender liner, and a "few" other things. No bodywork is necessary. I would imagine the 996 would be similar. Chris</strong><hr></blockquote> 996 is much more like a Toyota... No difficulty at all

You can find Mobil 1 0w-40 at any Auto Zone. I believe the price is the same for the Euro spec. oils as the 10-30's and such. Good Luck Elias

Autozone down the street has all mobil 1 for $5 a quart. Including 040

I am not convinced that Mobil's 0W-40 is THAT much better at protecting your 996 than 15W-50 or 10W-30, or 5W-30. My car has had 15W-whatever for as long as I've owned it, and I have not had any problems. The temperature ranges here in the continental US rarely goes to -20 or -40, or whatever the lowest temperature at which the oil flows is, with a few notable exceptions like International Falls, MN. 0W to 15W all flow well at most cities' lowest temperatures. Personally, if 5W-30 was the only grade in the shelf, I'd use it. Heck, it is good for over 400 degrees, just like 15W-50 and 0W-40 are. It may be a case of splitting hairs but I may be wrong.

Easiest source for Mobil One 0W-40 is to go directly to the distributor. You can find your local ExxonMobil distributor on Mobil's web site. S.

Here we are the instructions to do it, Well explained from our friend Loren !<a href="http://web.dsldesigns.com/~ljcook/indexDIY.html" target="_blank">Loren's page</a>

Follow the instructions on Loren's site. VERY EASY to change the oil!! ITs actually easier to change the oil on the 996 than all my other cars and Jeep!! The 993 was a bear to change the oil I hated doing it but the 996 is a piece of cake!!! <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Thanks everyone, your help is greatly appreciated and Loren's website has some fantastic information. Cheers, Ash

Can anyone inform me whether you MUST have the Porsche oil filter wrench (p/n 000 721 920 40) (tool 9204) to do the oil change. Thanks. Jeff '02 Cab.

Well, no, not really. But the Porsche 996 oil filter is a canister, that is you must clean and reuse the outside portion. The filter (inside) is just a paper insert. Just make sure you don't damage the canister.