I just wanted to check in and make sure I read the maintenance schedule correctly. It states that the manual trans oil should be replaced at 120k?
To me that mileage seems pretty high given that it is a gear box and a differential! One of the reasons I'm kinda looking forward to changing sooner it would be that the drain plug has some seepage. I had the dealer look at it they say all is well, and they are wrong! I once had a 911sc that a mechanic couldn't find the culprit of an oil leak, so again it was left up to me to locate. The first thing I did in that case was clean everything that had "seepage" and I was able to track the actual leak down to the oil cooler.
Having gone through leaks and seepages in the past (not limited to p-cars) I am quite anal about it so I will keep an eye on it myself. I would simply fix/tighten the drain plug, but there is a plate blocking access to it. I may just drill a 2" hole in the aluminum plate to prevent having remove it. Any input on
this method??
Thanks
Phillip
Well, I wouldn't drill a hole in the plate.
Most differentials and transmissions of old didn't require replacement of any oil - just replenishment, in the event they were low. Synthetic lubricants can last a really, really long time. Assuming the electronics make it that long, the drive train can possibly make it to 300,000 miles or more. Given that kind of longevity, 120,000 mile change interval seems reasonable to me.
If the plug were actually leaking, then I would worry about it, but an indication of seepage? It could be from the cosmoline that was applied by the factory. When the working parts get warmed up, the cosmoline can soften and look like an oil leak.
Thank you for your input.
Originally I did think it was the cosmoline but, I took a pump up garden sprayer filled with dish soap and water and gave it a good rinsing which really cleaned it up nice.
There is a hole in the plate already but its only about 1/4", I would just enlarge it to about 2" to prevent removing the whole plate. Most manual transmissions that I have owned have had a change interval of about 60k, either way I'm no where near due for replacement. I did notice that the trans drain plug requires an o-ring, and in my cars case this may be whats causing the seepage.
As of now the trans has accumulated a decent layer of dirt and oil only 500 miles after cleaning, if left alone it will most likely coat the bottom of the transmission. As of now I believe the culprit to be the drain plug, which will require access to tighten or replace the o-ring. Lets just call it preventative maintenance that may require replacement trans oil.
Keep in mind that my description of seepage, is a situation that has fluid loss but hasn't quite provided a drop on the floor to constitute a leak.
Phillip
Can you take a picture of this plate blocking access?
There's a lot of controversy around the need to change manual transmission & differential fluid. Some manufacturers, BMW is a good example, say they put lifetime fluid in differentials and manual transmissions on some models, and tell you not to ever change it. GM is like that too. On the other hand many industry pundits don't buy this argument at all, and say change the fluids every 30K miles anyway.
It seems like there's controversy around every fluid these days. Mercedes says not to change the coolant on my C-class for 143K miles regardless of time. Really? BMW says every third year. GM says every five years. Brake fluid? Every two years? (BMW, Mercedes) Never? (GM) Lots of mechanically-inclined people don't see any differences between the designs of various manufacturers, little or no differences in the fluids, and conclude manufacturer input is all bogus and do what they think best based on experience (or just bias)!
My advice is to ask yourself some serious questions. Are you going to track the car regularly? My experience is the track stresses every fluid, and I put *all* fluids, even power steering fluid and clutch fluid, on an accelerated change schedule, certainly no longer than every two years. (And for brake fluid I say every track event, but that's just me.) Are you planning to keep the car forever? Really, like for 20 years? Then I'd say ignore Porsche and change more often too. But are you just going to drive the car on the street and keep it for five years or less? If that's really the case, and it's probably the case for most of us, changing fluids more often than Porsche recommends is just a waste of money, IMHO.
