Project #4 - Boxster Oil Change

With the brakes out of the way (yeah, they really were pretty bad), it was time to change the oil. The Boxster doesn't have a true "dry sump" engine like my 930 (think of a "dry sump" engine as having a separate oil tank that feeds the engine). This means you just have one drain plug (bottom of the oil pan) and the filter to deal with. The filter itself is a paper element (cartridge) that is inside a plastic oil filter housing. Buy the OEM filter, as they aren't expensive. You'll get a new filter element, and an O-ring for the plastic housing. We use full-synthetic Mobile 1 15W-50 oil, as we race the car. The car seems to like it, and our first oil analysis was promising (more on that later).

After you get the car in the air, use the pic below to reference where everything is located. You want the car LEVEL (unlike most "normal" cars that have oil pans designed so the oil pools by the drain plug, the Boxster oil pan is flat), so I suggest getting all four wheels off the ground.

Reference pic:

1. Warm up the car by driving around at least 15 minutes. You have a lot of oil to heat.


2. Jack the car up into the air.


3. Put on a pair of rubber/latex gloves


4. Place a large catch pan under the oil pan. Note: About 10 quarts of oil will come out, so be prepared (place it on newspaper, just in case).


5. Loosen the drain plug with an 8-mm allen wrench.


6. It will take a while for all of the oil to come out (about 20 minutes), I usually take this time to check out the rest of the undercarriage.


7. After the bulk of the oil has drained, remove the oil filter housing using a strap tool. Keep it level, as it is FULL of hot oil. Bring it over to the catch pan, and dump it out.


8. Replace the "O-ring" on the plastic filter housing (discard the old O-ring and the dirty filter). Lightly lubricate it with new oil.


9. Slide the new paper element onto the "pipe" where the oil filter fits (you will understand what I am talking about once you are there).


10. By hand, screw the oil filter housing back onto the threaded base. You don't need a wrench to tighten it (only about 20 ft-lb of torque).


11. By now, the oil will have drained. Replace the drain plug gasket, and screw the drain plug back into the pan (about 40 ft-lb of torque).


12. Inside the trunk (the rear of the car), you will find the oil cap. Put about 9.25 quarts of oil back into the engine.


13. Lower the car, and start her up. After it has been idling for several minutes, shut it off, and then check the oil with the dipstick.

The Boxster has a digital oil level display on the dash. It is fairly accurate, but always use the dipstick at least once a month. One more thing, after the car has been driven about 100 miles or so, check the oil again!

- Mike