Gear box oil change

[Ben]

After 85k miles and 12 years thought it was time to change the gear box oil. 

Got 3 litres of Motul Gear 300 online for £39 and it took my local mechanic an hour to do, so all in less than £100. 

The gear shift action is definitely improved, much smoother action and less notchy. Would definitely recommend if you haven't had it done already. 

 

[sevenfourate]

58 minutes ago, Ben said:

After 85k miles and 12 years thought it was time to change the gear box oil. 

Got 3 litres of Motul Gear 300 online for £39 and it took my local mechanic an hour to do, so all in less than £100. 

The gear shift action is definitely improved, much smoother action and less notchy. Would definitely recommend if you haven't had it done already. 

 

 

 

 

Good to hear Ben. Sounds like well worth doing. Never fails to amaze me what a difference this makes in cars with a few miles under their belt. However long the manufacturers recommended changes might be !!

 

Does the box hold exactly 3 litres or did you get some back from your man ? I ask because i think i'll do a change when i do my rear main seal in a few weeks (And 3 bottles of what i'll be using is only approx 2850ml). [Have great experience of this in a few cars and the difference its made has been unbelievable - and i don't use that term lightly in this example].....

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Line-MT90-75W90-Manual-Transmission-Oil-946ml-3-X-US-Quarts/293459211989?epid=12018530046&hash=item44538836d5:g:YPIAAOSwuQNd5TSo

[Ben]

8 hours ago, sevenfourate said:

 

 

 

Good to hear Ben. Sounds like well worth doing. Never fails to amaze me what a difference this makes in cars with a few miles under their belt. However long the manufacturers recommended changes might be !!

 

Does the box hold exactly 3 litres or did you get some back from your man ? I ask because i think i'll do a change when i do my rear main seal in a few weeks (And 3 bottles of what i'll be using is only approx 2850ml). [Have great experience of this in a few cars and the difference its made has been unbelievable - and i don't use that term lightly in this example].....

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Line-MT90-75W90-Manual-Transmission-Oil-946ml-3-X-US-Quarts/293459211989?epid=12018530046&hash=item44538836d5:g:YPIAAOSwuQNd5TSo

 

Hi Syer, yes was about 1/3 ish of the final bottle left so I reckon you should be fine 👍

[GlosRich]

Cotswold Porsche changed mine last year at 10 years/54k miles for Millers synthetic 75w/90. 

 

They said what came out was pretty black and horrible. Has helped smooth the change a bit.

 

Although the 6 speed Getrag in mine is a bit notchy anyway.

[sevenfourate]

On 02/03/2020 at 11:14, GlosRich said:

Cotswold Porsche changed mine last year at 10 years/54k miles for Millers synthetic 75w/90. 

 

They said what came out was pretty black and horrible. Has helped smooth the change a bit.

 

Although the 6 speed Getrag in mine is a bit notchy anyway.

 

Surprised you din't genuinely notice more of a difference Rich - especially with a quality oil used for the change.........

[GlosRich]

Might have to think about getting the green alignment tool next to check the gear linkage alignment. Beyond that its changing the cables I guess.

[sevenfourate]

16 minutes ago, GlosRich said:

Might have to think about getting the green alignment tool next to check the gear linkage alignment. Beyond that its changing the cables I guess.

 

 

 

 

Poop. Just Googled this and its only a couple of quid for the tool on Design911.com. **Mine felt very slightly worse when it was last messed with - i knew it was likely to be a minor alignment issue and didn't bother to follow up......

 

But seeing as gearbox is coming out for rear main seal - i really should get one of these. Having just made an order for the seal a few weeks back of course......🙄

 

But very helpful info never the less - and i didn't realise this was a thing ! THANKS.

Edited March 4, 2020 by sevenfourate

[sevenfourate]

6 hours ago, GlosRich said:

Might have to think about getting the green alignment tool.......

 

I've just bought one. Cheapest i could find was here for your info:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-997-Carrera-987-Boxster-Cayman-Shifter-Bridge-Lock-Installation-Tool/192892873334?hash=item2ce94faa76:g:rGwAAOSwgYlcuHhx

 

***Unless you’re already buying something from Design911 - who sell them for £3. But their postage is £11 something 😯

Edited March 4, 2020 by sevenfourate

[GlosRich]

Cheers for the eBay link.

 

There are lots of YouTube vids showing how to do the alignment also:

 

 

[sevenfourate]

On 05/03/2020 at 13:11, GlosRich said:

Cheers for the eBay link.

 

There are lots of YouTube vids showing how to do the alignment also:

 

 

 

Awesome ! Thankyou Rich. It arrived today. I bet my mechanic can hardly wait 🤣

[Lennym1984]

 

On 04/03/2020 at 18:47, sevenfourate said:

 

I've just bought one. Cheapest i could find was here for your info:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-997-Carrera-987-Boxster-Cayman-Shifter-Bridge-Lock-Installation-Tool/192892873334?hash=item2ce94faa76:g:rGwAAOSwgYlcuHhx

 

***Unless you’re already buying something from Design911 - who sell them for £3. But their postage is £11 something 😯

 

Sorry to be a dick (I've only just seen this post) but an OPC is the cheapest place for these. They cost ~£3 inc VAT and they will often post out smalll parts for free. Likewise, if you ever want GT3 brake ducts, buy them from OPC. People on eBay are charging £20+ whereas OPC will sell them to you for £2.96 each.

 

For many things, a Porsche main dealer will be super expensive but for small parts, trim pieces etc they are often the cheapest.

 

 

 

 

[sevenfourate]

31 minutes ago, Lennym1984 said:

 

 

Sorry to be a dick (I've only just seen this post) but an OPC is the cheapest place for these. They cost ~£3 inc VAT and they will often post out smalll parts for free. Likewise, if you ever want GT3 brake ducts, buy them from OPC. People on eBay are charging £20+ whereas OPC will sell them to you for £2.96 each.

 

For many things, a Porsche main dealer will be super expensive but for small parts, trim pieces etc they are often the cheapest.

 

 

 

 

 

You're not being a dick at all Lenny. As i said above - i'd also seen them for £3. But postage was £11 on 911 website and i literally need nothing else - to help spread the cost. 

 

And my nearest OPC is 100 mile+ round-trip.The next 160 i believe. So £10 to my door on ebay was by far the cheapest option for me this time......

 

New OPC going up this year (Norwich, Norfolk) - just 20 miles away from me ! Whooooooo 😎 ***So good to know about cheap trim pieces etc ! THANKS 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by sevenfourate

[GlosRich]

Good point Lenny. OPCs can be reasonable for some parts. 

[Lennym1984]

I get the impression that design911 (which is awesome for many things) tends to charge pre-tax what OPC charge post tax and then they add postage on top. 

 

I usually take a detour via the Swindon OPC when visiting friends in Bristol so keep a list of all the random parts I might need when I next visit

[sevenfourate]

On 01/03/2020 at 09:21, Ben said:

After 85k miles and 12 years thought it was time to change the gear box oil. 

Got 3 litres of Motul Gear 300 online for £39 and it took my local mechanic an hour to do, so all in less than £100. 

The gear shift action is definitely improved, much smoother action and less notchy. Would definitely recommend if you haven't had it done already. 

 

 

 

@Ben specifically...... (Or perhaps anyone with good input on Porsche gearbox oil requirements)

 

Why did you choose this oil ? Was it recommended by a Porsche specialist or......?

 

***Just done a bit of research: and the whole GL4 or GL5 grade topic keeps coming up on Google ref Caymans. And i was well aware of this with my Clio 200 and the brass Synchro's it had and were very likely to break-up / fail - usually showing itself as a crunching going up the box at high revs, or down-changing. It appears the Porsche synchro's are "carbon" (Carbon Steel i presume......?) and i just want to make sure i'm about to buy the right oil to suit.....

 

The stock stuff / Porsche oil is classed as GL4+/GL5. And there's talk - in terms of renewing / replacing - of making sure its a GL5 with GL4 specs, not a GL4 with GL5 specs etc etc. All getting a bit confusing !

Edited March 8, 2020 by sevenfourate

[sevenfourate]

^^^Likely the most telling info i've found online is from Oilman (From Opie Oils) - Which is who i'd have contacted for info; and purchased from anyway. And he states:

 

REF: Manual Transmission Oil 75W-90 vs 75W-140 for a Gen1 987 Thursday, March 28, 2019 10:52 AM (permalink) ☄ Helpful

 

 

"The correct viscosity is a 75w-90, I believe the factory fill fluid was called Castrol TAF21 which is just an internal Castrol reference. Moving to a 75w-140 will not gain anything, it is being used on the basis that thicker is better but this just not the case.

To give you an idea the average 75w-90 is around 14.1 cst (centistokes) at 100degc and an average 75w-140 is around 24.5 cst at 100degc so nearly twice as thick at operating temp. What is this extra viscosity doing for the gearbox? Well not a lot is the short answer, in a road car it will not be adding any more protection to the gearbox over a 75w-90 that meets the correct spec. All it is doing is causing extra drag within the gearbox, sapping power and causing extra heat and friction. 75w-140 does have its uses, in very big power applications that may see excessive shock loading on the gearbox and 24hr endurance racing and that's about it.
 
We have many quality alternatives to the standard Porsche fluid and in some cases better. The likes of the Motul Gear300 75w-90, Redline, Millers CRX NT+ and the Gulf Competition are all sat at the top of the tree because they have the advantage of containing synthetic esters. In 987 if you want to upgrade the gear oil, go better not thicker".
 
Cheers,
 
Guy.

 

 

***So looks like @Ben and @GlosRich are both spot-on with their "recommendations". And i'll now be following suit  👌 😎 😂

Edited March 8, 2020 by sevenfourate

[Ben]

20 hours ago, sevenfourate said:

^^^Likely the most telling info i've found online is from Oilman (From Opie Oils) - Which is who i'd have contacted for info; and purchased from anyway. And he states:

 

REF: Manual Transmission Oil 75W-90 vs 75W-140 for a Gen1 987 Thursday, March 28, 2019 10:52 AM (permalink) ☄ Helpful

 

 

"The correct viscosity is a 75w-90, I believe the factory fill fluid was called Castrol TAF21 which is just an internal Castrol reference. Moving to a 75w-140 will not gain anything, it is being used on the basis that thicker is better but this just not the case.

To give you an idea the average 75w-90 is around 14.1 cst (centistokes) at 100degc and an average 75w-140 is around 24.5 cst at 100degc so nearly twice as thick at operating temp. What is this extra viscosity doing for the gearbox? Well not a lot is the short answer, in a road car it will not be adding any more protection to the gearbox over a 75w-90 that meets the correct spec. All it is doing is causing extra drag within the gearbox, sapping power and causing extra heat and friction. 75w-140 does have its uses, in very big power applications that may see excessive shock loading on the gearbox and 24hr endurance racing and that's about it.
 
We have many quality alternatives to the standard Porsche fluid and in some cases better. The likes of the Motul Gear300 75w-90, Redline, Millers CRX NT+ and the Gulf Competition are all sat at the top of the tree because they have the advantage of containing synthetic esters. In 987 if you want to upgrade the gear oil, go better not thicker".
 
Cheers,
 
Guy.

 

 

***So looks like @Ben and @GlosRich are both spot-on with their "recommendations". And i'll now be following suit  👌 😎 😂

 

Yes I think I read that article before purchasing the oil, and a few other places recommending the same - not sure I understand it all but they sound like they know what they're talking about!!

[sevenfourate]

18 hours ago, Ben said:

 

Yes I think I read that article before purchasing the oil, and a few other places recommending the same - not sure I understand it all but they sound like they know what they're talking about!!

 

Thanks very much Ben.

 

I've used the Redline gearbox oil in two previous cars with great success / noticeable improvement over stock oil.

 

However the Motul seems to get great reviews ref Cayman use; is about the most often suggested / recommended online - and i've read no horror stories, or infact anyone not being happy or noticing a better feeling box than before.

 

So rather than be a pioneer somewhat 😂 ...........i've followed the herd on this one and placed my order for the Motul 😎

[Craiglm68]

So where are we buying it from re Best Price delivered? I'm due a service next month, so will jump on said bandwagon also!

[sevenfourate]

1 hour ago, Craiglm68 said:

So where are we buying it from re Best Price delivered? I'm due a service next month, so will jump on said bandwagon also!

 

For 3 litres of the Motul 300 - I paid £44 odd from Opie oils via eBay Craig  - which had 15% off and free delivery......(Which turned out to be Next Day via FedEx).

 

On the official Opie site - I believe it was £50 and delivery was extra.........

 

****I Googled for 5 mins and that was about the best price I found. And of course a proven seller 😎
 

Good luck !