Maybe a dumb question but given the design of the filter in the top side of the engine, I am wondering if you can simply remove the filter even with all the oil in the engine. If yes, this could be a good way to keep the oil very clean between oil changes without having to drop 10 quarts of oil. Let me know.

 

Yes you can, but unless the filter is so dirty it gets clogged, it's doing it's
job just fine. A new filter doesn't block anything more than the old one,
as long as oil is going through the filter. (If an oil filter becomes clogged
there is usually a safety pressure by-pass that will allow unfiltered oil to
pass, rather than have the filter stop flow. However, that's not going to
be the case with the typical well-tended Porsche. I'd just keep the filter
as long as I'd keep the oil.
Joe

 

your not changing the oil because its dirty. youre mainly changing the oil because overtime all oil loses its ability to lubricate efficiently as it shears as well as lose its protective properties.

 

You can remove it without changing your oil.
But why would you?
Just change the oil and filter every 5k and you have nothing to worry about.

 

Oil filters are cheap and easy to change. I personally like to change my filters 2 times per oil change cycle on the Porsche (every 6 months in my case). Once when the new oil is administered and once half way through the cycle.

True synthetics are very resiliant and robust and do not need to be changed as frequently as fossil oils, especially if like me you do not track the car. As the previous poster said they will degrade over time, mixing with water and fuel etc. However Porsche recommend 7,500 mile changes for a reason, as opposed to 3,000 miles. IMO this is firstly because the recommend oils are top tier, secondly because stythetics have been used for over 15k mile between changes with ease and 7,500 is a good safety net number. I change my oil every year because I only do about 1,500 - 2,000 miles per year and would never reach the threshold. I have only done 600 since March this year. Just 3 200 mile or so runs.

In my daily driver I only change the oil every 10k and the filter 3 times in the cycle. I use the same synthetic in all my cars and have done so for years. (Mobil 1 to be precise)

My previous Daily driver lasted 19 years before the transmission failed and (for me) it was not worth repairing. The engine, apart from 2 water pumps, rocker cover gaskets, OHV adjustment, a few belts, Plugs etc., and a clutch was never touched, other than regular maintenance, which I did myself, so I must have been doing something right.

It is still plodding along too, the kid I sold/gave it to put a used transmission from a wrecked car into it along with a new cluch. He rubbs my nose in it periodically and still uses Mobil 1 synthetic oil at my recommendation.

 

Yup, a lot of people do this as SHockwave mentions above.

When I was an Amsoil dealer many moons ago, this was standard practice for their 15K mile service intervals on fleet vehicles.

Another thing to be aware of is that oil, just like brake fluid, will absorb moisture over time. A car that sits for long periods in storage may collect enough airborne contaminent that it warrants changing BEFORE driving the car. Just keep that in mind. I know a lot of guys change their fluids before the end of the season, but I recommend them at the beginning of a driving season.

Mike Kelly

 

for the lat twenty years my work car which logs 62k per year, has been the follins dodge van, chev van1, chevy van 2. chevy van 3. chevy van 4 chevy van 5, and at last a pacifica. now get this never an engine prob.i have only changed oil once in the pacifica . an not sure why i did that..... opps a slight lie here i changed all cars when new to redline and just keep adding oil when they got low... now it's way different on the p cars.... but really no probs at all kept each car about 3 years thats about 186 miles per car!!!

 

Yes, but why? If filter dirty enough to change oil dirty enough to change too.

I'd rather drop nearly 10 quarts of oil every so often then drop $20K (or more) for a new engine cause I skimped on an oil change or two.

Have 225K miles on my 02 Boxster and it is on its original engine. Engine runs just great. Gets 5K mile oil/filter changes (Mobil 1 10w-40 oil for the last 40K miles or so).

My 03 Turbo gets 5K mile oil/filter services too. Mobil 1 0w-40 the 1st few changes (at 10K, 12.9K (just before long road trip) and at 17K (after I got back from long road trip) I had done to it or did myself after I bought it used in June with 9500 miles.

Niext oil/filter service due at 20K miles I'll use Mobil 1 5w-50 oil.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Steve, I knew a guy who used to do the same thing with his Hyundai commuter boxes, and they did just fine for about 400K miles... Which is fine if you look at disposable cars that way. However, My father didn't raise me to abuse equipment like that. I maintain everything I own just as I do my Porsche.

Mike

 

Steve...if I ever want to buy a car from you , other than the Porsche...slap me out of it

 

Even synthetics degrade over time. I change every 3k or 12 months what ever comes first. Castrol 5-50w

 

Up until very recently, I'd thought that more frequent oil changes are only harmful to the wallet - but couldn't be bad for the car/engine. However, recently I've been seeing articles advising that you can, in fact, change the oil too often... causing more wear in the engine than if you'd changed less frequently on a factory-recommended (or near) interval.

As I understand it (which certainly could be misunderstood), I guess the rationale behind that logic is this... engine oil isn't just a lubricant, but it also has cleaners/detergents in its additive package. Those cleaners/detergents break down and stabilize during the first few thousand miles of usage, at which point the oil is primarily just lubricating the surfaces as intended. So, if you're changing often, the engine is always operating with these detergents (before one set is fully broken down, a fresh batch is introduced), which has been alleged to cause adverse wear.

Eventually, of course, foreign contaminants present at such levels, along with wear and shearing of the oil, that the oil is compromised and a change to fresh oil is an improvement and warranted. But changing more often that that, while the owner may feel that they're being "extra kind" to the engine, might actually be worse for it.

Anyone else heard/read similar? Fact or myth that "too often" can be bad? I'm not a chem engineer, but once the details were explained I guess I can see the logic behind it.

 

Ok, I know I'm getting flamed for this, but here goes.

My car only sees 1500 miles per year. A friend of mine suggested changing JUST the oil yearly and changing the filter every other oil change. for me, the cost of replacement filter vs. a motor is a no brainer, but his argument is (a.) the filter is still brand new doesnt retain enough moisture or contaminants to worry about, and (b.) that I need more mileage on the filter to see if there are any metal particles.

While I'm not necessarily in agreement, it does make sense.

What are your thoughts?

 

Most filters don't reach maximum efficiency until they've been in use for a while (the big holes get plugged with debris).

So there's some good rationale for NOT changing the filter too often.

Volatile contaminants, including water, are big problems. Too many short trips and they add up. Water and gasoline are not good lubricants.

Fleet diesels, using bypass filters to ultrafilter the oil, and long trips keeping volatiles boiled out, go well over 10K with synthetics.

So depends on your vehicle's use whether you need to drain the oil to get rid of contaminants, or just change the filter when it's about to get obstructed.

 

In my case , the oil ran dry before the 3,000 mile mark. I filled up with new oil to save the car. But didn't have a filter on hand to use/replace. Now the oil is fresh but if it ran dry the filter must be disgusting. So you would do it to finish your half assed job lol.