997 C2S gearbox oil??

[Don777]

Going to change my gearbox oil, car has done 65k miles, 5 1/2 years old. Been searching a lot over the last few days for an appropriate oil and it seems a bit of a mystery.

So far I've found these three 75W-90 oils that seem closest to OEM:

Shell Spirax s5 ATE
Mobilube PTX
Mobilube SHC

The first seems to be the OEM oil from what I can see and the second is the only mentioned in the PET, although only for the front diff on 4wd cars. And they seems impossible to get hold of in the UK in anything less than 20L containers.

Mobilube SHC seems to be the only option for me that's closest to OEM? (I'm not completely discounting other makes Redline, Motul etc but just don't know anything about them.)

Is it suitable for the gearbox? I'm hoping the 2nd gear change when cold will improve slightly because its bloody awful at the moment!
I'll also do the very occasional track day.

Any info would be great.

 

[Martian]

I used Redline at my last change although the Millers stuff also looks very good.

 

[CarraraWhite]

The first seems to be the OEM oil from what I can see and the second is the only mentioned in the PET, although only for the front diff on 4wd cars. And they seems impossible to get hold of in the UK in anything less than 20L containers.

Had the same issue, must be a factor of the rarity of DIY gearbox oil changes ?

 

[Don777]

Right, after much googling I've discovered this..

The OEM oil used to be Shell Transaxle which then became Shell Spirax S5 ATE which can only be bought in 20L containers. But I found it's the exact same oil as Shell Helix Synthetic Racing Gear Oil 75w90 which CAN be bought in 5L containers.

So that's what's going in... :thumbs:

Here are the specs..

Spirax - http://www.epc.shell.com/Docs/GPCDOC_GTDS_Shell_Spirax_S5_ATE_75W-90_(en)_TDS_v1.pdf

Helix - http://s05.static-shell.com/content...es/racing-solutions/racing-lubricant75w90.pdf

 

[Gibbo205]

How did the change go?

 

[Don777]

Well I ordered the oil online only to be told a week later that it was out of stock and they couldn't get it any more :roll: And that seemed to be the same for evey other supplier.
I eventually found some on amazon, so that will be arriving next week. I'll hopefully get to do it on Thursday.

It seems getting the oem oil in anything smaller than 20L is going to be difficult.

 

[Don777]

Got the oil and I ordered the fill and drain plug seals from Porsche beginning of last week and they haven't sent them :x

I've booked the car in tonight to change the oil and I have no seals.
Does anyone know the diameter of the seals or the plugs so I can find a replacement?

Thanks

 

[Martian]

IIRC, the gearbox drain and fill plugs don't have washers anyway. That's what I seem to remember with my Turbo anyway.

 

[Don777]

It's two of No.4 from the parts diagram here http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-parts/997-05-08/302-05.php

But! I went to the post office and Porsche had adressed them incorrectly so I got the packet, unfortunately they only sent one. So I'll replace the drain one and reuse the fill one. They're actually quite substantial metal washers so I'm sure reusing won't be a problem. They're about 4mm thick and made of aluminum (?) Or probably whatever the gearbox is made of.

Anyway off to do it now, I'll do a quick post when it's done.

 

[Luxter]

Engine oil drain plug washer is exactly the same size as fill / check level / drain plug washers for 997.1 Aisin transmission.
All three (3) transmission plugs require washers to seal properly.
Cheers,
=L=

 

[Don777]

All done.
Very easy to do, the two covers you need to remove to gain access are actually quite substantial bits of plastic but come away easily enough.

The metal seal ring on the full plug was fine to reuse so I put the new one on the drain plug.

The oil that came out looked fine, very clear but who knows.

The difference is quite remarkable, slots into 1st and 2nd much much easier now. I had an hour drive home afterwards and it really is much improved so well worth doing.

 

[Gibbo205]

Don

Got a link to where you purchased the oil?

 

[Don777]

I got it from Amazon but they haven't got any left.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007PCQM3U

I was going to email Shell to ask them if they still make it until I found it on Amazon.

 

[Martian]

Don

Got a link to where you purchased the oil?

Gibbo, try the stuff I listed above, it's really good stuff.