355 Annual Fluid Change

I know this. I'm looking for something that is easier to find.

 

I believe you can use ATF fluid

 

IMO it's "only automatic transmission fluid" so I would guess that any good quality reputable ATF would do (i.e. would not harm the seals).

 

Dave Helms has recommended Amsoil ATF--buying it today.

I've got all fluids purchased and ready to be changed!

 

So...here is what I bought:

Engine Oil: 10qts of Red Line 5w40 + Ricambi's Oil Change Kit
Coolant: 2 gallons (need to be diluted with distilled water) of BMW Coolant
Coolant Additive: 1 bottle of Redline Water Wetter
Gearbox: 6qts of Red Line 75w90 NS
Brake Fluid: 3 ".5liters" bottles of Motul RBF 600
Steering Fluid: 2qts of Amsoil ATF


So...unless anyone has anything they would like to add...

I have one final question:

I'm taking this to the Porsche dealer to be done. How many hours of labor should I expect to pay to change all of the above fluids???

(I really do not know much about cars so I need to get all the info in my head before I drop her off)

 

Someone's getting new fluids this week....

Still waiting for someone to give me approximate time I should be charged for the labor on this....
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Why did you not ask the Porsche agent when you booked the car in? If you want my opinion, I would expect a mechanic to spend a complete morning to do the job competently and cleanly. Proper warm up and checks on completion. Since they will not be getting their cut out of the bill to you for the fluids they might add a bit on.

 

I'll take a look at my receipts from last month for my recent annual change. I had some other things done as well, but I'll see if I can figure out how much time they charged me for the annual service and fluids.

I'll post back this afternoon.

 

Price didn't come up.

Now I have all my fluids so I will be bringing her in this week.

I don't expect them to rip me off (They have treated me very nicely since moving here) but I was just curious as to a ballpark figure.

That's all.

 

We also have a few Ferrari techs on here that I hope can give me an approximate total numbers of hours it should take to change these fluids.

 

One hour to remove and reinstall the bottom wind breakers
30 minutes to drain and refill the engine oil
30 minutes to drain and refill the tranny oil
1 hour to bleed all brakes and clutch lines (and you will need more than that 1.5 liters)
30 minutes to drain and fill all coolant
30 minutes to drain and fill steering fluid

So, 3 hours ball park, the whole morning. At $145 an hour for a Porsche tech, you are looking at $500 after they throw in recycling costs, rags, chemicals, and incidental shop costs. It may take a little less time, but that is what they will charge youl.

 

That is a fair amount of time.

I asked how much brake fluid I would need and that is what I ordered. Ugh!

Can you please tell me how much more I will need? I have to get that ordered today!

 

Double that. You need 2x the amount just in case you introduce air and need to bleed it out. It always takes more.

 

It's an F1, might be okay on the brake fluid.

 

Should I order 2 more .5l bottles just to be safe?

 

Yes. Minor cost if too much, major headache if too little.

 

Ok...I ordered 2 more .5l bottles of the Motul RBF 600 brake fluid...

Is there anything else anyone can offer before I take her in later this week?

 

Yes, put your service on the Underhill's tab. (Fletch reference)

BTW Brock, have you tried the Flatiron restaurant yet?

 

Have not yet....

I will soon, though!!!!

 

What part was confusing?

F1 clutch doesn't use brake fluid.

 

Him saying I would need double the amount of fluid....vs. you saying I might be okay.

No worries here. I'm just trying to make sure I have everything I need to get her fluids changed.

I bought two more .5l of the brake fluid.

I don't know anything about clutches, (yes, I truly am this stupid when it comes to cars) so I don't know anything about changing any fluid there.

Again...if anyone wants to offer me information I always listen.

Before I owned a 355 I didn't know what the hell a header and cat was. Bet'cher ass I learned when I had to replace these at a cost of thousands...

Does the F1 have it's own fluid besides what goes in the tranny??? See? Now I'm really confused. I thought changing my gearbox oil (RL 75w90 NS) was changing the F1 fluid....?

 

A conventional (three-pedal) clutch is actuated by a master-slave system that uses some of the brake fluid from the brake reservoir. This makes the total amount of brake fluid a bit more in a manual-shift car.

The F1 system (an electro-mechanical whizbang that does the clutching and shifting) uses ATF (Shell Donax TX) to make it all happen. There is a reservoir for this on the left side of the engine bay. You could suck some out and refill it but unless you have an SD2 or a good workaround for bleeding the system, I'd be reluctant to recommend draining the system. Introducing air could be more trouble than changing the fluid is worth.

Both systems are completely separate from the oil in the gearbox.

There's nothing wrong with buying extra but if nothing gets wasted you'll have some left over.

 

Tim, thank you very much for your explanation.

When I had the 360 F1 pump installed in my car in Oct 2010 I can assume that FoS put new fluid in the F1. Therefore, this is not something that needs to be changed every year or two?

I obviously am nowhere close to an SD-reader (Hi, Dave Helms! ), so I won't be able to have this fluid changed.

I'm wondering what liquid was leaking from my actuator when it gets under 20 degrees outside....was it gearbox oil or the F1 fluid?

Is there a way I check my F1 fluid to make sure it isn't low?

 

Page D9 of your Owners Manual should give an explanation and a picture of the reservoir.

 

I am giving a thumb-drive to the tech of all three WSM volumes. My brain is incapable of working to understand a lot of the diagrams but I assume he should be able to figure this out.

Thanks again, Tim.