HOW TO: Change your own oil

[squidmotion]

UPDATE:


the correct filter removal cup socket IS NOT a type B... that one is a 75-76MM and is 15 flutes... it might work, but is going to slip eventually..

the correct one for our cars is a TYPE D 75MM and 14 flutes... fits perfect.

the pennzoil number is 19903. $4.99 at hi-lo auto.

oil change was pretty straightforward.. just make sure you use plenty of oil on those o-rings and don't cross thread that housing!!!


full synthetic valvoline 5W30 for mine....

 

[TheRealDefman]

Yet another thanks for a great write up, put it to good use this morning!

 

[Abilor]

Kwik valve eliminates cross thread worries... Thanks Kain! AAS by Balco...

 

[KDiz]

glad i read this before changing my oil for 2 reasons.

1. my wife's fusion has the same cartridge style filter, but i ALWAYS forget about the allen wrench for the plug. had to go run out and get some metric allens.

2. i just bought my 07 ms3 9 days ago. i pulled the oil plug off the pan to see NO washer on it. it probably would've slipped my mind that there should be some sort of washer or rubber seal on the plug itself. had to run out and get some nylon washers for use until the next oil change.

i must say though, this was the biggest PITA oil change i've done. after pulling the plug to see no washer, i put it back in the pan after letting it drain for about 15 mins. to prevent it from possibly dripping oil while i changed the filter. after the filter change, i wanted to take the plug with me to make sure i get the right sized washer. when i pulled it, quite a bit of oil poured out onto the ground. i was able to slide my oil catch pan under it for the last bit. again, i didn't want it dripping onto the ground so i placed a shop towel (those fancy blue ones) into the hole while i ran up the the auto store to get the washers and drop off my used oil in the catch pan. came back, pulled the shop towel out and suprise! more oil on the ground. i would guess an additional half quart ended up coming out after draining the first time and replacing the filter. i guess next time, i'll watch a movie while the oil drains.

 

[squidmotion]

i like the way the oil just LAUNCHES itself out of this thing... hehehee i had to move quick, and still made a good mess!!

are you sure there was no washer? the one on mine looked like it was part of the plug until i wiggled it around a bit...

 

[hyperpm]

ok i've done my oil changes twice already on this car. 1st time followed all instructions in this thread and went fine. 2nd time around i just unscrewed the cartridge halfway and let the oil drain out then dumped the rest after it stopped. questions:1) that worked so whats the purpose of unscrewing bolt in the middle with allen when you can just unscrew the cartridge and get rid of oil that way. good hunch dealer does it this way. 2) i haven't changed the green gaskets since they still look new. no issues or leaking doing it this way as well. am i asking for trouble?

 

[Retrobmx63]

It's just easier to clean up.

Doing it the way you just described you would now have to wipe down the plastic housing covered in oil. The allen bolt is a drain hole to help make the process cleaner.

 

[Sport6]

Bump for correct size of the replacement oil drain washer?

 

[Metro Gray]

Has anyone used a Mityvac to suck the oil from the dipstick tube? I have one which will collect 8 Quarts which I used for my MB when I had it and it made changing oil very clean and easy.

 

[Russm]

Try doing a oil change outside 2 weeks ago I saw -3 on the temp. as fast as I could do the change was 45 min, darn fingers kept freezig on the pan bolts. Usually takes 20-30 min.

 

[bova80]

i just bought the mityvac 7201 so we'll see how it goes.

 

[Metro Gray]

i just bought the mityvac 7201 so we'll see how it goes.

Looking forward to getting the feedback.

Here's a link to the one I bought 5 years ago, not sure what model it is but it does work well: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200007974_200007974

 

[bova80]

i think thats the one i got only i paid $70 for it

 

[wmherman]

I think the Mazda oil filter tool is 14 flute, 75.6mm. I used a 14 flute, 76mm tool and it worked just fine. It initially had a little slack in it but I cured that by cutting a 1" x 5" piece of file folder, enough to fit inside and go half-way around the tool, I held this in place while placing the tool over the cover. This fit snug enough to where it held itself in place. I was able to remove/reinstall the cover without any slippage or damage to the cover.

Another observation was that the drain plug washer was flat on one side and very slightly deformed (from straddling the hole) on the other side. I simply flipped the washer over and reused it. I don't expect to have any leakage or other problems from reusing the washer in this manner.

Still another observation is that the new washers that come with a new Purolator One filter seem to be made from a different material that the factory washers. I believe the factory washers are superior and strongly considered reusing them as they weren't deformed whatsoever. Alas, I decided to go with the new washers as that's probably the safer bet. Looks can be deceiving.

One more thing... As I was finishing up and removing the drip pan from under the car I noticed a few drops of oil built up under the drain plug. I put my wrench on it and discovered I had not tightened it up yet. Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to check this. Moral of story, do a final check that all covers, plugs, etc. are properly tightened and that oil filler cap is in place.

 

[Abilor]

2 things after doing mine for the third time over the weekend. The first is that I am fostering violent hatred of the stock filter arrangement, and will be switching to spin on filter conversion the next time around. The damn thing is just too messy, and doesn't match the ease of my kwik valve. That said, I thought my kwik valve seal was leaking, when in fact it's the kwik valve itself. Not the ball joint mind you, but the metal plate that sits next to it - if you have one, you'll know what I mean. It's not bad, maybe one drip per 2 days, not a leak really, but still... I have to keep an eye on it. I will take photo and send to kwik valve people in hopes of a replacement, though I hate messing with the oil pan threads, the reason I got it to begin with. The kwik valve still made the whole process easy however, no real regrets.

 

[bova80]

Looking forward to getting the feedback.

Here's a link to the one I bought 5 years ago, not sure what model it is but it does work well: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200007974_200007974

changed my oil tonight with the mityvac. went pretty well. it is kind of slow, took about 25-30min to get all 5.5 quarts of oil out and had to be pumped a couple of times during this. But it makes for easy disposal of the oil because when i was all down i just pumped it back into empty containers. i know you can just pour it out of there but i thought this was easier.

 

[Metro Gray]

changed my oil tonight with the mityvac. went pretty well. it is kind of slow, took about 25-30min to get all 5.5 quarts of oil out and had to be pumped a couple of times during this. But it makes for easy disposal of the oil because when i was all down i just pumped it back into empty containers. i know you can just pour it out of there but i thought this was easier.

Awesome, thank you for the reply. When you pulled the filter was it empty or did this also require draining?

I usually bring it to the local autostore for disposal, pretty clean setup although I would suggest a papertowel to wipe off any drips before putting it back in the car.

Thanks again for the input.(thumb)

 

[bova80]

the filter was still full, had about a half quart of oil in it. But according to the measurement on the side of the mityvac it drained just a hair under 5L which is 5.2quarts so I think its safe to say I got just about all the oil out of there.

 

[tau]

Hi, very well explain, pictures really helps, thanks

 

[F430TECH]

I did my third oil change on the car this week and did the Redline MT-90 in the transmission while I was there. Whole process took me about an hour. Not bad.

This was the first oil change since I put the magnetic plug in after the last one. Pleased to report no big chunks! There was 2-3mm of very fine metal shavings that are to be expected on the tip of the magnet, so its definitely doing something...it was less than I expected which means the Mobil 1 is doing its job.