my first DIY oil change since 1988

[justanotherdrunk]

when jiffylube/ oil changers came out i never changed my own oil again on any of my many cars until today

didn't save money/ not the point

did it for fun

only 3600 miles since new but drove the piss out of her on my 2 road trips

successfully reset the oil/ maintenance monitor


lesson learned:

there's no clearance for the old filter wrench had to buy the end grip type

https://photos.smugmug.com/2016-Toyota-Yaris-SE/i-hNhw6gz/0/M/100_5736-M.jpg


:bonk:

[WeeYari]

Lesson to put in your back pocket:

A filter should never be on so tight that you need tools to get it off.

[bronsin]

Hmm I figure an oc costs me $8 for the oil and $2-3 for the filter.

Look for sales!

[WeeYari]

^ he did have to add in the one-time investment for the filter removal tool.

Silicon Valley also probably has inflated prices relative to New Jersey.

[ern-diz]

Lesson to put in your back pocket:

A filter should never be on so tight that you need tools to get it off.

When I used to do the oil changes on my first car, I would hand tighten the filter on, but would always need the tool to get it off. Don't they normally and magically tighten up over 3-5k? Isn't that why they sell the wrench? Not being sarcastic, I'm actually asking.

[WeeYari]

I've only had a handful of times in my multiple decades of driving where I could not turn back the filter by hand. Those times typically occurred after I had a shop perform the oil change. Any that I have done myself, I am always able to remove filter by hand.

[ern-diz]

Interesting, thanks.

[WeeYari]

The removal tools are there for those times when someone does encounter an over-tightened filter. It will happen since it is very easy to go from just right, to over tight when it comes to putting these on. Just like you will in your lifetime encounter over-torqued wheel lugs.

[kimona]

Sometimes, there just isn't enough space to get your hand around the oil filter to tighten/loosen it. In that case, an oil filter cap wrench is the only way to get the job done.

[bairjo]

Lesson to put in your back pocket:

A filter should never be on so tight that you need tools to get it off.


Why not? better tight than to loose. Proper torque is 9.5 ft.*lb.

[justanotherdrunk]

2nd oil change on her today after the 4500 mile maint req yellow warning light came on

thats almost all high speed freeway miles

dont know if it simply measures the number of crankshaft rotations or is it simply 4500 miles 1st warning for the 5000 mile interval?

got the 5 quart single bottle including filter for $17.99 with a coupon at o'reilly

ok deal i guess

[ern-diz]

:thumbsup:

Interesting that the newer models have a 4500 mile light. Mine just starts to flash the maintenance required light for a few moments at start when it's getting close. Probably happens during the last 500 miles, or so.

[ex-x-fire]

The reason you need filter wrenches to remove them is the seal swells up over time. Hell, I put them on as tight as I can get with one hand & use a wrench to remove. None of this "1/2 turn after the gasket touches" crap.

[shepd]

I used to do my own oil changes, but the shops here do them for $19. Oil in sale in Canada is $13 for 4.7 litres. Oil filters here are about $6 for cheap ones. Hardly worth getting under the car to save a dollar or two, and if the oil plug gasket has to be changed, you end up losing money. And the drive to the dump to put the oil in the waste collection costs enough fuel that there's no profit left.

[soldout]

With all the driving I do I don't like changing my oil every 5 or 6 weeks so I run Mobil1 15000 mile oil and filter. You can find the on sale often. Last time I went to Auto zone I got 2 - 5 quart jugs and extended performance filters for about $60. As for getting rid of used oil just fill up empty oil jugs or something similar and bring the in with you when you buy more oil and filter.

[tmontague]

I used to do my own oil changes, but the shops here do them for $19. Oil in sale in Canada is $13 for 4.7 litres. Oil filters here are about $6 for cheap ones. Hardly worth getting under the car to save a dollar or two, and if the oil plug gasket has to be changed, you end up losing money. And the drive to the dump to put the oil in the waste collection costs enough fuel that there's no profit left.

Fair enough, there's no doubt you can get an oil change done cheaper at a quick lube place. I personally don't trust anyone else and have seen enough horror stories from those places. Plus the oil they get is a bulk generic oil that is hopefully up to spec. When I do an oil change it allows me to check out everything else under the car and inspect for seal leaks, rust, bushings etc.

6 years ago before I did much work on a car we took my Wife's Acura1.7 EL into a Meineke since they had an oil change advertised for $19 with wheel rotation and inspection. When we got there the guy told us that we'd have to upgrade to the $29 oil change package because "this car takes a different oil and the basic oil for the $19 doesn't work for this car". We just went ahead with it as she needed the oil changed and $30 was still fairly cheap.

When we went back to pick up the car shortly after, I questioned the guy and asked specifically why a 5w20 dino oil is not covered under the basic package since it a very common oil grade and nothing special. He got all red faced and stuttered a bit and then said because oil prices are so high that they actually lose money on the $19 package. So he basically stated that it had nothing to do with oil grade and that he just didn't want to sell any $19 oi changes because they don't make profit so he just BS'd to charge me $10 for a basic oil change.

Oh, and they never ended up inspecting anything on the car and the wheels weren't rotated. Ever since then my journey began into being the sole individual to work on the cars my family owns.

If I was to get oil changes done it would be at a trusted indi mechanic or even the dealer if the price was reasonable but never a quick lube place.

Most dealers have fairly cheap oil changes with very little margins. They use this to get people in the door and then make money on maintenance work that they up sell the customer on. If you know enough about what you do and don't need or just want an oil change and nothing more, you can end up getting an oil change for a decent price with oem stuff by a competent tech.

I had a family friend ask me to do oil changes on her 5 year old Ford escape eco boost. I asked her what she was currently paying at the dealer. Turned out that for me to buy the proper spec syn oil (on sale) and a filter at a customer cost would have been $3 more than what she was paying for the whole oil change at the dealer. That was without any money for my time. I just told her to keep taking it to the dealer, they will pay much less than I ever will for there oil as they pay cost and buy in bulk.

Any used oil I have goes into old oil jugs marked used oil (don't ask me why I now label them) and after I have 2 or 3 full I just go right into the local Canadian Tire and drop them off in their mechanic bay area. They willingly take it for free as I'm pretty sure they sell it to a company who recycles it. Any brake fluids or coolant goes to to local city dump.