How to change Oil

[Ronzuki]

Plus, I like changing my own brakes and making sure to grease all the places adequately. This is why my brakes never squeal.

Exactly! Lots of marques require that certain bolts be replaced, not reused. Caliper pins may get a certain type of grease as well as shims installed in the right order. Brakes are not a place to cut corners on labor or parts. And I've seen too many shops cut corners to feel safe letting anyone but me touch my brakes.

Absolutely, and dealers are the worst offenders of not replacing required bolts and nuts during service. I had once asked the Jeep dealer to replace the bolts that secured the rear axle & bearing sub-assembly in to the housing after they replaced the leaking seal under warranty. The all-knowledgable service ill-advisor told me (rather condescendingly I might add) it wasn't neccessary. I just said it absolutely was neccessary and plopped the section of the FSM on the counter where in bold lettering it stated very clearly they must be replaced. Why? because once torqued, a bolt stretches and can't be retorqued properly without compromising its integrity. Wouldn't wand my axle shaft leaving the vehicle while rolling down the road at 45-50mph aye? I wasn't able to get the seal repaired that sceduled day because they didn't stock the bolts. Seals yes, required bolts, no. It leaked worse after they finally fixed it. I had to go back again and this time I asked if they wanted me to leave the service manual with them or better yet, go back and show them how to do it properly so i t wouldn't leak. Jeep service sucks.

Moto...are you reading this? Get the Subaru!

[SamirD]

Absolutely, and dealers are the worst offenders of not replacing required bolts and nuts during service. I had once asked the Jeep dealer to replace the bolts that secured the rear axle & bearing sub-assembly in to the housing after they replaced the leaking seal under warranty. The all-knowledgable service ill-advisor told me (rather condescendingly I might add) it wasn't neccessary. I just said it absolutely was neccessary and plopped the section of the FSM on the counter where in bold lettering it stated very clearly they must be replaced. Why? because once torqued, a bolt stretches and can't be retorqued properly without compromising its integrity. Wouldn't wand my axle shaft leaving the vehicle while rolling down the road at 45-50mph aye? I wasn't able to get the seal repaired that sceduled day because they didn't stock the bolts. Seals yes, required bolts, no. It leaked worse after they finally fixed it. I had to go back again and this time I asked if they wanted me to leave the service manual with them or better yet, go back and show them how to do it properly so i t wouldn't leak. Jeep service sucks.

Moto...are you reading this? Get the Subaru!

You too? I spent a considerable time explaining to the service advisor exactly what the manual says about shifting in the automatic--"allow 2 seconds for the transmission to settle in the selected gear before releasing the brake". And the second I get the car back, it has a shift shock that I have to live with forever. What do these people think the manuals are written for? Because the technical writers have nothing better to do?

It's because of little details like this that I'd rather one of my cars sit until I have the time/tools/money to work on it myself than let some half-neck do half-right work for full price. I love hearing the 'oh, you don't need to do that' on forums and from technicians that do the work daily thinking that it's just there to make their job harder. It just reminds me what I need to do.

[twoqttsdad]

Is the oil filter a canister type?

I've purchased a Fram filter from Walmart for my Kiz that only had filter media and o-ring. I noticed that a canister type is used too.

Thanks!

[bootymac]

Is the oil filter a canister type?

I've purchased a Fram filter from Walmart for my Kiz that only had filter media and o-ring. I noticed that a canister type is used too.

Thanks!

It should be the traditional "can" type:



From the parts thread:

Oil filter: Bosch D3325, Fram PH4386, Purolator PL14477

http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... 394#p18394

[KuroNekko]

It's definitely the can "spin on" type as bootymac showed.
Even the first page of this write-up thread clearly shows it's a can type.
You can actually see your filter from just popping the hood. It's located to the bottom left of the exhaust manifold heat shield (the thing that looks like an aluminum cooking container). Look carefully and you can see a part of the oil filter.

The canister types are usually found in Fords, Mazdas, and German brands. Personally, I feel lucky that we have the can type as canister types are more work. My Mazda had one so I know. Mazda even sold a can type conversion kit which goes to show many people prefer the can type.

You also have a wider selection of readily available oil filters from different brands with can type oil filters.

[bootymac]

I've never worked with the canister style filters. They seem a lot messier to replace. Is that true?

[KuroNekko]

I've never worked with the canister style filters. They seem a lot messier to replace. Is that true?

Oddly, yes and no.

The one in my Mazda was located under the car and had a 6mm Allen bolt that you could remove to drain the oil in the canister before removing the filter. The idea was that this would make the filter swap less messy. In a way, it helped. However, you still had to remove the dirty oil soaked filter media from the canister by hand. You also had to replace the gaskets of both the canister drain bolt and the canister (supplied with the new filter). This made it a messy process that took way more time than just using a spin-on can filter.

Many cars with canisters have the filter canister on top of the engine. This is how my dad's VW Jetta TDI is set up. This makes it more convenient to change, but not exactly better than a spin-on in the same location.

While there are some benefits to canister types (like being able to examine the filter media), the disadvantages for the owner heavily outweigh the benefits.
I truly believe automakers opted for canisters to try get customers coming to dealers for oil changes. Even the owners manual stated that a "special tool" was needed to remove the oil filter from the canister so that "service at a dealer was recommended". Nonsense. That special tool is merely an oil filter cap wrench, not very different from those needed for spin-ons.

So basically, spin-ons are MUCH better and easier to deal with. More brands offer spin-on filters too. I was basically stuck with Motorcraft filters for my Mazda unless I went out of my way to seek other brands. With spin-ons, nearly everyone makes a filter for the car as the same size is used by different makes and models. I've currently got a Mobil 1 oil filter in the Kizashi. It's physically smaller than the OEM size filter, but has more pleats to hold more contaminants. It also has a stronger construction to withstand higher oil pressures and resist bursting/punctures (not an issue with most cars, but more for high performance or offroaders).

[twoqttsdad]

Thanks.

I got my Kizashi's oil filter mixed up with my wifey's Highlander.

Need to do an oil change for the first time in years!

[bootymac]

Need to do an oil change for the first time in years!

How long/many miles has it been?

[SamirD]

I've never worked with the canister style filters. They seem a lot messier to replace. Is that true?

On my Porsche--definitely. Think about how much oil you really have to touch on a can filter--it's like a cup, so you know where the oil is. Then think about a canister--you have the cup, but then you have the media that you have to handle too.

There's one of those canister to can conversions available for the Porsche too. But I'm sure the engineers did this the way they did for a reason, so I'll just use the factory stuff and plan my oil changes a bit better.