How to change Oil

[Woodie]

This is also the time of year that everyone's mileage goes up. Winter gas formulations suck, and the warmer weather is simply more efficient. As soon as you switch the A/C on, the party's over though.

[bootymac]

My dealer's "free oil changes" are for conventional oil only and I had to pay for synthetic last time. I'm going to start changing it myself with synthetic oil and Mobil 1 filters.

Me too, they supply conventional oil only. From last time, I have changed the oil by myself with Mobil 1 synthetic oil and Mobil 1 filter. I don't know is it connected, but after using the synthetic oil about 2,000Kms, in this 2,000 kms, the gas mileage is obviously improved from about 12L/100kms to below 11L/100kms.

Where did you buy your filters from?

[honsonwong]

Where did you buy your filters from?

I bought the oil and filter in Canadian tire while they were on sale.

[KuroNekko]

For those who have changed their own oil: how much spillage during filter removal should I expect?

A few tips on the oil filter having changed the oil today:

- For removing the oil filter, use a cap wrench adapter, but use one that has a deeper cup and a wrench attachment area that does not have the wrench adapter or extension bar protrude to the cap area. I bought a cap wrench that was too shallow and also allowed the wrench's extension bar to protrude into the cap area. This caused the cap wrench to slip off the filter easily when turned. I had to use oil filter pliers instead which was a pain because of the minimal clearance. I then bought better cap wrenches tonight which had both a deeper cup and a raised area for the wrench adapter/extension bar. I got a whole set of these better designed ones at Harbor Freight Tools. The one for the Kizashi's filter is the smallest one on the left and is much better designed than the one I got from an auto parts store a while ago.




- The A/C compressor is located directly under the oil filter so the oil will dribble down the A/C compressor when the filter is removed. However, there is not much oil spilling out. I removed the filter with the opening up to minimize the oil spilled from the filter. Just wipe up the A/C compressor after the filter is removed.

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Hope this helps.

[bootymac]

Is the filter cap adapter necessary? I was hoping I could heman the filter off.

[KuroNekko]

Is the filter cap adapter necessary? I was hoping I could heman the filter off.

In reality, the filter will be on way too tight to remove by hand. Also, there is really not much clearance nor grip area to remove by hand. It's really only finger space. If you can get it off by hand, you get my props, but it's also a sign that the filter was probably not on tight enough. I can't even tighten the filter on the Kizashi well enough by hand because of its position so removal is impossible for me.
Also, I change the oil when the oil is still hot/warm to maximize flow. Removal by hand would risk burns from the hot filter, not to mention the exhaust manifold that surrounds it.
I really think you will need a cap wrench which is the best tool for the Kizashi's oil filter placement. I just placed my new HFT cap wrench on the filter. A perfect fit.
The cap wrench is 65mm~68mm as most are fluted. Get a cap wrench of this size and you will be set.

[bootymac]

Turns out that not only is the Kizashi's filter location the same as our old 1993 Corolla, it also uses the exact same filter! So I dug around and found the Corolla's filter cap wrench from 10 years ago. Full circle

I never bothered with a filter cap for the VWs as I was able to fit channel locks in there

I forgot to ask earlier, but does the Kizashi use up all 5L of oil? The specs indicate 4.5L...

[honsonwong]

Yes, the owner's manual indicate 4.5L (4.8 quarts).

[KuroNekko]

I poured in 4.4 US quarts and saw that it was good. I usually pour in a little less to avoid overfilling. I then check the oil a short time later to see the level. I do my work on an inclined driveway so checking the fluid as I'm doing things isn't always helpful for level accuracy.

[bootymac]

Bah, I hate dealing with leftover oil. Everything is either 5L in Canada or 5qt in America