While we are on topic here, what do you think of the lordco brand oil?

Most shops are like that. The flat-rate time for an oil change varies from different dealerships. For Honda, they charge .3 of an hour @ $120/hr. The "assorted fees" that you're talking about is the shop supplies. Brake clean, rags, washer fluid etc ain't free.

There are no cash grabs here, you just have to understand how a dealership, or even some independant shops work.

:facepalm:

Admittedly shops will usually buy oil in drum form, but if you're looking at full synthetic from a retail store, you'll be paying between $40 and $70 at regular cost. A good filter like Purolator will still cost you at least $10 as well. Factor in labour and shop supplies, and suddenly an oil change at a dealership actually doesn't sound too bad. I've taken to bringing my cars to shops during winter now, partly because my time is better spent doing other things than a basic change and worth more than the $20 I'll be saving from DIY, and partly because I don't feel like lying on frozen pavement while there's three feet of snow around me.

I've used it in the past. Haven't run any oil analysis kits on my oil changes in a few years, but I didn't notice anything noticeably wrong with it. It's cheap semi-synth. What more do you expect?

Tutorial post

I have never taken a car to a shop before, because I've always worked on my own cars. Oil changes are quick and easy, though you'll need to have some tools handy to do anything.

- Jack and jack stands, or car ramps and wheel chocks
- Correct sized socket for your oil drain plug, and a ratchet (3/8 drive)
- Oil filter wrench
- Oil catch pan
- Motor oil (read your owner's manual for type)
- Oil filter (factory replacement first, aftermarket brand second)
- Rags for misc. cleanup and oil level check
- Funnel

1. Ensure that your engine isn't hot before working on it.

2. Have your car on a flat, level surface and jack the front of your car up / drive it onto your car ramps.

3. Place jack stands under a sturdy part of your frame and chock your rear wheels, leave the lifted jack in place unless it's in the way. You may use the factory widow maker if you must to lift your vehicle, I've done it before, but it's more involved.

4. Put the transmission in park / engage the e-brake.

5. Undo the oil fill cap from the top of your engine.

6. Get under your car and place the oil drain pan underneath the oil drain plug and the oil filter.

7. Slowly remove the oil drain plug, grasping with your fingers before it becomes fully loose will ensure you won't be fishing for it in your drain pan.

8. Let the oil drain until it comes to a very slow drip, this is an excellent time to inspect the drain plug magnet for unusual metal buildup. Clean the drain plug and re-install it into the oil pan.

9. Ensure that your drain pan is under your filter and use your filter wrench to begin loosening the old filter element. You may find that it starts to gush oil before it's fully removed, you may postpone the removal until it finishes draining for cleanliness. Remove the filter and dump any residual oil into your pan, set the filter aside.

10. Grab your new filter element, and give the rubber o-ring at the top a light skim of motor oil. Carefully thread the oil filter onto the shaft, making sure that it doesn't bind or cross thread. Continue to tighten with your hand until it becomes snug against the engine block, give it one last tug to seat it properly. Do not, under any circumstance, use the filter wrench to tighten the oil filter, hand tight is perfect.

11. Remove the oil drain pan from under your car and set it aside without spilling any oil.

12. At this point you could either fill your engine with new oil while it's raised, or remove the car from it's stands and fill while it's level. Make sure to use a funnel, it makes this job a lot cleaner. Consult your owner's manual or a reputable website for the oil capacity of your engine, do not overfill. Whichever way you fill your car with oil, make sure that you remove it from it's stands before you start the engine and verify the fluid level.

13. Re-install the oil fill cap and run the engine to check the oil level. Remove and clean off the dipstick, reinsert the dipstick and remove it again, check the level. If the oil level is between the min/max indicators, everything is kosher.

14. If you can, refill the new oil containers with your used oil, it makes it easy to transport the used oil to a recycling center.

15. Clean up.


It's mentally rewarding to successfully fix your own vehicle, and there are a handful of basic repairs that anyone can do given the proper instructions. I have the luxury of a large shop and a proper car lift, but the average person can achieve excellent results without fancy machinery.

I recently made a video of an oil change on my Prelude.
It's old footage I just put the video together over the long weekend.
I forgot to capture a few shots though.

where did you place the jackstands for the prelude? Is it at the same place as where you would place the spare tire jack?

Yes

The main critical process in the car maintenance is oil change; we need to keep changing it on a regular basis to keep the car in the good condition. I feel it’s better to follow DIY method, as we can save time and money as well. Thanks for sharing the easy ways for it to do...

thanks google search that nobody asked for

There are mobile oil change services that come to where ever you are, don't even have to waste time bringing in the car.

I know it's an old thread, but good luck to anyone trying to find enough oil to do an oil change for $15 lol. $15 gets me about 1L of full synthetic oil, and depending on the brand of oil that could be at wholesale cost too