DIY Oil Change

[Acura604]

OK.. after paying ACURA a whopping $80 for my latest oil change, I've decided that I will be doing this myself from now on.

I've done tire rotations, brake pad replacements, cabin & air filter replacements, assorted bulb replacements, etc. but have kinda shyed away from fluid changes as it can be messy.

So my question is, is there a good cost-effective oil change kit I can buy out there? I have jack stands and tools/ assorted sockets... but what i'll need is oil pan, a few funnels and I think thats really it? (aside from the oil and oil filter itself).

both my vehicles take 5w20 and i see that its much cheaper to buy oil in the states.

also on my agenda for fluid changes are power steering fluid flush and brake fluid flush but I want to take the easy way for now via turkey baster/ or a big syringe.

any input would be appreciated.

[IMASA]

Pretty much, I use an oil pan like this as I prefer a pan that is a sealed container
http://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/imag...-2-53291_3.jpg


You'll need a tool set obviously. It would be helpful to get the correct size oil filter adapter/wrench to remove your oil filter, vs using those generic band style filter wrenches. Consider picking up a magnetic drain plug if you don't have one already.

I don't bother buying my oil in the states anymore, maybe if I'm already there. When oil is on sale at Crappy Tire, it's around $30-35 for synthetic 5W20, which is close to the price in the states.

Good idea to pick up a factory service manual for your car if you decide to start DIY'ing.

For power steering, I just used the fluid from Honda.

For bleeding brakes, I use a Motive power bleeder. They don't have the adapter for Honda's, but the universal kit works for me and I use clamps to hold it down.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by Acura604

OK.. after paying ACURA a whopping $80 for my latest oil change, I've decided that I will be doing this myself from now on.

I've done tire rotations, brake pad replacements, cabin & air filter replacements, assorted bulb replacements, etc. but have kinda shyed away from fluid changes as it can be messy.

So my question is, is there a good cost-effective oil change kit I can buy out there? I have jack stands and tools/ assorted sockets... but what i'll need is oil pan, a few funnels and I think thats really it? (aside from the oil and oil filter itself).

both my vehicles take 5w20 and i see that its much cheaper to buy oil in the states.

also on my agenda for fluid changes are power steering fluid flush and brake fluid flush but I want to take the easy way for now via turkey baster/ or a big syringe.

any input would be appreciated.

There are 3 basic types of oil.
You have regular dino oil.
The true Synthetic oil that is $10 a litre made in Germany like the Castrol 0w30
and the heavily refined dino oil that they call "synthetic" like most of the US made Mobil 1.

Once you are done your oil change, I usually put the oil back into the empty jug and take it to Crappy tire where they have a used oil collection tank as opposed to people who just dump it down the drain.

As for flushing the brakes, a turkey baster will not suffice. What you need is to buy some speed bleeders or get a friend to help you bleed the brakes and make sure you don't get any air into the system.

[91civicZC]

Originally Posted by Acura604

OK.. after paying ACURA a whopping $80 for my latest oil change, I've decided that I will be doing this myself from now on.

I've done tire rotations, brake pad replacements, cabin & air filter replacements, assorted bulb replacements, etc. but have kinda shyed away from fluid changes as it can be messy.

So my question is, is there a good cost-effective oil change kit I can buy out there? I have jack stands and tools/ assorted sockets... but what i'll need is oil pan, a few funnels and I think thats really it? (aside from the oil and oil filter itself).

both my vehicles take 5w20 and i see that its much cheaper to buy oil in the states.

also on my agenda for fluid changes are power steering fluid flush and brake fluid flush but I want to take the easy way for now via turkey baster/ or a big syringe.

any input would be appreciated.

A couple of notes

If your oil filter is on the back of the block like it is on the older B/D series Honda motors, be prepared for some dripping mess of the back of the block. Just lay down some newspaper AROUND the fluid tray you use and you should be good to go.

Funnel make sense for pouring oil in, or just have a steady hand (I don't, so I use a funnel).

Honda normally uses a proprietary blend for their power steering fluid. When you get around to doing it If you are not buying the fluid from the Honda/Acura dealer, you can get generic brands that say right on them "for Honda/Acura Cars". Make sure you get the right fluid or you can run into pump/system issues.

[Acura604]

Vehicles involved:

2008 Acura TL- S 6MT
2006 Honda Civic EX sedan 5MT

both share the same oil filter as well as oil type which is great and both have real good youtube video DIYs so it'll be super easy.

one thing i do not have is a torque wrench and noted that on some of the youtube DIYs, they mention that the oil pan bolt should be 'torgued' to a certain amount...how important is that?

[josel_atr]

I saw a discussion about this on a separate thread on RS.

EZ Oil Drain Valve - Home

I think its a pretty neat

if you like to DIY, you should at least get a set of tools or even invest on quality ones.

for oil change I think Honda uses a 17 socket. not sure though im not a mechanic haha

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by Acura604

one thing i do not have is a torque wrench and noted that on some of the youtube DIYs, they mention that the oil pan bolt should be 'torgued' to a certain amount...how important is that?

Originally Posted by josel_atr

for oil change I think Honda uses a 17 socket. not sure though im not a mechanic haha

Yes, all my Honda's used a 17 mm socket.

Make sure you get a new crush washer when you get your oil filter, if you are getting it from Honda/Acura.
And remember to pry off the old one from the drain bolt.

I don't use a torque wrench on my drain bolt, but that being said I am know to over torque bolts and strip them.
Too lose and the drain bolt will fall off. Too tight and you may damage your oil pan.

[josel_atr]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

Yes, all my Honda's used a 17 mm socket.

Make sure you get a new crush washer when you get your oil filter, if you are getting it from Honda/Acura.
And remember to pry off the old one from the drain bolt.

I don't use a torque wrench on my drain bolt, but that being said I am know to over torque bolts and strip them.
Too lose and the drain bolt will fall off. Too tight and you may damage your oil pan.

yup. hand tight the drain bolt and oil filter.

I use fram oil filter with the grip at the bottom of the filter. it helps taking it out without the air filter tool.

[Traum]

Another option is the Fumoto Drain Valve:

Fumoto Valve | Qwik Valve™

Originally Posted by josel_atr

I saw a discussion about this on a separate thread on RS.

EZ Oil Drain Valve - Home

I think its a pretty neat

if you like to DIY, you should at least get a set of tools or even invest on quality ones.

for oil change I think Honda uses a 17 socket. not sure though im not a mechanic haha

[BrRsn]

I have a jack and stands but I almost always use ramps for oil changes. Faster, easier (especially if you don't know the proper jack/stand points), and safer IMO.

Buy Crush washers/Filters in bulk, buy oil when it goes on sale (Almost always Canadian tire for me)

You don't need a torque wrench for the oil pan bolt, just use common sense. My honda got stripped when some dummy used a impact gun to tighten it

[CCA-Dave]

Funny enough, I was thinking about starting a thread for things I wish I had learned from the beginning when it comes to tools and car maintenance. The simply oil pan is one of those items.

I, like most people, started out with the "enclosed" oil pan as linked above, and in the spoiler below. You'd think it's an elegant solution, with everything "all-in-one", and in theory you can drive the unit to Canadian Tire and have them dump your waste oil without ever having to transfer containers yourself. In practice, however, that evil son-of-a-b**** becomes an oily, dirty mess which is almost impossible to clean and leaks everywhere. 1) The plastic is cheap, and the threaded caps don't seal very well. 2) The black portion of the unit is texturized, so if you do get oil on it (inevitable) its almost impossible to clean. So, you end up storing the thing in a garbage bag, and every-time you use the damned thing it's an oily mess.

Spoiler!

A number of years back while buying oil, I figured the hell with it and bought one of these oil pans for $2. At the time I figured I'd just throw the damned thing out if it was a messy disaster. I think I own five or six of them now. They are smooth plastic, so with about three squares of the blue shop towel I can have it almost perfectly clean, a quick spray of brake clean and a 4th square of blue towel and it's perfect. The six stack together, and are useful as parts trays, cleaning trays, drain pans and more.


Buy two funnels. One funnel is your "clean" funnel, which you will only use for putting new fluids in your vehicle. The other funnel is your dirty funnel which you will only use for draining your pans back into containers for proper disposal. My dirty funnels in the shop are always black, my clean funnels are colours. Can't mess 'em up. Never get dirt in my vehicles important bits. Funnels are cheap, I have different ones for different fluids, but if you don't have the storage space brake clean will clean the funnel out and allow you to switch between fluid types.

-Dave

[IMASA]

I haven't had any issues with my sealed oil pan leaking. I've used the same one for 10+ years. I don't take the oil pan to crappy tire to dispose of it, I just transfer the oil into the oil jug at home.

I don't like the open pan design, I find that messier as lots of debris gets stuck to the inside of the pan. Personal preference I guess, but I probably don't work on my cars as often as you do

[6o4__boi]

how important is it that you change your crush washer?

I haven't changed mine in about a year or so...i had a bunch of them kicking around but i lost them and i've been too lazy to get some.
I think i got em in bulk from g5 along with some honda filters a while back.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by josel_atr

yup. hand tight the drain bolt and oil filter.

I use fram oil filter with the grip at the bottom of the filter. it helps taking it out without the air filter tool.

Sorry. You lost all credibility when you admitted to using Fram filters.

Originally Posted by 6o4__boi

how important is it that you change your crush washer?

I haven't changed mine in about a year or so...i had a bunch of them kicking around but i lost them and i've been too lazy to get some.
I think i got em in bulk from g5 along with some honda filters a while back.

As long as drain bolt isn't leaking, then it's all good as far as I am concerned.

[josel_atr]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

Sorry. You lost all credibility when you admitted to using Fram filters.

hahaha I used them on my previous evo 8 and now on my evo 4. no problems in many years of using them

[6o4__boi]

lol i use fram
i was using oem honda's for the longest time but when i ran out i was like

i change my oil every 3-4months/5000kms anyways

besides, doesn't fram make the current oem honda filters anyways

[josel_atr]

Originally Posted by 6o4__boi

lol i use fram
i was using oem honda's for the longest time but when i ran out i was like

i change my oil every 3-4months/5000kms anyways

besides, doesn't fram make the current oem honda filters anyways

I just read that that's the case.

ill do a little bit more reading because I don't want to regret using fram in the long ass run

[Traum]

FRAM's response:

YouTube

[H.Specter]

Do you guys prefer aftermarket oils (ie. From CT) or going OEM (say from Toyota directly)?

[SumAznGuy]

Read my post up top about the main types of oil.

Best bang for the buck "synthetic" dino oil, imo, is the Penzoil Platinum when it is on sale at CT or Walmart USA.
Walmart Canada use to have it for $24 for the 5L jugs.
Now they are the 4.4L jugs for $45 bux.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by 6o4__boi

besides, doesn't fram make the current oem honda filters anyways

Don't think so.
Most Honda filters are made in japan.

The problem with Fram filters is that they are made with a paper filter, and there is less of it, ie less surface area.

If you are constantly changing fluids, like every 8000 km's and your is clean, then that's fine. But for a few $ more, I would go OEM over a fram filter.

IIRC, there was another difference between OEM and Fram. It had something to do with the drain back plug in the filter. Basically, if the oil drains out of the filter, then during startup, it will take a few seconds longer to build up oil pressure with the Fram filters.

[boibuddha]

Originally Posted by H.Specter

Do you guys prefer aftermarket oils (ie. From CT) or going OEM (say from Toyota directly)?

Really depends on the applications; if I'm changing it out every three months, whatever engine oil that is on sale works for me. If I'm keeping it in car longer than that, I would use OEM stuff.


CCA-Dave was spot on about that closed oil pan container, I spend more time cleaning that thing than using it due to the textured finish.

The Honda crush washer will curl up ever so slightly when enough torque is applied, but the method I used was to get it wrist-tight then about a 1/4 turn of using my arm for leverage.

As for obtaining crush washers, the guys at Surrey Honda give them to me for free. I'll buy a filter or transmission fluid and just ask for washers.

[6o4__boi]

Yeah...if I plan on keeping the oil in there for a while I'd probably go for oem too

Where do u (Honda) guys buy your oem filters?
Last time I think I bought like 20 filters from garage 5 for a bulk price...that was so long ago I don't even kno if they sell it still

[Traum]

Originally Posted by H.Specter

Do you guys prefer aftermarket oils (ie. From CT) or going OEM (say from Toyota directly)?

Unless you are trying to eke out that last little drop of hp to help you win a race or something, any of the major brand name synthetic oils are going to suit you just fine. Stuff like using the right grade for your vehicle, your operating conditions, and sticking to a regular OCI (adjusted according to your usage) are far more important than the specific brand of magic oil that you choose.

[SumAznGuy]

As for flushing your brakes, any brake fluid will suffice if it is for a regular street going car.
Remember, brake fluid will absorb moisture from the air so it is a good idea to properly flush the brakes once a year.
Most cars can use Dot 3, Dot 4, Dot 5.1 or Dot 6, and these fluids can be interchanged or mixed but do not use Dot 5 which is a silicone based brake fluid and is specific to Harleys and a few other cars iirc.

The different types of brake fluids have different dry and wet boiling points. For most street cars, a Dot 3 will suffice. Personally, I run a Ford HD dot 3 fluid because it is only $1 more than regular dot 3 and has a higher boiling point than some dot 5.1 fluids.