I'm planning on doing a long overdue oil change on the weekend and have been wondering about a couple of things as its the first time ive done this myself. My service manual says I should raise the car at the back but I'm not convinced. I would have thought raising the front would seem more obvious. Does it make any difference? Also the manual talks about tightning the sump plug to a certain torque. I dont have a torque wrench - so about how many turns or how tight should I do it up. I am determined to at least do some of the servicing of my car myself but any advice from some one more experienced would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

You only need to jack the front up. Make sure you have your handbrake on and chock the wheels if you feel uncomfortable. Use jack stands.

The sump plug just needs to be tight. Give it half a turn past finger tight or so. I highly recommend getting a 380 sump plug. They are a 16mm and are easier to take off.

You are saving money by doing your own oil change, why not invest that in a torque wrench ($40 on eBay) and some sockets?

As above, the 380 sump plug saves hassles later on. The 24 mm sump plug has a thin head and rounds off easily, especially if over tightened - which you will do if you don't use a torque wrench!

If you get serious about working on your own car, a torque wrench as many other uses anyway. lol Spark plugs, wheel nuts, etc.

You will also need an oil filter -Ryco z456 or equivalent, and a filter wrench. The strap type works best.

And look out for specials and buy up a few filters and bottles of oil at the same time. Can often get Penrite 10w50 full synthetic for $40 on sale (the preferred oil amongst the forum members). Supercheap currently have it for $80 for 10l.

I got 10 filters recently on eBay for $75. Maybe 10 is a few too many but we have 2 Magnas and 2 380s in our extended family.

My oil changes cost me about $47 with fully synthetic oil.

And look out for specials and buy up a few filters and bottles of oil at the same time. Can often get Penrite 10w50 full synthetic for $40 on sale (the preferred oil amongst the forum members). Supercheap currently have it for $74.95 for 10l.

I got 10 filters recently on eBay for $75. Maybe 10 is a few too many but we have 2 Magnas and 2 380s in our extended family.

My oil changes cost me about $47 with fully synthetic oil.

I am buying 20 litres this week.


You are saving money by doing your own oil change, why not invest that in a torque wrench ($40 on eBay) and some sockets?

As above, the 380 sump plug saves hassles later on. The 24 mm sump plug has a thin head and rounds off easily, especially if over tightened - which you will do if you don't use a torque wrench!

If you get serious about working on your own car, a torque wrench as many other uses anyway. lol Spark plugs, wheel nuts, etc.

You will also need an oil filter -Ryco z456 or equivalent, and a filter wrench. The strap type works best.

I don't use my torque wrench for much. Spark plugs I do 2/3 of a turn after alloy contact, wheel nuts I do up with my rattle gun, breaker bar of (in emergencies) with a wheel brace.

The only thing I have used my torque wrench for is timing belts (1/2 drive) and rocker covers (1/4 drive). I spend $80 each on 3 of them and am yet to use the 3/8th one yet. I also do a lot more work on my car than the OP will be in the near future. Lots of learning to come. Strap wrench is a good idea for oil filters but when I put them back on I never go too tight. I bought one of these things for oil filters, it's a grippy oven mitt but it works a treat!

http://www.kitchenwaresuperstore.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/2/small_image/135x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/k/i/kitchen_grips_flxaprene_chef_s_oven_mitt_28cm_blac k_1.jpg

Penrite 10w50 $79.95 in the catalogue but $74.95 is very good if your local branch has it at that price. Repco have some good discounts on oil at times, probable better than SCA sale prices.

Repco has HPR10 for about $52 normally - for 5 litres - less for auto club discount.

For my oil change this weekend, I bought Castrol Edge Titanium 5w40 for $66, on sale, from Repco.

I don't use a torque wrench for the sump bolt, It could probably come in handy but I would rather just do it up sensibly tight and leave it at that. I also recommend the black plastic strap filter wrench, removing it can be a bit of a hassle if it has been on there for a long long time, I just fitted a brand new motor and the filter has been on there from factor so its a 10 year old oil filter.

I find the easiest way to remove and really stubborn filter is to jack up the car, support it on stands, remove the front, right wheel, remove the black plastic shielding that would be right behind the tyre then you have direct access to the filter. You will get really nice leverage from that location, however before you put the new filter on, put a little bit of new oil around the rubber seal and then put the filter on by hand, do not use the tool to refit it.

Now for the basic oil change, jack the car up, support it on stands, check to see that you can loosen the nut easily enough, so crack it, but then tighten it so it cant come loose but enough so you can remove it again with ease.

If you are unsure about the service history or notice when you look with a light into the oil filler hole that the rocker arms are dirty, or covered in old varnish or you can see sludge then your motor will benefit from an Engine Flush, Liqui Moly, Nulon or Wynns all make good engine flush. So put the flush in the motor, let the car idle for 15 minutes, even if you are not using the flush, still run the motor to get the oil warm as warm oil flows out a lot nicer than cold oil, and being warm you have more chance to removing unwanted residue. With that said please dont burn yourself, use some thick gloves to remove the sump plug to empty the oil if need be, this also reduces the chance of loosing the plug in the bucket of oil.

Once the oil is drained, remove the oil filter, clean the mating surface for the filter, refit the new filter, refit the sump plug, put in 4.5 litres of oil, leave it a few minutes, then check the dip stick.

As for what oil? Most recommendations will be Penrite HPR10 or Genuine and for good reason too. Filter I don't recommend Coopers, but Ryco Z456 or Genuine

I don't even bother with jacking the car up reach underneath with a 24mm Ratchet, and crack the sump plug nut, slide the Oil drain pan underneath, and undo the sumpnut with my fingers..
Oh, and plastic sheeting underneath, just in case... :)

What are the oil change intervals if fully synthetic oil is used?

What are the oil change intervals if fully synthetic oil is used?

5-15000 depending how much you can afford/ when its starting to become to black.

Theoretically speaking using a fully synthetic should not change the service intervals.

I had heaps of trouble with the sump plug, ended up having to buy a breaker bar to get the thing off. I was really rushed for time but was none the less very proad of myself for completing my first oil change. I drove the car straight away and it was running smoothly, no problems. The next day I finally had time to check the oil level again. Even though I was very carefull to get the level right I was pressed for time - to my dissapointment I have discovered the oil level is slightly over full. On the dipstick the level is about a cm past full. I was considering how I might drain some of the extra oil but I don't really want to have to undo the sump plug again and try to tighten it back up while oil is coming out. Should I be worried about the level. Even though the oil level is a bit over I'm not blowing smoke or anything and the car seems to be running really well.
Oh and thanks for for all the replies to my thread.

It's not good to have it overfilled.
The crank spins in the oil and froths it up from what I have read and supposedly too much oil is as bad as too little. I have had no experience with overfilling (or underfilling for that matter) so cannot comment with any certainty.

What is the factory stated oil change interval?

I have some experience in over filling. Before I became interested in maintaining my car I overfilled the oil by heaps. Was pooring ou smoke and even got threatened with a defect by the cops. This time it's only slightly over but it stil worried me as oil can damage the timing belt, seals spark plug etc. I'm sure the level was correct before I did the oil change and I'm also sure I drained more oil than I put back in so I'm not sure why the level is a bit over full. I guess if it's a problem the damage is already done. I am planning on replacing the timing belt water pump, seals, gaskets etc anyway. I just don't want to ***** things up if I can help it. Mechanics charge so much I really have to do this stuff myself.

The engine will burn off the excess. Not good for oil seals though. If you're really worried then undo the sump plug half way and let it dribble out.

Overfilling a sump by 1 cm is not a problem. I do it all the time to ensure the oil level doesn't. drop below full during the oil change interval. If you look at the engine design, the oil level of the sump is nowhere near the spinning crankshaft.
It is not going to affect the timing belt or water pump either, unless you have oil leaks in that area already.

If you want to get it spot on, add 3.5L after draining and changing the filter, then start the engine, run for 30 seconds, shut down and wait 10 minutes, and check the oil level. Add oil as required, but give it time to drain down to the sump before you check the level. Usually takes about 4 L altogether, or less, even though the manual says it takes more. Dry fill is 4.5L IIRC.

If the sump is too full, you will hear a GLOOP GLOOP sound from the engine. How do I know this? Daughter overfilled her first car by 4L once. lol No harm done after that excess was drained off. lol

I always put the oil a few mm above full to ensure i dont get problems with oil pickup when im going down the mountain

I'd seriously invest in the 380 sump plug as previously suggested. It is much easier to get off. I still have the standard one on my Ralliart but use an impact socket which grips it better (the ends of the socket are not slightly rounded like most sockets).

I do find our 380 oil changes a bit easier because of the change in design.

If you drained the oil cold, you probably didn't get as much out compared to warm/hot oil. Added the manual specified volume could then lead to a slight overfill.

Well done though. Next will be to tackle a coolant change? A little more involved if you are to flush the system properly but another skill that allows you do progress to doing all your routine maintenance. Brake fluid once you become more skilled but remember this is a safety issue so a lot of people still get a mechanic to do it.

I've just learnt each maintenance item by taking my time and using the workshop manual. Changed and flushed my transmission fluid last week. This was not as hard as I thought either.

Now need another trip to the oil recycle drop off with the 30l of so of oil I've accumulated again........