Diy Oil Change

[hondaman2]

I have seen a lot of threads about this so I will post a professional's(former Honda Tech) take on it.

We will start by addressing the first oil change.

I recommend changing the oil for the first time between 7500 miles and 10,000 miles. Why?? To break the motor in. The valves need to seat and all the bearings need to get acquainted with the lobes on the cam and the crank shafts. It also gets the car used to the way you drive. I also recommend breaking in the car hard but I am a mechanic and that is the way I was taught and it has worked great every time(not recommended for rebuilds).

The service light comes on at every service interval(severe and normal conditions, its a dealer trick to get you into their shop). If you drive under normal conditions just reset the service light. To do this, push in and hold the right button down on the instrument cluster for 10 to 11 seconds or until the light goes out on the dash with the ignition turned to the on position(engine is not running).

Now on to the fun part.

To change your oil you will need:

TOOLS

(If you do not have these items you can borrow them, or you can rent them from a local auto parts store usually)

17mm socket and ratchet 3/8 drive
17mm box end wrench 3/8 drive
3 to 6 inch extension 3/8drive (see instructions below)
oil filter wrench
oil pan
some rags
a nice wide and long funnel(to reach the oil fill and to catch the oil filter if desired)
Jack(if desired)
Jack stands(if desired)


PARTS

5 quarts oil(synthetic oil is ok, 5/30 oil is ok in hot conditions. 5/20 in cold...this is due to the size of the oil ports in the head. When oil gets cold it gets thicker).(Dura Lube and PROLONG are great additives in any transmission or engine).
1 oil filter

Note: Honda uses Amsoil oil and filters from the assembly line.

POSSIBLY

new crush washer(crush washers can be re-used)

To change your oil it is easier if you can get under the car easy.
So jack the car up and place on jack stands. You can also use the jack in the car that you use to change a flat tire. Or you can drive up onto a curb or drive over a big hole. The main thing is to get under the car with enough elbow room and breathing space to accomplish the task at hand.

Once under the car, use your ratchet with socket attached to loosen the oil drain plug. After the plug is loose, place the drain pan under the oil pan to catch the oil. Remove the oil plug with fingers or use your 17mm socket and 6 inch extension to hand twist the plug off while you are in an area where you wont get oil on yourself. Examine the plug and crush washer. If the crush washer can be removed from the plug easily it can be re-used. If you have to thread it off and it comes sorta easy then you can flip it. If there is a small ring near the center, it can be flipped and re-used. If it looks crushed and you have to pry off with screw driver or cut off or with whatever method of your choosing it needs replacing. After oil has finished draining replace oil plug with crush washer and finger tighten. Use your 17mm box end socket to tighten. The wrench prevents you from over tightening(around a 1/4 turn after hand tightening). Add your 5 quarts of new oil.

The oil filter...

One way to access the filter is to turn the wheel all the way to the right. Others prefer to remove the right front tire completely. And some just crawl underneath and reach around. The easiest way is by removing the tire, but locking the wheel to the right is easy to just not as easy. Either way you do it, you need to get a filter wrench on the filter and loosen it. Once loose, place oil pan beneath the filter and hand thread the filter off slowly and wait. Gravity will make the oil dribble out.(note: you can jack the car up from the opposite side of the filter to prevent from getting oil on the suspension, only way to do this is by having the left side of the car higher then the right. Example is left jack stand is raised higher then the right, or the left side is jacked up and the car still has the right tires on and is resting on them.) Turn the filter a couple of times and wait and more oil will come out. Turn one more time and wait. Once oil has finished dribbling out hand thread filter all the way off. If you are not careful the filter will fall and land in your pan, if there is oil in the pan you are most likely gonna get oil on the ground, the car and yourself. Another method of removing the filter is to have the funnel you used to put oil in underneath the filter to catch and direct the oil that comes out away from the suspension parts. Once you have waited for the oil to finish draining you can spin the filter off and catch it in the funnel and then dump it in your oil pan. Once the filter is off check to make sure the old filter O ring/seal is off and before putting a new filter on make sure the new filter has an O ring/seal with it. Dab finger in old oil and lube the new O ring before putting on. Hand tighten the oil filter.

You are done. Put the tire back on if you removed it and remove the car off the jack/jack stands.

Its a good idea to rotate tires at every oil change.
Its also a good idea to do an oil change when the oil has had a chance to cool down. You avoid getting burned from the exhaust and hot oil. Plus the oil doesnt spay everywhere.


Dont forget to reset the service light.

What dealers dont tell you is that you can stamp your own book and still honor the warranty. Open the owners manual to the service section. Write in the date and the mileage of the service, then sign your name.

Next oil change is at 7500 miles for normal conditions. Every time the service light comes on for severe conditions. Its ok to be a little under or a little over by a couple 100 miles. 10,000 miles is the most I would wait.

have fun I hope this helps.

[wwong]

Mods, can we make this a sticky?

[chas22]

I believe it is wise to replace the crush washer and also fill the new oil filter about 2/3 full of oil before installing it back on the motor.

[hondaman2]

filling the oil filter with new oil was a good idea back in the day of muscle cars and big block GMs. But Honda has since fixed this and it is no longer necessary. When you do an oil change, if you check the dip stick before running the engine you would of noticed that the level is over the full mark. But after running the engine for 10 seconds and turning it off, check the level again and you will see that the level is now perfect. This is because the filter is now full and that the pump and the channels are all full. Honda also eliminated the need for floating bearings there by creating better fuel economy, longer engine life, cheaper(less) maintenance, and an over all stronger motor, its lighter too and need less oil.

People will tell you that you need to change your oil at every 3000 miles or 3 months. This is not needed for Hondas. 7500 - 10,000 is the recommended interval.

They also did wonders on the Trans. 120,000 miles for a trans oil change is an accomplishment. It used to be every 30,000.

In any case, you can not judge a Honda by what your father and grandfather used to tell you about car maint. It doesnt hurt the car but it is also not necessary. Two totally different classes of technology.

Tip: fill the oil filter with oil if you use a cheap oil filter. Also notice how much oil comes out when changing the filter. A bad filter will not have much come out or much oil in it at all. The cheap Napa brand is one example(not Napa gold).

[hondaman2]

the funnel trick

hard lock the wheel to the right.
put filter wrench on and loosen.

[hondaman2]

stick a funnel under the filter as you twist it off. It will catch the oil and redirect it into the pan.

[hondaman2]

smaller funnel

[hondaman2]

adding oil with funnels

[hondaman2]

diff funnel

[hondaman2]

loosening the oil plug

[hondaman2]

close up of the plug and washer

[hondaman2]

pump jockey fix

[hondaman2]

maint reset button

[tvanhouten]

On the first post that started this thread, it was noted that Amsoil is used from the factory. I am surprised that didn't start a flurry of controversy!

IS THAT REALLY TRUE???

tvanhouten

[CincyDiver]

If I elect to replace the crush washer where would I find a replacement?