vifferman

With just over 17,000 miles on my '04 TSX, I did my first oil change with filter today. The oil change alone (at about 9,000 mi.) was relatively easy with no undue mess, etc. Changing the filter however, is quite a different story. I use wheel ramps to lift my car, then crawl under to do the work. The high-up (nearly hidden) location of the filter makes it somewhat difficult to remove, but the real problem is the mess that it creates when the oil runs all over the drive shaft, frame and underbelly tray upon removal. What a PITA! I must have used a half roll of paper towels before I finally felt that all of the runoff was fully cleaned up. Next time I do the filter, I may consider removing the entire underbelly pan...has anyone else taken this approach?

danslvpt

i used the ziplock bag and cover the oil filter before taking it out...this way most of the oil would be catching inside the bag...works for me every time. Dont forget to remove your right front tires to change the oil filter.

Alin10123

Someone on a Honda forum has recommended to cut away the bottom half of a 1 litre soda bottle.
Loosen the oil filter just enough so that you can turn it by hand but no oil comes out. Then take the top half of the bottle and put it around the oil filter. Then use your hand to turn the oil filter with the bottle over the filter.
According to this guy it works flawlessly and he almost never has to clean up when he's changing oil in his accord. I have yet to try it but it sounds like it might work based on my past oil changes in other cars.

Hope this helps.

One other piece of advice. I'd recommend changing the oil filter everytime you change your oil. It's just an extra piece of security even though in the manual for "normal" it says change filter once for every 2x you change oil. I haven't heard of anywhere changing oil but no filter.

Even with the extended drain interval recommended by amsoil you have to change your filter twice before you have to change the oil once.

mg7726

i use a bag, no problems.

Alin10123

My uncle tried that once with a grocery bag. He thought he was pretty slick too teaching me how to do my first oil change. He was like "usually, oil gets everywhere but watch this!".
Then when he let go of the filte into the bag, he just let it drop. He pulled the bag back up and there was oil in the bag, but no filter. He was like "HEY! WTF?"
The weight of the filter dropping into the bag actually made a hole at the bottom and the oil filter went through the bag. Making an even bigger mess than usual.

:dog:

joerockt

Any reason why you ran the oil filter through 17K miles??

sauceman

Whatever you do with your filter, don't change it the way this dude did!

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ght=drain+plug

joerockt

Classic

matelot

good one

matelot

How do the "pros" (service) do it ?
Should I take a look to see if they made a mess and didn't clean up good ?

JTso

iTrader: (2)

It doesn't have to be messy... Just leave the car sit for awhile, like overnight before removing the filter. There shouldn't be more than a few drops if any oil will come out. I've been doing it for years...

leftride

iTrader: (1)

i'll have to try that....i have been using a funnel with hose method that has proven to be my cleanest method

Chompin

Sitting overnight is a good idea but ever since I've been working on cars they all say to get the oil hot before an oil change so all of the contaminents drain out. But I do like all of the above ideas with the plastic bag and soda bottle....pretty clever.

Deelover

Jack the right side of the car up and take the passenger side tire off. It gives you good access to the oil filter. Then at the filter I just stuff some absorbant paper towels from the auto store under the filter before you start unscrewing it. Unscrew it a bit and let it drain onto the paper for a minute. Slip a plastic bag over the filter, unscrew it and drop it right in the bag. Very little if any oil spilled on the car. I also have that Fram Sure Drain on my TSX. The oil doesn't come out as fast, but you don't spill any either.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Perhaps I wasn't being clear... You can still drain the oil while it's hot. What I was trying to say was if you let the car sit a little longer, the oil from the filter will also drain to nothing due to the poor anti-drain back valve inside the filter.

Alin10123

Fram filter? Oh man...
I've heard nothing but bad stuff on those 4runner forums that i used to surf.
I recommend the Mobil1 filters of the Honda Filters.

Bootlegged

So i'm going to attempt to change my oil myself this go around. What parts do i need exactly?

1) Honda Oil filter
2) Oil Drain Plug Washer
3) Filter Wrench?

Anything else?

Also, when you jack up just one side of the car (right side), doesn't that prevent you from draining ALL of the oil because of the uneven balance? I just figured it would be best to have the car as level as possible...although very difficult to reach the filter from what i'm reading so far.

Thanks in advance for the HELP!

JTso

iTrader: (2)

4) Some new oil would be nice.

People are making it sound more difficult than it really is to change the filter. Just jack up the car at the bottom center frame, where the big arrow on the bottom splash shield is pointing. Support the car with jack stands on both sides of the car behind the front wheels. You can easily reach up to remove the filter. Note: If this is the first time replacing the original oil filter, it will be a little tight. So use your filter wrench. When installing the new filter, only hand tight the filter.

Also, remove the drain cover on the bottom splash shield when draining the oil.

LoveMyTL-S

I was looking at these this past weekend. I couldn't find it listed in the FRAM book. Which one fits the TSX? Thanks.

Bootlegged

Ha! Of course...forgot the Oil Thanks though...i just ordered everything i need from Handa-accessories.com. (minus the oil which i'll get from AutoZone) Once they get here I'll give it a whirl!

Thanks JTso

JeffTSX

You could also spray down the areas that oil has dripped onto with brake cleaner.

Alin10123

Dont use the fram filters. I've read lots of articles about how they rate the worst. Go either Honda OEM or Mobil1.

LoveMyTL-S

Thanks but it's not the filter I was asking about. I am looking for the drain plug.

Eeyore

Some of the newer Honda OEM filters are actually made by Fram. Says Fram right on the side in little letters.

Deelover

There was another thread about the Fram Sure Drain. Try a search. I beleive it's the same one that fits the newer accords fits the TSX. I have to look at the box and see what number it is.

Deelover

The Fram Sure drain is not a filter.. it is an oil drain plug and hose. I have used mobil 1 filters which is my preference, but this last change I did use a fram because they were out of mobil 1's but I used best one they had. They have a bunch of different filters. Different prices. I wouldn't bet on the OEM being a "better" filter.

Alin10123

Here's a study on Fram and some of the other oil filters out there.

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfi...lterstudy.html

Here's a thread to just one of the many threads that the Toyota forum people that say lots of bad stuff about fram.

http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.p...highlight=fram

You can feel free to use whichever filter you choose to.
I'm not sure if the OEM Honda filters have special specs or whatnot, but for some reason the extremely knowledgable Toyota forum doesn't seem to like Fram at all.

mg7726

yes, the newer oil filter from honda are made by fram.

i use the ones made by filtertech, not fram; they don't seem to have any problems. you can get them off ebay,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33661

LoveMyTL-S

If anyone is interested in the Fram Sure Drain, the TSX uses SD-2........

Bootlegged

You can also get them from Handa-accessories.com for $4.88 each...plus shipping of course