CLean

I just changed to Mobil-1 synthetic and I went with the over sized Mobil-1, # 1-105 Filter that Mantis is using.

How long can I go between oil changes now. Would 5000 or 6000 miles be ok between changes? Or longer??

NiteQwill

I do 7500. Then again, I've only done one oil change so far, only 6K miles on my car.

Once you start using synthetic, it's worthless and a waste of time to change every 3750 due to the very nature of the oil.

My VW sees an oil change every 10K with filter every 5K.

dgracer

I got on a 5k interval (started at 1k, then 5k now every 5k miles) because it is an easy to remember interval. I would feel good about 7500 but any more than that and I would send an oil sample out for analysis before going further. Others are doing it successfully.

sidemarker

just changed my oil yesterday

Royal Purple 5w-20 with HONDA Filter

8k miles no problems!!!!

sidemarker

CLean

Great.... Thanks for the info...

Another thing. Is there any problem using the oversized filter? Does it over work the pump? Change engine oil pressure? Or is it just a larger option??

Dem1K

iTrader: (1)

I NEED to ask this question, and I suppose it can fall under this thread.

I do not know how to change my oil, and I know nobody that can. On my last car, I just took it to Jiffy Lube and thats it. On here, I read that people use Mobil 1 and use the Mobil 1 oil filter. Now for people that have no clue how to change their oil, are we fucked? Because at Jiffy Lube, they don't use Mobil 1. Could I just buy the shit myself, and bring it to like the Acura dealer and have them change it for me? What do I do??

CLean

Go to Wal-Mart and buy a 17mm wrench, an oil filter tool, a drain pan, 5 quarts of oil and an filter.

Under the car (passenger side) you will see the oil pan. It has engine oil written on it. Remove the bolt (17mm) that the arrow is pointing to, oil will come out..... Put the plug back in. If you turn your wheel all the way to the right, in the passenger side wheel well, you can see the oil filter. turn it counter-clockwise with your tool and it will spinn off. Some oil will drain out. Put a new filter on. Hand tight, then go about 1/8 more tighter with the tool. Open your engin and put just shy of the 5 quarts into your filler cap that is just about staring at you when you open the hood.... BAM, your oil is done. About 99% of the Auto-parts stores will take your used oil. DO NOT JUST POUR IT INTO A STORM DRAIN!!!!!

You dont need to use Mobil-1. It is just very high quality. If you do regular 3000 mile oil / fiflter changes you will be fine.

Juffy-lube is fine if you dont care that a 17 year old is wourking on your car. Work makes us take the work vehicles there. I dont trust them. I saw then forget to put the filler cap back on one day.

Basic oil and filter from Wa-mart will go for about 15 bucks total. If you use Moble-1, it goes to about 30.. But you can go longer between changes......

Justin.CL

I don't know how it is where you live, but my Acura dealer changes my oil for the same price as most others in town. Plus they always check everything out like tire pressure, engine noises, ect. for free. And I feel like they take better care of the car.

Plus they give it a free car wash every time you take it for service.

Dem1K

iTrader: (1)

do I have to jack the car up? If so, I dunno how to do that either, lol. You also mentioned to remove the 17mm bolt where it says engine oil and that oil will come out, then to put the plug back in? What plug? And do I let all the oil drain out?

I realllllllly don't think I could do this...I'm almost certain I'd fuck somethng up

BC

You can do it 1K. Don't forget a new 10 cent crush washer for the drain plug.

NiteQwill

Are you serious about the oil change? You can't do it? You cannot fuck up an oil change, other than maybe stripping the bolt because you over-torque it and polluting by getting oil everywhere. My girlfriend changes her own oil by herself, and she is as girly girl as girls can get.

Use an oil extractor if you don't want to get under your car. $69 at a local marine shop. The filter is removed by turning your steering wheel full right lock, and twisting the filter off.

98CLChick

I am a girl and if I can change my oil, I'm sure you can.

Crazy Bimmer

Im sure someone here who lives near you can help you with it. Ask around.

Oh and i change my oil every 4500 miles with castrol synthetic. I do it for the peice of mind.

sidemarker

simple instructions

park on a flat surface
engage e-brake
loosen front passenger wheel lugs
jack car up
remove front passenger wheel
place oil bin under oil pan and remove oil pan bolt
remove oil filter
put on new oil filter
put oil pan back on
put wheel back on car
tighten lug nuts
pop the hood
with a funnel pour 4.6 quarts of oil into motor
place oil cap back on
close hood and wash hands and drive!

sidemarker

Dem1K

iTrader: (1)

how long does it take to drain the oil from the pan? also I remember seeing somewhere that people should fill the oil filter with oil first or something? I dont know. Here I found it...

So I should buy Mobil 1 5w-30 and get a Mobil 1 filter (M1-104, or the M1-105 oversized??). Btw, how long does this entire process take?


P.S. I'm really sorry guys if I seem really dumb, it's just I've never been exposed to doing much to cars myself. But it doesn't seem TOO hard. I just don't know where the jack the car up and shit like that.

mattg

i go 5k between changes. mobil 1 and a wix filter. actually i got a k&n oil filter this time because they were out of wix.

sushimaster

I prefer using those low ramps they sell at Walmart. Makes raising and lowering the car easy as shitting corn out your ass.

Crazy Bimmer

heard those werent safe.

kid_dr

These instructions are simple and complete for anyone with typical mechanical skills (that I tend to incorrectly assume everyone who is a car enthusiast has). Because I have a good friend who is an enthusiast but is new to the "do it yourself" crowd, who has recently had very bad luck with oil changes (had to buy a new oil pan, had a major oil leak which could have resulted in engine failure - he is now looking at an engine overhaul vs. swap), I thought I would add a couple of precautions to take for those who want to do it themselves, but may lack the confidence, experience, etc.

Please forgive me for being long winded here, but I feel compelled to do this and I hope that it is helpful.

First, sidemarker's way of changing the oil is an excellent one. It will teach you (by doing) also how to change a flat if you ever needed to do this. I don't know of anyway to change a flat tire without jacking up the car. Although flats are relatively rare these days, they do still happen, and I think that everyone should know how to jack up a car. I believe the instructions for this are in the owners manual, and I won't go into detail here. Just remember to make sure that you place the jack in the correct place. I always use a torque wrench when tightening the lug nuts (82 ft. lbs for me - Service manual says 80 ft. lbs. - I've had a wheel to fall off a car once - still don't know how it happened but, needless to say - since then, I always use a torque wrench) This is not however mandatory, and I don't carry one in my car (unless on the way to the track) so if I had a flat tire away from home, I would just tighten the lug nuts down firmly, then retourque them later. Also remember to tighten the lug nuts in the correct order (go diagonally across from the first one - do not tighten one next to the one you just tightened). One more thing sidemarker left out - be sure and let the car down off the jack prior to driving off.

Oil drain plug - when removing, remember to turn the oil drain plug COUNTERCLOCKWISE when looking directly at it (lefty loosey). When replacing the drain plug, turn it clockwise when looking at it (righty tighty). The reason I emphasize this is that if you are not looking directly at it, you may be trying to turn the bolt counterclockwise from the opposite side of the wrench. This is clockwise (when looking directly at the bolt) and will result in tightening the bolt! This happened to my friend: he stripped out the threads and ended up buying a new oil pan (about $250 later). Always use a new washer when replacing the bolt (and you do not have to replace the entire oil pan - just a small error of omission by sidemarker ). Here again, I use a torque wrench on this bolt because the oil pan is cast aluminum if I am not mistaken and over the corse of time (or at any moment in time), overtightening can result in stripping the threads. The service manual recommends 29 ft-lbs.

Oil filter: When removing the oil filter - watch what you are doing. Use an oil filter wrench if necessary and turn counterclockwise while looking at the top (not the base that contacts the engine) of the filter. Once the oil filter is off and you have allowed the oil to drain out, take a clean rag and wipe off the oil filter seat on the engine block. Look at it. It should be a very smooth clean surface. This is where my friend had another problem. On his Civic, the oil filter is located behing the engine up under the car and he did not look at the seat. When he put the new filter on, he had a major leak. He later realized that the rubber seal had stayed on the engine block instead of coming off with the old filter. This caused a huge leak, a big mess, and may have resulted (or certainly could have) in the engine failure he is dealing with as we speak.

Before putting on the new filter (I use genuine Honda/Acura BTW), inspect the threads and the rubber seal (again watch what you are doing), then apply a light coat of oil to the rubber seal. Tighten clockwise by hand if possible to 7/8 turn past the point where the seal contacts the seat. If using an oil filter wrench that sits on the end of the filter (one that I have not yet found since Honda changed to the new filter size), then you should tighten to 16 ft. lbs.

Does anyone know where to get one of these oil filter wrenches that fit the new filter size? The old one (I think) is tool #07912-6110001 according to my service manual. I was told that Honda does not yet make a new one. Is this true?

One more thing: ALWAYS check for leaks before you drive off. When you finish replacing the filters and drain plug, wipe all of the oil off the drain pan, and the suspension parts that it dripped on from the oil filter. This way, if you see any oil later, you will know that it came from a leak, and not from the oil change itself. Since I was 16 years old, I've changed the oil in all my vehicles myself (used to do it every 3k miles, now with newer cars and better oil, every 3750 miles - probably overkill, but that is the way I am - part of my pathologic perfectionism). I have probably changed oil about 150 times or more and I have never had a leak! I still always check because I don't want to drive off with one. The costs could be great. Start the motor, make sure your oil pressure light goes off, or check your gauge if you have one, get down on the ground and shine look at the drain plug and the filter for a few seconds. If no leaks, let the engine run for about 5 minutes and get up to operating temperature, then check again. If no leaks you are good to go.

A great reference on how to do things yourself is the Acura service manual available from helminc.com. I hope this helps.

fender4

I change my oil every 10k and filter every 5k,,,, I have my oil analyzed at a lab every 20k. Very basicly my synthetic TBN starts at 12 and after 10k is at 6-7. New petro oil starts at 7-8. I use amsoil and amsoil filter.

also some mobile1 has tested TBN new at 8 some has tested new at 12,,, ????

http://www.amsoil.com/performancetes..._vs_mobil1.htm

CL Type"S"1

I have taken 5 quarts of Mobil 1 into acura dealership since birth of my baby, they do the change for a better price.

sushimaster

I changed my oil yesterday. Not difficult at all once you get the hang of it. Plus it saves you money.

Pictured from left to right:
1. Amsoil Heavy Duty 5w-30 synthetic motor oil.
2. Mobil One 5w-30 synthetic motor oil (I switched to Mobil 1 b/c it's saves me alot more money, but to each his own)
3. oil filter remover
4. funnel
5. Fram PH3593A oil filter, you can also use Mobil One oil filter M1-104
6. socket wrench with 11/16 socket
7. old rag
8. oil pan

As you can see, my car is up on ramps.

Tips: Make sure you put the parking brake on after you drive it up. And let the car cool down before you let the oil drain out or you'll get burned. On the oil pan, make sure you open up the little air outlet valve to ensure proper oil flow. Make sure you don't lose the nut into the oil pan when you unscrew it off the car. Lubricate the new oil filter rubber gasket with a thin film of fresh oil. Do not over tighten the bolt or the oil filter. Check for leaks and continue checking for leaks the next day. Make sure to take the parking brake off when you are done.

Slimey

I see kid_dr is the only one that mentioned using a torque wrench for the drain bolt. I was getting to think that I was the only one who is obsessive enough to do this.

I've know of people and jiffy lubes that have stripped the bolt threads from overtightening. Once these are stripped there is a high likelihood that you'll need a new pan.

On the Acura I use a topsider and never deal with the bolt, but on the Subaru, I always hand tighten the bolt and then use the torque wrench to the manual's specification.

For the oil filter I just hand tighten. Usually that gets me about 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn after the gasket touches. Overtighening here can cause the gasket to not seat correctly and cause leaks. It'll also make the next oil change a PIA.

I've not had a leak yet either. Knock on wood.


I think a torque wrench is necessary for the home mechanic. I get plenty of use from mine just from oil changes and tire maintenance. Almost every bolt on the car has a torque specification (see your Helm manual). Those specifications are there for a reason.

Chaptorial

I'm following the "normal" routine as outlined in the owners manual.

joebennz

this is a lil bit off topic but dont flip out if im wrong.... doesnt the cl take 5w-20. thats what my manual says. and doesnt it mess something up if you use the wrong kinda oil

NiteQwill

Oil weight and grade is dependent on weather, altitude, temperature, and operational environment. 5W-20 is best for economy and everyday use. You can always go with a heavier weight, like 15W-50 if you autocross or track the car a lot. I use 0W-20, gives me good mileage and performance as well as stay clean for a long period of time.

Slimey

This has been discussed before. Look up CAFE standards and the EPA on google for a more complete discussion. Essentially, a car manufacturer gets breaks or looks better in the eyes of the EPA if their entire fleets MPG is higher. Decreased oil viscosity may increase MPG across the fleet, thus making Acura/Honda be a bit more 'green'. Ford has been active with this issue too -- they manufacture a lot of gas guzzling trucks, and to offset this 5W-20 in their automotive fleet will help with overall MPG. 5W-20 development seems to have coincided with more aggressive implementation of these CAFE standards.



Yes, MY2002 and MY2003 CL-S have 5W-20 as the only recommended viscosity. MY2001 has a wider range of oil viscosities to choose from including the commonly 5W-30.

From my own research, I can find no difference in part numbers or specifications with respect to the lubrication system (oil pump, etc), or the main J32A2 block in all the CL-S model years. This supports the widely accepted assumption that Acura changed oil recommendations based on CAFE standards rather then an engineering change.

I think it's pretty safe to say that 5W-30 is perfectly OK for most temperatures ranges in the US. Don't forget to make sure the oil has the recommended API rating SJ (off hand -- might be SL though).