and I can't get the friggin drain bolt off. I guess the dealer decided to torque it around 150 ft-lbs. I tried wd-40 and liquid wrench. I'm not a weak guy either. Anybody have any ideas to get this off, non-pneumatic, of course?

 

Get yourself an oilboy extractor. Do a search, these things are worth the $50.00. 15 to 20 minutes, plus a little clean up (drain the oil boy) and your done.

 

lefty loosy,righty tighty...

 

How good do these things work? Do they get all of the oil out?

 

where does it connect to the oil filter hole? cause it doesn't look like its going in the oil cap? neat looking product though, whats the capacity?

 

Do you have a pipe that will fit over your wrench. You just need more leverage. I've also used my foot to push the wrench for more torque. Use a 6 point socket or wrench if you have it.

If it takes that much pressure to break that drain plug loose, I would also be tempted to take it back to the dealer and have them loosen the bolt if they did the last oil change in case it's cross threaded or stripped.

 

It is usually very easy to change our oil and oil filter on our cars - everything is very accessible.

I would second the comment about taking it back to the dealer to loosen the bolt, not change the oil though. You can do that yourself.

I also bet the filter is extremely tight too, so just be aware of that.

That is exactly why I always change my own oil and filter, every time. Don't forget to pick up a few crush washers for the oil drain bolt while you are there.

2003 CLS Six Speed
Icebox

 

I would take it back to whoever did it last.

 

It goes in to where you put the dip stick. Really easy to use, takes about 10 to 15 minutes to change the oil. The one I have holds about 2 gallons of oil.

 

just put the wrench on the bolt and hit it with somethin like a hammer or even another wrench...just needs a lil more vibration and force than you can give it with just pullin on it.

 

wd-40

 

I tried hitting my wrench with a hammer. I tried using my 1/2" socket. However, today I saw and oil spot on the floor. I get down to check the bolt and it's hand loose. I guess it just took some time for the liquid wrench to penetrate. Oh well, job done now.

 

glad that it all worked out

 

I think the oil fairy came and loosened it for you.

 

THAT's A MIRACLE in my book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The car g-ds took pity on you!!!!!

 

I could of used the oil fairy this past weekend. I had the same problem trying to get the drain plug out of my '01 CL-S. I made a big mistake letting the Honda dealer change my oil when the car was in for the state emissions inspection. A hammer and wrench did the trick. I called the service manager and raised a little hick. Apparently, the idiot responsible for my oil change failed to use the torque wrench. The next oil change is on them. In addition, they will check the oil pan and replace the drain plug. If the oil pan is screwed up, they buy that too.

 

If you use an oil extractor, How do you get the stuff off of the bottom of the pan. I always thought that when you park your car after driving it you should change your oil while its hot and mixed up to remove everything before it settles to the bottom.

 

The end of the suction touches the bottom of the pan. You can use the extractor with the oil warm/hot without issue.

 

how difficult is it to replace the oil filter?

 

silicone spray > wd-40

 

To answer a few questions with the extractor and filter

The Oil extractor removes all of the oil. I know this because when I refill with new oil, I use 4.6 quarts and the oil is right on the fill line on the dip stick.

Hot oil is best for oil changes as the contaminants are suspended in the oil.
Drive car until hot and park on level surface and turn steering wheel all the way to the right.
Slide some cardboard under engine area (this is me being anal about oil on my garage floor).

Drain
Remove oil fill cap.
Remove oil dip stick.
Insert oil boy line into dip stick slot until you hit the bottom of the oil pan.
Pump the oil boy 5 or 6 times rapidly. (while draining move on to next step).
Get on the floor and slide oil pan under filter.
Wear a rubber glove (because filter is hot).
Lye on your side or back and twist oil filter until oil starts to drain into oil pan.
Let drain entirely and then remove the filter and drain into oil pan.
Place oil filter in plastic bag
By this point, the oil boy should have extracted everything out.
I usually give a few more pumps to confirm all the oil is out of the pan.
Remove oil boy line.
Replace dip stick.


Fill
Measure out 4.6 quarts (I use 5 quart jug so I draw a line at 4 quarts 19 oz.)
Wipe oil filter housing with a clean rag.
Fill oil filter with oil and coat rubber gasket.
Thread oil filter on and hand tighten (1/2 to 3/4 turn after seating).
Fill the engine with oil.
Screw on oil cap.
Start engine for 1 minute
Stop engine and let sit for a couple of minutes. (Move to clean up while engine sits)

Clean up.
Drain oil boy into used oil jug.
Drain oil pan into used oil jug.

Final steps
Measure oil level and adjust if needed.
Look at oil filter for leaks.
Bring used oil to recycle center.

 

Got an Oil Boy last week; seems my RX-300 should never need a tranny fluid change, but Lexus issued new bulletins saying every 15K-30K miles. my trans fluid was burned badly. Seems Acura's not the only one to screw up trannies- the AWDs are failing at a high rate. I have FWD, thank God.

It took me 10 minutes to change it with Oily Boy, plus 30 minutes to drive to the Toyota dealer for the proprietary T-4 fluid.

Cost me $48 bucks on e-bay, already paid for itself!!!!!!!!

 

Specified torque for the drain plug (2003 Cl-S) is 29 foot pounds. I always insist on recording this on the service order when bringing the car in for an oil change, as I had an experience with the drain plug being incorrectly tightened. There is no way that any dealer should tighten the drain plug to the point where an extension is required to loosen it. What we have to realize is that the person changing the oil is a newbie and not a certified technician.

 

with pictures
http://users.adelphia.net/~sthung/oil_change.htm

 

good DIY.

I think I need my tranny fluid replaced. That has to be done by the dealership, correct?

 

Hey I'm going to be changing my own oil for the first time at home, and need help. I read the owners manual and it says you need a special wrench from the acura dealer to remove the oil filter, is this true?

I have a 2001 Acura 3.2 CL-S.

Any help on instruction too would be great!

 

No changing transmission fluid is no harder than changing oil. Go to the dealership and pick-up a new drain plug washer and some transmission fluid (4 to 5 qts) This is the hardest part, If your car has had the transmission recall and a cooling jet was added in place of your transmission fill plug, you'll have to refill the trannie thrugh the hole that the trans. dip stick was in. This is how you had to fill the old Chevys and Fords so it's not a big deal. I went to Lowe's and got a funnel, a piece of clear tubing (1/2"), a hose clamp and brass fitting that fit in the hose with a 1/4" barbed on one end to fit in the fill tube, thats it. I talked to 2 dealerships and they recommened changing, drain and refill every 15,000 miles rather than the 3 times in a roll thing. Good Luck.

 

The best wrench I like can be bought at a tool or auto parts house. Looks like a pair of channel lock pliers with big curved jaws. Easy to use and fits all sizes of filters not just the small filters.

 

Not difficult at all if you have the right sized filter wrench (er whatever they are called)

B

 

skip the wrench and get oil filter pliers. They are about $7 at Autozone but they work great. They are also more universal than the wrench.

 

Boy, that was dumb. Just remove the oil jet from the tranny filler spot. Voila.

 

You can take a chance removing the oil jet and get it back into place if you want to while it's in warranty. But I don't think Ill mess with it . I can see your the real mechanic go man go!

 

Stejus, GREAT write-up!

Bobbydoedoe - GREAT photos and web page! Thanks!

 

Hey Dave, any idea on what size crush washers I should be looking out for? I looked for them and found the following information:

Aluminum Crush Washers
177003 - 3 3/8" 10 $3.93
177004 - 4 7/16" 10 $3.93
177006 - 6 9/16" 10 $3.93
177008 - 8 3/4" 5 $3.93
177010 - 10 7/8" 5 $3.93
177012 - 12 1 1/16" 5 $3.93
177016 - 16 1 5/16" 2 $3.93

Thanks!

 

No, you can do it yourself, or you can find a tranny shop. Be sure that they do NOT pressure flush or use solvents.

Comptech has told me that they use a tranny shop to do their flushes. As long as it is done without any solvents *and* they use the factory method or allow the ATF pump to do the work of exchanging ATF, there should be no problem.

If this makes you nervous, find a reliable dealer with a reasonable price...

 

Ooowee!! Man do I ever need to get one of those!!

 

well, when i did the tranny flush, there were many metal shavings stuck to the magnetic drain plug. i would recommend removing the drain plug and cleaning it.

 

i always did my oil changes when the car was cold...sitting overnight. a theory that ALL of the oil would settle in the pan...then drain right out.

if the engine is hot, some oil is still in the engine...i could be wrong...i'm no mechanic. i guess it's one of those 'bad gas at the bottom of the gas tank' theories...

 

you could drain the hot oil and leave the bolt out and let it continue to drain while you perform other tasks on the car. i used to remove the wheels, inspect the tires and brakes, rotate the tires and do a general inspection of the undercarriage while the the car was up on the lift. by the time i was done, the oil barely drippped from the pan.

 

Can the extractor do antifreeze from the engine block from the rads cap?