Any pointers from anyone...

I bought the filter, oil, oil pan to recycle the oil, wrench to remove the oil filter, and gloves.

I will be buying the rhino ramps tommorow to put the car on.

What kind of oil is everyone using. I just ended up buying castrol syntec. Also it took me 20 mins in the oil filter aisle, i asked the guy at advanced auto and he recommened the puralator.

 

this topic has been discussed so many times i can't even remember. i've only used mobil 1 and oem oil filters. you can't go wrong with mobil 1 fully synthetic.

 

I've been using Royal Purple 10W-30 Synthetic Oil with a Mobil 1 oil filter. I've seen a few comparisons of the RP oil compared to others (yes, including Mobil 1) and it beats them every time. The RP seemed to smooth out the engine a bit. Not much but I noticed. I've heard from a few sources that Mobil 1 oil is not as great as advertised. I have heard good things about Castrol Syntec though. Just my

 

Be very careful with using plastic ramps on the TL. On my first TL oil change I decided to use a $25 pair of plastic ramps. (These were not the Rhino brand.) I thought they were pretty secure but as I rolled up onto the ramps I applied a touch too much gas and both ramps were pulled under the car. The upper corners of both ramps shattered as the car dropped onto them. That was very exciting for me and the person I had spotting the car.

Fortunately there was no damage to the car. I've done many oil changes using metal ramps on other cars but the plastic ramps seem especially prone to skidding on the ground. So be careful with those, especially on reduced friction concrete surfaces.

I'm now doing my TL oil changes with the jack and jack stand method.

Bob

 

I pull mine up onto 2 bricks under each wheel. I am also pretty thin so I have no problem getting to the bolt or filter

 

And please tell me you dont follow the 3k oilchange BS as well??

 

Just did mine on the weekend, using jack stands under the front tow hooks. I will use either Mobil 1 or Quaker State synthetic...and would never use Castrol Syntec. I used to sell oil, and I know the history behind Syntec. Suffice it to say, I'd rather stick with the pure synthetics.

Oh, and as a tip, if your filter is in the same spot as my 03 TL-S, you'll be getting some oil on your hand...in fact, a lot. The thing is nice and accessible...but points downwards, so as soon as you start loosening it, oil just comes pouring down around the filter and your hand. I don't see any way around it, except for loosening it as quick as possible, and then pulling it away. You'll still get your hand covered in oil though.

 

10w-30?

 

Some members place a ziplock bag around the filter before removel- no oily hands
Wear rubber/latex gloves when working with oil
Mobil 1 no longer FULLY synthetic- Mobil High Mileage is- go figure!
Never had any problems with name brand plastic ramps-
Buy a new drain plug/washer combo for 2 bucks and know its never been overtightened
Torque pan drain plug to 29 ft lbs or a really good tug
My new preferance for oil is Penzoil Platinum Fully Synthetic with a K&N oil Filter- similar contruction to Mobil1 filter but -in my opinion- better o-ring seal and a 1 inch nut on the end to aid removal

 

I think I might be using pennzoil syn. I bought the wrong type of syntec so I will return that. I boughr 5w 20 instead of 5w 30.

 

some of the gen 2 cars use 5-30 and the newer cars- in order to meet govt mandated fuel economy standards- use 5-20

 

dnd
I did a lot of research before switching to the Penzoil Platinum Synthetic-
its a giant leap forward in technology, with the adaptive molecules being well suited to our engines and how many of us drive

check their website
Won the SEMA award 2 years ago for best new tech product and is now used by Roush racing and many other teams in Nascar and other series

 

Also the penzoil plat. syn. is on sale at Walmart for $19.97 for a 5quart

 

thats a score- its 30 for 5 qts at the parts store
Thanks for the heads up!

 

mobile 1 synthetic works well....rocks or bricks work well if you don't want to buy something to stop the wheels

 

Mobil1 has changed the formula to a cheaper way, and then introduced the new
HIGH MILEAGE FULLY Synthetic-

FULLY being the operative word these days
to determine what the good stuff is

 

Also be careful backing off the ramps as well. When I used to have my Mustang Cobra I was backing off the ramps slowly and due to the garage floor being slick (painted concrete) the ramps shot out the front, and the car dropped. Scared the crap out of me (and my wife who happened to be standing in front of the car, but in the laundry room so the ramps stopped at the door - WHAM!).

 

I would NOT place jackstands under the tow hooks. Thats not a very safe place for them. I you use the factory lift points or place them under the black subframe area

 

I personally would never use Penzoil no matter how good they are. Their product was teh cause of my boat motor to fry with in 3 gallons of gas and even though they knew it was their oil that caused it they wouldnt do any thing for my 4k motor rebuild bill. I will never use their product again! over

 

I know how you feel kris
I was solid against Pz until this new synthetic
and with a few years race testing on it now- I am confident
Will be doing the oil analysis later and see how it compares to yours

 

A quick question on the topic. When you bring it to a oil change place, they advertise lube, oil and filter. What exactly is the lube part? Lubing the chassis? Should i do this, and how?

 

OK so I was just at the auto store and they said to stick with Max Life. And not to switch over to syn.

 

Dont listen to them.

 

Yes indeed - believe a parts place sales person over the tremendous knowledge base here on acurazine!

Quickie places- lube is what you should use on a personal portal before going there

On way old cars, there were many nipples to actually put grease in the steering bushings, not so much anymore.
You can do better with a can of silicone lube and shoot all the rubber bushings in the sway bars- they certainly wont do that for you.

The general consensus is: the worst thing to do is go to a quickie place- they make sure the oil plug is tight allright... maybe 50 or more ft lbs versus the correct number of 29 ft lbs
Result stripped threads

Do it yourself and do it right

 

Welll I cant get the oil plug off. I was underneath the car for a good 20 mins and it did not move. Any pointers.

 

Use a long bar (breaker bar) with a socket, and hit it a few times on the handle with a hammer- or same idea if using a wrench
remember left loose right tight AS you look at the bolt from under the car- it should turn counter-clockwise towards the drivers side to remove

If quickie place did it last time- just wait till you get to oil filter
Also remove oil filler cap -helps drain all old stuff out

 

Whack it! Make sure you got a good 6-point socked/wrench on there and bang it... In the right direction of course... Lefty loosey, righty tighty!

BTW - crank case vent doesn't allow suction to build, oil flows with cap on or off, if it doesn't you have another problem.

What's this about no 3k oil change intervals? I let my new car run to 3700 before changing and I think I cooked the motor as a result... J/K of course, but I like the 3000 mile interval, the chit looks pretty bad usually by 3k. I let it run this time before I couldn't stand it anymore at 3700, just for giggles, really.

 

Longer wrench or hold the wrench and hit it real hard with a rubber mallet.

 

Sorry didn't see page two before I responded...

 

I am just afraid of hitting it to hard. Yea my last oil change was down at Valvoline

 

i believe our cars are 5k per oil change... seems to me that the newer cars have longer oil change intervals.

 

Our cars are 7500 for normal driving. Thats what the maintenance required light is set to and for

 

Man I just can't buy into that... 7500 on 4 1/2 quarts is a lot of use.

Why do you suppose Toyota uses 6.5 quarts on a V6 as opposed to Honda's 4.5? I haven't been able to figure this out myself, just wondering what you think, not trying to compare, etc.

I'm thinking this is a "green thing" for Honda?

Less oil, longer intervals.

At what expense?

 

kris how do u remove the oil plug if its stuck .

 

I think some BMWs go for 12k without a oil change....

 

No, I change it every 5K miles because I do make a lot of short trips. I know synthetics are supposed to last a long time but I would rather play it safe. I'm probably just paranoid but that's just me.

 

, 10w30 compared to 5w30 doesn't matter much in the climate I live in. It doesn't get nearly cold enough here for the winter rating to matter. Besides, both times that I went to buy the Royal Purple the store happened to be out of 5w30.

 

I am not looking forward to changing the oil my self, but then I just spent 34 on the rhino ramps, 20 in misc tools, plus oil and filter... Also should I stick to the pure one filters or get the fram extended life?

 

Mobil1 or K&N oil filters very good quality build

 

It's really not bad to do... I have it down pretty well so it's a simple operation.

I pull the drain plug and the oil filter before I go to bed... The engine drains and so does the oil filter over night. In the morning I install a new filter and reinstall the drain plug, fill with oil... The drain pan I used gets poured into a 5 gallon blue kerosene can (like a 5 gallon red jerry can but it's blue so I don't accidentally use it to fill the lawnmower) I then tip the pan and spray it with a little carb cleaner then let it sit for a couple hours, this pools up the rest and pretty much cleans the pan... Pour the remaining crap into the kerosene can and wipe the pan with a paper towel, throw the oil change tools in it and place it on the shelf.... The kerosene can is good for almost 5 oil changes, so I don't run to dump it very often.