Ive never done my own oil change on the TL (ive done it before, just not on the TL-S), so... im planning to use Royal Purple Syn 5/20, do i need 4 or 5 bottles. I know its in the manual, but its one of those questions that annoy me and i need the answer fast.

*plus the fact that i cant find my tl manual inside the house*

THANKS!

 

its 4.6 quart so to answer your question its 5 bottles but you're only gonna put a little more than half of the 5th bottle

 

just pour the full 5 bottles in. It wont hurt a thing.

 

I wanna start doing my own oil changes. I noticed the filter being right at the front right tire. How do you guys get to it?

 

on the ground- turn the wheel to the right
on ramps- its right there
I like the K&N filter because it has a 1 inch nut welded to the cap- makes removal a twist of the ratchet or wrench

 

Do you sleep on your K&N filter like a pillow and does it warm you at night?

 

With the wheel turned all the way to the right you can gain access.

 

forget the filter the bolt on the oil pan is whats a bitch to crack......

 

The oil drain plug SHOULD be at 29 ft lbs torque
Thats a good tug and a little tap of the hammer against wrench for the low-tech method

Quick change shops seem to put them about 50 lbs and tighten
the oil filter about 2 turns past tight

First time DIY can be pain, but after that you know its always done correctly.
I replaced the whole drain plug and washer $3 first time so I know everything is fresh.

K&N NGK RacingBrake HawkHPS PenxoilPlatinum Bell Helmet and Firesuit
Everyone should go to track day school Left foot stop Right foot GO!
Guess I should just make a signature!!

 

I just started doing oil changes on my cars. Haven't done the TL yet (another 1500kms to go), but if it's anything like my wife's Accord, I'm not looking forward to it. Couldn't get much leverage when lying on my back w/ the front up on jack stands. Had to whack it a few times to get it loose.

 

I can't recommend enough getting a nice 1/2 inch drive ratchet and the 6 sided sockets. Its really easy to strip that oil pan bolt and stripping that is bad news!

 

I use a 25$ set of plastic ramps. Drive on, use a mechanics creeper on wheels to roll under with the breaker bar/socket or you can use a long box end/closed round end wrench and whack it with a hammer or other big wrench- the geico method!
Just break it loose at this point
Plenty of room to get the 1 inch wrench or socket on my favorite K&N oil filter and drop it then move the catch pan and remove drain plug
Make sure to remove oil filler cap to allow full draining
It can get a little wild, so I use a large flat 3x4 foot pan with a plastic oil catch can thats easy to take to the parts store and empty

 

GQStyle
Read the thread Seafoamed the ol TL in 2nd gen. Do it before the oil change

 

Allright- I am going to do the UNthinkable and agree with Billy S

The right tools for the job are important to make quick work of
maitenance on the TL. A small investment in quality goes a long way

 

I hated changing oil until I got my marine oil extractor- do a search! It cleans up the job and makes it easy to recycle the oil at Advance Auto, etc. It can even be used to extract tranny fluid, but it only gets about a quart and a half since the tube won't go all the way to the bottom.

No more crawling around on the garage floor, except for the filter change.

 

I installed a Fumoto EZ Oil Drain Valve on my last TL oil change.

Check out this thread for more information:

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/want-trade-nextel-i730-infinity-basslink-151969/

There's no more mess with the oil pan bolt or crush washers.

The valve itself is solidly constructed and gets many positive reviews online.

The valve and the needed adapter ran less than $30 with shipping.

Bob

 

Be very careful with using plastic ramps on the TL. On my first TL oil change I decided to use a $25 of plastic ramps. 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 top 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 doubt i can drive on raps, especially with the OEM body kit and Comptech springs .... I can't even jack up the front end with out using a 2nd jack to left the rear end first.

I just use a jack (w/o jack stands, gasp) and a 1/2 wretch drive to remove the plug ... oil wrench to remove the Mobile1 M105 filter.

The valve drain plug that bob_f looks cool but I would be paranoid that it would open while driving.

 

It shouldnt be. It should NEVER be on there that tight. Ive never had a leak, used teh original crush washer for 200k miles and never tightened it more than 20 ft/lbs

 

well i have no idea how much i have tightened the bolt when putting it back on but i do know that it was hard as hell to remove the thing.....plus i laying under the car, with the front wheels on the side walk....(raised about 4 in over stock height)....because i had given my jack stands to a friend......getting leverage is kinda hard it those tight quarters.....

 

Wow I had not had any issue with the plastic ramps but will use the metal set and see if it feels different. You have a spotter- far out! I do put a block behind the rear wheel after its on the ramps.

NEVER get under a car with hydraulic/mechanical jack and no jack stands- humans crush easily under a cars weight, and removing the weight often releases the pressure on the damaged organs causing death
Racetrack knowledge and Emergency Room Nurse wife.

For lowered cars check out the plastic wheel leveling blocks used by RVs and campers. Snap together to form a series of steps to a flat top with stop block. Use them as ramps
see www.jcwhitney.com trailering/rv section

 

That's excellent advice. I always use jack stands. Jacks can and do fail.

When I used ramps I would also lock the rear wheels with a set of heavy rubber chocks.

Here's another bit of emergency room wisdom, never cut anything towards your hands. Always cut away from your hands in the event the knife slips.

Bob

 

My wife dropped our Tl type S at the dealer today and asked about the engine light staying on longer than normal when she starts the car. It flashes but goes away after about 1 minute after that car is started. The dealer said it is due to the oil needing to be changed. Have any of you heard of that before and if that is true is there a code that has to be reset so the light will stay off?

 

You mean the Maintenance Required light? They are 2 different things (main req light and Check Engine light) Yes the light is there and all it means is its time to change the oil. Its preprogrammed for 7500 mile oilchanges.

It means nothing more than its time for a oil change (when properly reset) Its designed to come on full at 7500 miles.
With the car off,Press and hold the Trip and Reset light with 1 hand, while holding them BOTH in turn your key
to the RUN position (not start but run) and continue to hold them in till they turn off. It takes about 10 seconds.
If you turn the key and then press the buttons in you will change the Outside Temp settings