Changed my oil for my first time last night

[dtholmanmax]

So it had been a while since the oil was changed - I usually go by what the car tells me rather than just 3K miles because I drive so much that this would be once a month. In any event, I was beyond that and the truck kept saying oil change required. I am normally changing the oil at about the 10% left mark but just hadn't had the time to make it in to my usual shop. I figured this may never happen, so I decided to do it myself. Mainly because it was more convenient and I THOUGHT I might save a little money. Knowing that for the first time, it would probably cost a little more the first time for supplies, I bit the bullet. The change itself went ok until I went to add the oil back in. I normally use synthetic blend 5w30. For whatever reason, my head was in my ass at the parts store and I got 5w30 dino. I went ahead and put it in - if I change it like a good soldier at 3000 mi, will this be ok? Next time I'm going to put Motorcraft syn blend 5w30 in it - so happens that Autozone didn't have it in 5w30 last night.

What I learned from this experience:
1. It's not that much cheaper to do it myself - the oil alone was $15 & I have no idea what the filter cost but if it was more than $4, it cost me more than what I pay at Firestone.

2. I'm sure everyone else knows this, but the filter that my truck is SUPPOSED to get is much larger than what Firestone had been putting on. I got a Wix (no Motorcraft at O'Reilly when I bought the supplies) but I like the idea that it is much larger. It seems that more surface area is better.

3. I think my oil was ready to go - had very little viscosity left to it - seemed very thin. I won't let this happen again - hopefully no damage was done.

4. Great experience. Will do this again. I like the fact that I can do it whenever I have time at my own house. NEed to get jack stands or ramps - sucked getting under the car a million times.

 

[schmidlkofer]

congrats...i suppose it is pretty cheap to do you self. i have never paid to do an oul change.

 

[daprez1963]

what i have done is i buy the synthetic oil at auto zone and then go to a lube place and have them do an oil change with my oil at the same price they would have charged using theirs. i save alot because if i had them use their synthetic oil, it would have been 30 dollars more then the way i end up doing it.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

People are paranoid about synthetic vs. dino oils. A quality dino oil will last a long time. Case and point: Texaco Havoline has shown better used oil analysis reports than a lot of the top brand synthetics, and even with extended (5000+ miles) drain intervals, it's still in decent shape.

If you're changing oil at 3000 miles and using a full synthetic, you're doing nothing more than dumping money down the drain. The additive package in the oil, not the base carrier oil, makes a good oil good, and a bad oil bad.

I'd rather run 5000 miles on Havoline than I would with something like Valvoline SynPower which is a "synthetic" oil. I put the word "synthetic" in quotes, because it really isn't a real synthetic oil, but rather a Group III petroleum oil. It's allowed to be called synthetic because it's been so chemically altered, but in reality, it's a highly refined petroleum basestock.

If you want some good education on oils, visit the forums at www.bobistheoilguy.com and read up on them.

My oils of choice are Schaeffer's, and more recently Pennzoil Platinum.

 

[dtholmanmax]

People are paranoid about synthetic vs. dino oils. A quality dino oil will last a long time. Case and point: Texaco Havoline has shown better used oil analysis reports than a lot of the top brand synthetics, and even with extended (5000+ miles) drain intervals, it's still in decent shape.

If you're changing oil at 3000 miles and using a full synthetic, you're doing nothing more than dumping money down the drain. The additive package in the oil, not the base carrier oil, makes a good oil good, and a bad oil bad.

I'd rather run 5000 miles on Havoline than I

That makes me feel a little better - thanks. It was Havoline that I purchased...

 

[daprez1963]

i buy synthetic oil because i dont change my oil every 3,000 miles. i was told by the guy at the shop that you dont really need to change your oil every 3000 miles around here. it depends on driving conditions etc....i changed it about every 5-6,000 miles and feel better about using a syntheitc oil because i am told it doesnt breakdown as fast. they have down tests that show that synthetic oils last longer. some standard oils might be good and last as long, but the price isnt mucher more for me to worry and i just feel better. i think its really a matter of choice and price. i have been using synthetic oil for the last 7 years and have never had an issue with my engines.

 

[JohnnyO]

If you want some good education on oils, visit the forums at www.bobistheoilguy.com and read up on them.

Werd.

Congrats on changing your oil yourself for the first time! The more you do it, the faster you get. I think you can put in better oil yourself than a shop charges for generic, for the same money. I change my own partly because I like to, partly because I'm very busy and with three vehicles it's much faster for me to do it myself than to wait in line at a shop.
On a 4wd, I don't need ramps, just a creeper, and I don't go back and forth. Just open the filler cap and pull the dipstick, crawl under, and take out the drain plug. Then stay there until it's done, put the plug back in, pull the filter and dump in into the drain pan, and put the new filter on (with a little old oil on the gasket), which you should set within reach before you crawl under. Then put the old filter in the new filter box. Then go up top and dump in your new oil of choice.
I occasionally send my used oil to a lab for analysis, over 5000 miles Motorcraft Blend shows almost identical to Mobil 1 and costs half as much. On both my truck and my wife's Taurus the absolute best used oil analysis I've gotten were with Pennzoil Platinum.

 

[daprez1963]

I tried once to change my own oil filter and after I saw what you had to do (go by way of the passenger side wheel well) I said "forget that" and just took it in and had them do it for $14.95 and use my own oil of choice. I didnt see saving $15 being worth the time or the headache (plus getting a little dirty).

 

[dtholmanmax]

Werd.

Congrats on changing your oil yourself for the first time! The more you do it, the faster you get. I think you can put in better oil yourself than a shop charges for generic, for the same money. I change my own partly because I like to, partly because I'm very busy and with three vehicles it's much faster for me to do it myself than to wait in line at a shop.
On a 4wd, I don't need ramps, just a creeper, and I don't go back and forth. Just open the filler cap and pull the dipstick, crawl under, and take out the drain plug. Then stay there until it's done, put the plug back in, pull the filter and dump in into the drain pan, and put the new filter on (with a little old oil on the gasket), which you should set within reach before you crawl under. Then put the old filter in the new filter box. Then go up top and dump in your new oil of choice.
I occasionally send my used oil to a lab for analysis, over 5000 miles Motorcraft Blend shows almost identical to Mobil 1 and costs half as much. On both my truck and my wife's Taurus the absolute best used oil analysis I've gotten were with Pennzoil Platinum.

I'll just do it using your directions next time. It was my first time so I wasn't really organized. And I wasn't sure of the best way to get that filter out. Luckily it didn't seem terribly tight. NExt time I'll go with the Motorcraft Blend. The oil that was in there from Firestone (Kendall - Conoco/Phillips Blend) seemed VERY runny by the time I changed it. This time, with the Havoline, I'll see if it looks better when I change it - hopefully under 6K miles this time.

 

[Willard]

if you switch to a full synthetic in an older engine that doesn't leak to speak of, do you run the risk of getting leaks from the synthetic? i say this because i want to switch to synthetic, but i have an old engine and i don't know if it will just generate problems

 

[JohnnyO]

Here is the filter wrench I use. Works nice on the fat FL-820S filter, assuming that's what you have.

Yes I keep a pic of it. The fingers tighten around filters of any size. Especially good for ones that you have to go straight in on. Again, put everything you need for under the truck within reach before you go under the truck.

Conoco/Phillips blend gets good reviews at BobIsTheOilGuy.com. In fact Conoco makes the Motorcraft oil. Motorcraft, Wix, and NAPA Gold are all good filters. Any oil is thin and runny at the end, especially if it's warm. For reasonable mileage intervals Havoline is as good as most synthetics, as E.B. said.

ALWAYS make sure the gasket from the old filter comes off with the filter, otherwise with two gaskets the new oil will spray everywhere and make a mess. I use an antifreeze funnel to pour the new oil in because it's fat and I can pour faster.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

That's a badass coffee table!

 

[JohnnyO]

Authentic Mark Martin race tire, thank you.

 

[daprez1963]

just got a email from the ford dealership and they have a coupon for an oil change. for $37, they will use what they recommend on this ford SUV....as follows....notice its a 5W-20 and not the 5W-30 which is stated on the truck and in the manuals....

Motorcraft® SAE 5W-20 Premium Synthetic Blend Motor Oil is manufactured with high-viscosity index, premium-quality, synthetic/hydroprocessed base oils and specially designed performance additives, which help minimize engine deposits and wear, protect against high-temperature oxidation, low-temperature gelling, rust and corrosion and foaming. The friction-reducing technology in this motor oil provides superior wear protection and energy-conserving characteristics, which result in significant improvement in fuel economy when compared to SAE 5W-30 and 10W-30 motor oils.

Its their truck so why are they recommending a 5W-20 over the 5W-30 stated on the truck? and they endorsed motorcraft synthetic.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Show them the owner's manual where it states that the 4.0L SOHC required 5W30 instead of 5W20. Most of the newer Ford products went to 5W20, but this engine wasn't one of them.

There was a thread on BobIsTheOilGuy recently where the same question was asked. There's a couple ideas that people felt that since it's a German made engine, it may have different oil requirements than the domestic built engines.
Read the whole thread here:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=900825&an=0&page=9#Post900825

I replied a couple times, and even plugged this site!

 

[JohnnyO]

There, I weighed in a BITOG.
FWIW, I don't get into oil arguments. I just say what worked for me and tell people to run whatever they want and a UOA is the only way to know for sure.

http://www.thedieselstop.com/faq/9497faq/tsb/tsb/files/020109.pdf

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

I've been a BITOG member for years. My username still reflects the '97 Grand Prix I had when I signed up back in '03 or something like that.

Edit: You beat me by 3 months. :

 

[dtholmanmax]

Here is the filter wrench I use. Works nice on the fat FL-820S filter, assuming that's what you have.

Yes I keep a pic of it. The fingers tighten around filters of any size. Especially good for ones that you have to go straight in on. Again, put everything you need for under the truck within reach before you go under the truck.

Where did you get that filter tool. I think wonder if I"ll be able to get mine off. Seems perfect.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

That looks like one that I saw on the Matco truck. If you can't find it at NAPA or Carquest, I'm sure a Matco or Snap-On dealer would have them. Might be a bit pricey, but should outlast the person using it.

 

[camaro_guy_z28]

I actually enjoy changing the oil. I change mine every 5000 miles using synthetic oil per extended warrany requirements. I use mobil 1 5w30. I'm not mechanically inclined but i can have it changed in a matter 15-20 minutes and it gives me a sense of accomplishment.