newbie oil change question

[alex]

I've got a '97 XLT with SOHC V6 and about 50K miles on it. I'm interested in starting to do my own oil changes. My question is, is there anything I need to lubricate? I mean, when you take your rig to the dealer or quick change oil place - do they do anything else in addition to changing your oil and filter? any info would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[ok89]

Some places do the air filter as well. Personally I only do oil and oil filter during oil changes. Just be sure you have a place to take the used oil and filter. I don't do air filter because I have a K&N

 

[Robert]

There are no grease fittings on your Explorer unless you have replaced some suspension or drivetrain parts with parts that have grease fittings.

A couple of tips though. 1) Get one of those 90 degree, quick release drain valves to replace your stock drain plug. I think I got mine from www.performanceproducts.com but I'm not certain. It makes oil changes a lot less messy. Otherwise, hold a paper plate between the drain plug and passenger side suspension when you remove the drain plug. Be sure it is positioned over your drain pan and be ready to take an oil bath. When you remove the plug, the oil will shoot straight out the side about a foot and drench the suspension before running down onto the garage floor and drain pan. The replacement valve directs it straight down and even has a fitting on the end that you can slide a hose over to direct the oil into a milk jug if you want. 2) Drill an 1/8" hole in the bottom of the oil filter before removing it. This will drain most of the oil out of the filter so that when you drop it because it is too hot to hold, you don't add an extra quart of oil to your garage. An alternate method is to punch a hole in it with a 16d nail or to use a 2 liter pop bottle that you cut in half (empty of course). Loosen the oil filter and then slide the pop bottle over it. Remove the filter the rest of the way with the 2 litter bottle acting as a glove. Unfortunately when I tried this method, the oil running down the sides of the filter made it way to slippery to hold onto with the pop bottle so it fell into the bottle once the last of the threads cleared. The sudden drop into the pop bottle caused me to drop the pop bottle and filter into my full oil drain pan which again caused me to take my second oil bath of the day. Nowadays I barely manage a drop or two on the garage floor.

 

[Positive Vibes]

Practice makes Perfect!!

 

[ok89]

Originally posted by Positive Vibes
Practice makes Perfect!!

That is so true. The first time i did it I ended up with about a 1/2 quart in my shirt and another 1/2 quart on the ground. The second time I was able to control it to about 1/4 quart in the shirt and 1/4 quart on the ground. Eventually I've gotten the hang of it and can spill less than 1/8th of a quart.

 

[aldive]

A wise old man once told me ERFECT practice makes PERFECT"

 

[YamahaRick]

Fumoto Oil Valve

Not listed under Performance Products, however, it is available here:

https://ssl2.adhost.com/fumotovalve/

 

[alex]

thanks!

Thanks for all the tips guys, I just changed my oil about 10 minutes ago. -not too bad, I spilled a lot less than I thought I would. The messiest part by far is taking out the oil filter.
One last question: how much oil should this engine (4.0 SOHC) burn? It looks like I burned about 1 quart of oil, with only about 2500 miles since the last change. Is that normal?

 

[aldive]

Re: thanks!

Originally posted by alex
One last question: how much oil should this engine (4.0 SOHC) burn? It looks like I burned about 1 quart of oil, with only about 2500 miles since the last change. Is that normal?

Thre is no such thing as a normal amount of oil to be consumed. Every motor is different. A lot depends on the care given to the engine over its life.

I have 52k on my SOHC and, kock on wood, it has never burned a drop of oil.

I change at 3 to 5k and have never added any oil.