Do you change your own oil?

[zinfamous]

Some pans extract well, others not so much. I tried out my wife's '13 beetle and it left too much there IMO, after I pulled the plug and got the rest out. We traded it before the next oil change LOL!

I also wonder if it really matters that you get absolutely everything out, all the time? Say you leave about 5% of the old oil in. You're now diluting that with 95% of clean oil and depending on how often you change your oil and the quality of the oil, it probably shouldn't really matter all that much throughout the life of the car?
Obviously, there's some OCD in some owners that will just never be defeated, but frequency of adding clean oil should take care of whatever scraps remain in the oil pan.

However, I think there are situations where you really need to drain it, if for no other reason to get general health data--you won't see any metal bits pulled out with an extractor and uh, of course, if you see those, you have real problems, haha. If anything, it's good to drain on some schedule to at least get an idea if things like that are happening (I imagine your car will let you know in other ways if there might be pieces of engine getting tossed around your engine).

If you're tracking the car and regularly beating it to hell, you probably want to do a complete replacement every time

 

[skyking]

It was a judgement call on my part. There was more than your anecdotal 5% there.

 

[RLGL]

I also wonder if it really matters that you get absolutely everything out, all the time?

Short answer , You can't, it is physically impossible. The only way is to pull the engine and do a teardown, wash the parts and reassemble.

 

[zinfamous]

It was a judgement call on my part. There was more than your anecdotal 5% there.

well yeah, I'd definitely be uncomfortable if I left much more than that--say more than 1/2 or 3/4 cup of oil if you were to measure that way, it would seem like quite a lot to me.

 

[skyking]

especially because it also contains anything heavy laying at the bottom of the pan.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

I change the oil in our household but it's a nuisance with the current cars. You have to remove the splash guard to get to the drain plugs.

I miss my old Focus. The filter and plug were easily reached without having to lift the car. The filter was on the front of the engine open end up so it didn't spill a drop replacing it.

 

[Meghan54]

Yep...pretty much have been changing my own for maybe 5 decades or so. Honestly cannot remember ever taking any vehicle I owned to a shop/establishment and paying them to change my oil.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I did it... Twice I think and now say fuck it.

I just don't care for jacking up the car, getting underneath on cement floor etc. Etc.

I would do it with one of those things that sucks the oil out but I still have the filter change underneath. Nopers.

 

[olds]

Cars, no.
Motorcycle, yes. But I sold it.

 

[quikah]

I just did it on my Prius that last had a change by the dealer. The oil filter cap must have been screwed on with about 30-40 ft-lb of torque. It is supposed to be about 20 (it is plastic). Damn near had to get a cheater bar to get it off, ridiculous. Why the dumbass mechanics at the dealer don't follow spec is beyond me.

 

[MrSquished]

I'd like to do it at some point just to know how, but around here there are a few good places that are oil change and car wash joints and you get a deal if you do both at once, so it works out. Some are not good, but I found the good ones. Plus I don't have a driveway

 

[Aharami]

always.

 

[C1]

I have to change oil for my 2004 Corolla as OEM for it is non-synthetic.

All the dealers and garages now only stock synth oils.

Dont switch to synth in an older car as you can start seal leaks.
(Synth crap ruined my older 2 cycle chain saw & had to replace all the shaft seals.)

I also like to use a 10W-30 instead of the 5W-20 recommended as the bit heavier oil in an older engine helps to maintain the oil pressure. In addition, I know that my drain plug & filter are not over tightened or, like in one case, where the garage stripped the drain plug threads on one of my other cars.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I have to change oil for my 2004 Corolla as OEM for it is non-synthetic.

All the dealers and garages now only stock synth oils.

Dont switch to synth in an older car as you can start seal leaks.
(Synth crap ruined my older 2 cycle chain saw & had to replace all the shaft seals.)

I also like to use a 10W-30 instead of the 5W-20 recommended as the bit heavier oil in an older engine helps to maintain the oil pressure. In addition, I know that my drain plug & filter are not over tightened or, like in one case, where the garage stripped the drain plug threads on one of my other cars.

I wouldn't attempt to argue with you about seal leaks and switching to synthetic. I wouldn't entirely believe it, but then I never heard this before. Back in the 90s, I had a mechanic who disparaged synth oils for "clumping" in blobs within the engine, or something like that. I still continued to use synth in my cars, which were a small fleet of 79 Civics. I used synth in a Nissan Sentra I had for three years, then in an 87 Trooper, and in my 95 Trooper after that and for the last 19 years.

The 95 Trooper has been leaking small amounts of oil for as long as I remember, but there were multiple causes. First and foremost, the drain plug was worn. Most of the leaking stopped when I replaced it with a drain valve and used thread sealer and gasket material to install the drain valve.

But it continues to leak in miniscule amounts from the rear main-seal. This has been attenuated by treating the oil with Blue Devil, but I never put the full recommended amount of that product in the oil. The leak continues to get smaller. And in fact, for a short time I was using a mechanic who was negligent. He had pulled off a vacuum hose for the fuel-pressure regulator, and broken the PCV valve. After I replaced the PCV valve and reconnected the vacuum hose, there was less pressure in the crankcase and the leaking attenuated noticeably. And I overfill the crankcase by about 20 oz. -- slightly more than a half quart. With that amount of oil, a sticking valve lifter noise just "goes away".

The car is 26 years old.

I have also an auto tranny leak -- also from its front main-seal. It doesn't seem to leak when the car is warmed up. When I return home, nothing appears in the drop pan for several hours until the engine is cold. After that, if it sits for a couple days and if the days are cold ones, something like a half cc appears in the drop pan.

I check the tranny oil level -- warming up the car as recommended -- every so often. It always seems to be full. Then, I started collecting the DexronIII cherry juice that accumulates in the drop pan. I use the corner of a dry paper shop towel, then squeeze out the fluid into a measuring cup. Over the past two months, I have collected about 1 oz.

I could treat it with Blue Devil Transmission Sealer, but since the 9-quart capacity transmission always seems full, I'd rather wait until the level drops. I might have to wait a year!

I just don't think I'll worry about any changes over the 19 years between regular and synth oil. Like I said, the motor oil leak just keeps getting smaller.

 

[trenchfoot]

With two cars, a truck and a van to maintain, I'm saving a pretty good chunk of cash changing oil and replacing parts myself.

Flushing trannys and rear ends alone saves me big time, let alone the usual occasional R&R wear outs of starters, alternators, PS, brakes, belts, filters, etc.

*Proviso - Sooner than later I'm going to be too old to be doing those things on my own, so that's why I've been grooming my son to take over for me. heh heh

 

[zinfamous]

just got my oil in from shopdap.com yesterday to do my ....2nd oil change, at 6.5k miles! (2 years, though. ).

New filter + 6 qts 0w20/508 spec = $60 (w/ $13 shipping). ....I still have a pint of LiquiMoly 508 (it was one of the only two 508 spec that you could easily find 2 years ago), but I never got around to getting more because the 5pt of that is $70!

 

[sdifox]

just got my oil in from shopdap.com yesterday to do my ....2nd oil change, at 6.5k miles! (2 years, though. ).

New filter + 6 qts 0w20/508 spec = $60 (w/ $13 shipping). ....I still have a pint of LiquiMoly 508 (it was one of the only two 508 spec that you could easily find 2 years ago), but I never got around to getting more because the 5pt of that is $70!

Liqui Molly is the good stuff

 

[BonzaiDuck]

With two cars, a truck and a van to maintain, I'm saving a pretty good chunk of cash changing oil and replacing parts myself.

Flushing trannys and rear ends alone saves me big time, let alone the usual occasional R&R wear outs of starters, alternators, PS, brakes, belts, filters, etc.

*Proviso - Sooner than later I'm going to be too old to be doing those things on my own, so that's why I've been grooming my son to take over for me. heh heh

Have you investigated oil drain valves, like Fumoto? I've decided to change my oil every 1,500 miles, even if the synthetic oil might "last" for 10,000. The drain valve makes it so easy and mess-free. They recycle the waste oil. So if I want to spend the extra $40 to $60 annually, it's a real pleasure, and I can feel how the car runs better with fresh oil. I can feel it!

 

[trenchfoot]

Have you investigated oil drain valves, like Fumoto? I've decided to change my oil every 1,500 miles, even if the synthetic oil might "last" for 10,000. The drain valve makes it so easy and mess-free. They recycle the waste oil. So if I want to spend the extra $40 to $60 annually, it's a real pleasure, and I can feel how the car runs better with fresh oil. I can feel it!

Funny thing is I've always wondered about those but for some illogical reason never decided to try them. I've even installed a remote oil filter setup on a heavily modded Z28 Camaro that I once owned just to make oil changes between rounds easier/faster at the track.

Now that I'm at that age where crawling under a car is an effort all on its own I'm going to take a serious look at the Fumoto setup.

Thanks for giving me the motivation to look into it.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Funny thing is I've always wondered about those but for some illogical reason never decided to try them. I've even installed a remote oil filter setup on a heavily modded Z28 Camaro that I once owned just to make oil changes between rounds easier/faster at the track.

Now that I'm at that age where crawling under a car is an effort all on its own I'm going to take a serious look at the Fumoto setup.

Thanks for giving me the motivation to look into it.

I often buy "extra" items if they're cheap to begin with. I acquired the Fumoto, which has much acclaim from "Garage" contributors. I also bought one of these Valvo-Max units. With the Fumoto, as I remember, you have to obtain your own plastic drain tubing, and you have to remove it every time you finish draining the oil -- at least, that was my impression.

They both use similar "ball valve" mechanisms. Valvo Max advertises as "Made in USA". It has the "fall-back" of the screw-on cap with rubber gasket should the ball-valve fail or begin to leak, but I rather doubt it would ever happen. But -- it's convenient. You unscrew the cap, left dangling from the valve while you work. You screw on the drain device in its place with the tubing already affixed, after inserting the other end of the tube in your waste-container drain hole. As you tighten the drain device, it opens the ball-valve. You walk away for 20 minutes, then return to a full waste-container and empty crankcase. Unscrew the tubing and drain-plug, reinstall the cap snugly and finger-tight, put your waste-container in the trunk or back of your SUV without worry of oil staining the carpet, and drive down to Autozone or O'Reilly's to drop off the waste oil.

Maybe you don't have this problem even with several vehicles, but after some 60 to 100 oil changes by impatient mechanics too aggressive with their wrench to tighten the drain-plug in the oil pan, the conventional drain-plugs begin to leak. This then offers the unscrupulous repair shop an opportunity to tell you that you need your rear-main-seal replaced for $1,000, when the leak is merely coming from the oil-pan drain-plug.

So when you install the Fumoto or Valvo-Max, use thread sealer, and cut a gasket from the proper rubberized gasket material to install before inserting the drain-valve device and tightening it. You will never need to remove it again. So you've sealed your drain-plug leak, and made oil changes mess-free and ridiculously easy.