Going to do an oil change

[Anonymous]

Can anyone point me to a set of instructions on how to do it?

Do I have to take anything off to get to the sump plug or filter?

[kanujunkie]

yep, the plastic nappies, thats it

[Anonymous]

Well I've fallen at the first hurdle.   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

I've tried jacking up the back end with my trolley jack using the engine mounting alongside the exhaust like it shows in the book but the cars just fallen over sideways.  s:? :? s:?

[Chris_h]

Changing the oil is a pain in the bum - unless you have done it many times before and have all the catch trays etc..

Each time I have done it in the past, I have either
a) Ruined the drive with an oil splodge
b) Ruined clothes
c) Severely grazed knuckles.
d) Couldn't get something undone

What I usually do with our other cars (assuming they are out of warranty) is just take them to National Tyres who do a semi synthetic oil and filter change for £15. You could give them your oil as I think their standard oil is 10/40. You may be unlucky and get a complete moron carrying out the work, but I usually hang about to make sure they do a good job. Luckily one of the chaps at my local place is quite clued up.

They also stamp the service book.

[Anonymous]

Excellent, National have just done the deed, £10 cash.

[Anonymous]

.....................and people worry about buying a car that has been serviced (properly) by its enthusiast owner !!, and not by a garage.  I give up !!

[kanujunkie]

sorry guys i'm going to dispair  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  

for a start even on my lowered 03 you can get to the nappy bolts quite happily. After that theres a single bolt on the bottom of the sump, loosen it, place a drain catch under and drop the oil out, it aint hard. If you want to have a nice big area to work in then buy a 4x4, but for gods sake its a small car, adapt, use a socket in each hand, wear a pair of overalls, find a thin drain pan, the hard part is the oil filter, but a good strap/chain wrench will help there. If you have office hands then go to a garage, but mechanics means cuts and skins on your knuckles, trust me i do it as a job

[Anonymous]

If you have office hands then go to a garage, but mechanics means cuts and skins on your knuckles, trust me i do it as a job

I had office hands until I got the 2  s:) s:)

Nowt as rewarding as doing the job yourself I've found though

[kanujunkie]

If you have office hands then go to a garage, but mechanics means cuts and skins on your knuckles, trust me i do it as a job

I had office hands until I got the 2  s:) s:)

Nowt as rewarding as doing the job yourself I've found

right  with you on that boss, nothing like getting stuck in, and no offence to anyone with mechanicaly trained office hands

[aaronjb]

trust me i do it as a job

How much for an oil change on my 767?  s;) s;)

FWIW, even I found an oil change on the '2 pretty easy - still managed to knock the old oil filter over and leave a nice oily patch in the carpark  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

[kanujunkie]

trust me i do it as a job

How much for an oil change on my 767?  s;) s;)

for you a snip at £1300 approx for oils £2 for seals, £300 for filters a set of magnetic plugs at another silly price, plus £75/hr labour charges, not bad really

[Chris_h]

I reckon £10 for someone to do the messy stuff and including getting a filter is good going... I do some jobs myself to save money (i.e brakes etc) but £10 to save getting messy seems like a no brainer. On our AUdi, the parts cost £10 including oil - so £5 for labour???

I have in the past built a car (OK a modular Westfield) so I am not as 'green' as my post may have suggested..

[Anonymous]

If the labour is £5.00........................I wonder what oil they use?
£1.25 per litre x 4  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

[kanujunkie]

BTW Mr.T do mobile 1 for £35 now which makes them cheaper than halfrauds

[Anonymous]

sorry guys i'm going to dispair  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  

for a start even on my lowered 03 you can get to the nappy bolts quite happily. After that theres a single bolt on the bottom of the sump, loosen it, place a drain catch under and drop the oil out, it aint hard. If you want to have a nice big area to work in then buy a 4x4, but for gods sake its a small car, adapt, use a socket in each hand, wear a pair of overalls, find a thin drain pan, the hard part is the oil filter, but a good strap/chain wrench will help there. If you have office hands then go to a garage, but mechanics means cuts and skins on your knuckles, trust me i do it as a job

Oi! Less of the 'office hands', I've always maintained my own motorbikes and succesfully turned a Mini Mayfair into an MG Metro powered fire breathing monster, well, maybe not fire breathing. There's more of my knuckles attached to mechanical components than to my hands.

I've done my fair share of fitting exhaust systems on Minis with no more space than I could get from a pair of ramps but unfortunately too many years of Judo means that my back is well and truly knackered   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  and laying on my drive in the rain does it no good at all.

Never having done an oil change on the '2 I had no idea where the relevant fasteners were or how awkward it was to get to the filter. Frankly if you reckon you could do an oil change on it without jacking the car up then you must be Skinny McSkiny and I claim my £5, I'd be lucky to get far enough under to find the fasteners let alone undo them.

[Chris_h]

Here here Mr Moleshome   s:D s:D  

I too get satisfaction from doing a job well - especially if it saves money. Unfortunately, changing oil (which I used to do on my cars whilst a student) has about as much appeal to me as meticulously cleaning someone else's toilet    s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

I suppose we all get satisfaction from our cars in differing ways. Some love to polish and detail, some love to modify just about everything, some just want to drive and some adore being able to complete all the maintenance themselves.

My point earlier was that for me (a big jessi who doesn't like always being messy   s:D s:D  ), £5 seemed like a good deal. Most other places charge £30-45 and I would say then I may even consider grazing one of my knuckles   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:   and risking a splodge on the drive   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:    s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  



Slynx -

Well spotted re. the price of oil. I am pretty sure National do this as a 'loss leader' to get people into the door (also means they get the accounts for lots of minicabbers) I am only estimating labour based on price of components. But FWIW, their standard oil was 10/40 semi synthetic - so not what you would use in the 2, but perfectly adequate for the family barge. They actually do diesel oils that meet the VW AUDI code for our other bus.

[kanujunkie]

sorry if i offended then, but an oil change is a dirt dog easy job to do without wasting the price of 4 beers, and fair enough on the injury front, i too carry a lot of injuries after 19 years of whitewater kayaking.

[Anonymous]

 s:D s:D   You'd have to go a lot further than that to offend me.

I'll be at Epsom on Saturday, I'll look forward to seing you demonstrate limbo dancing under your car.   s:P s:P

[Anonymous]

sorry if i offended then, but an oil change is a dirt dog easy job to do without wasting the price of 4 beers, and fair enough on the injury front, i too carry a lot of injuries after 19 years of whitewater kayaking.

that is one long river!  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

[Chris_h]

sorry if i offended then, but an oil change is a dirt dog easy job to do without wasting the price of 4 beers, and fair enough on the injury front, i too carry a lot of injuries after 19 years of whitewater kayaking.

that is one long river!  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Lol....

Not offended Stu - just different strokes for different folks. I suppose the same reason why some people DIY, some call in the professionals.

I'm of the opinion I like to do it myself - but at those National rates it is better for me. With all the faffing about getting parts, getting changed getting rid of old oil, cleaning up, it would take me more than an hour..

WIndsurfer and dinghy racer here - so no stranger to red raw blistered hands and the off dislocated shoulder.

Chris


PS - the folks who do change the oil themselves, is this for interim changes - or do you do all the maintenance yourselves?

Personally I do as much as poss, but usually take the car in for the annual /10k basic service to get a stamp in the book, then change sparks, filters, brakes myself.

[kanujunkie]

 You'd have to go a lot further than that to offend me.

I'll be at Epsom on Saturday, I'll look forward to seing you demonstrate limbo dancing under your car.   s:P s:P

not with the size of my belly you wont  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

sorry if i offended then, but an oil change is a dirt dog easy job to do without wasting the price of 4 beers, and fair enough on the injury front, i too carry a lot of injuries after 19 years of whitewater kayaking.

that is one long river!  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

PS - the folks who do change the oil themselves, is this for interim changes - or do you do all the maintenance yourselves?

interim for me, every 5K, still get the oil filter and oil done on the service by toyota, but thats more for the stamp

[heathstimpson]

sorry if i offended then, but an oil change is a dirt dog easy job to do without wasting the price of 4 beers

There are not many places that you can get 4 beers for a tenner nowadays  s:? :? s:?  

and fair enough on the injury front, i too carry a lot of injuries after 19 years of whitewater kayaking.

Try playing rugby for more than nineteen years and see how your body creaks  s:? :? s:?    s:wink: :wink: s:wink: