Need to change oil, but have a few ??'s first
 

Hey guys,
My 75K RS needs an oil changing. I have never attempted this job on my own and want to do it myself so I know it is done right. The car's oil cap says 5W-30, but the mechanic put 10W-40 in it the last time it was changed. Should I use 10W-40 this change or should I go back to 5W-30. The engine runs great and does not leak, sounds good too (if this info helps). Also, I use 5 quarts if I am correct. And the oil changing procedure goes like this:
- Loosen the oil bolt on the bottom of the engine (after putting an oil catcher underneath of it)
-Let all the oil drain out and tighten the bolt again after it is done
-Take off the old oil filter (I hear that you must have it tightened just perfect, not too much or too little or else it will leak or something)
-Pour the new oil in the top of the engine with a funnel

If any part of that procedure sounds incorrect, please let me know. Also, what is the best brand of oil to run with? Oil Filter? Thanks for your help.

Re: Need to change oil, but have a few ??'s first
 

I use 10-40 in my car...its all up to you.

I would first do the oil filter take old one off put new one on.

Then I would drain the pan put bolt back in and add oil.

I also make the oil filter snug so its easy to get back off.

I use mobil oil and fram filter"people hate fram filters on this board"

thats about it its really easy.

might also wanna let the car run for a few to get it warm before draining.

make sure you do this because it will make it so as much of the oil comes out as is possible if its cold some will stay in.

Check your owners manual it says right in there how much oil to put in and of what viscosity. The different viscosities depend on what outside temperatures you run the car in ie is it winter driven? just summer etc.

Dab your finger in oil and run it around the top of the oil filter before putting it in, it will help it seal better. Amazed to see its your first time, trust me its easy. I ran both types, but I switched back to 5w-30. Seems to do a little better. Also if you wanna splurge, throw in synthetic, if not just go with the normal route and put in some lucas oil stablizer. Remember this is your baby, and you dont want your baby drinkin piss. :D

while on the subject of oil changes.. what size filter do you guys use? i use AC Delco PF25, but a friend of mine uses PF35
Whats your take on different filters and sizes?

tips not mentioned above:



1. right after you take off the old filter, look at the mounting pad that it was on... if you see a o ring on it, take it off.... the o ring is suppost to come off with the filter, but somtimes it sticks to the block instead of the filter. if you just put the filter on without take it of, it will leak BAD.
1a. while you are looking, wipe off any dirt on the seating area. this will also keep the filter from leaking.

2. pour a little oil into the new filter before you put it in. this will allow the engine to have oil pressure sooner. otherwise, the engine will have to pump enough oil to fill the filter, and THEN the engine gets oil.... its safer for your engine that way.

3 someone mentioned this, but after you pour the oil into the filter, dab some clean oil on your finger, then put it on the o ring to help it seal.

when you tighten the filter, put it snughly tight by hand.
you need to use a wrench to get it off only because the oil pressure makes it stick on there tighter...


make sure the drain plug is tight before you pour oil in... i know thats a duh thing, but just slip under there and double check... it saved me from embarressment twice. :D

10w-30 is fine.... thats what i would use if its my car and had higher miles...


hope that helps

the larger filter has the same dimensions as the smaller except it is taller... so it can hold more oil and gives a greater filter area..

however if you add a oil cooler, you need to run the smaller one because otherwise it would be too low and scrape somthing..

Well,I use streight 30w and a Fram PH-373. Holds a couple qts.

Auggie

yeah 10w-30 is what i use because its a summer only car so its good until like -15 C where as 5w-30 is good to like -45 C or something like that.

The other thing and im not even sure because ive never done an oil change my self but im pretty sure oil filters have reverse threads. My friend snapped one in half because he was turning it the wrong way trying to get it off. someone correct me if im wrong.

Your are wrong:)

Auggie

You dont have to tighten the oil filter "just right"

I've taken some off by hand that required almost no effort at all to spin off. they didnt leak at all.

I've seen some spun on so tight that you cant even see the gasket material. I've had to hammer a 1/2 ratchet extension through them and twist them out (hammering a screwdriver through them will just bend the screwdriver). Still, they didnt leak either.

You simply want to get them about as tight as you can spin them on with your hand without straining yourself.

The most important thing is to lubricate the gasket on the oil filter. Lubricating it dosnt help it seal any better, it just makes it slippery so that the gasket dosnt adhear itself to the engine.

As for oil, 10-40 is just fine for a warm summer climate. If it gets wintery where you live, you may want to switch to 10w-30. I dont like to use 5w-30 myself, even in winter, unless its consistantly 10 degrees or lower out.

Now while you got the energy to change your oil, how about you make a profesional job out of it? ready?

Be sure to grease all of the zerk fittings in the steering linkage with a grease gun.

Know what your lower control arm is? On the backside of it is a strange little bulge thats riveted on there. This is called a steering stop, when you turn the wheel fully to one side the steering stop comes in contact with the steering knuckle. Put some grease on the steering stop and the area of the steering knuckle it comes in contact with; it looks like a 2 inch long indentation. greasing these will cut down noise when steering in tight places.

Hey, ever notice that every time you open your door it makes a creaking noise? Well simply get some wd-40 or oil in a spray can or such and spray the door pin bushings. This well help the bushings wearing out and your door sagging as well.

Put your little red straw in the wd-40 can, poke the straw into the door lock cylinders and shot a quick spray in there. You'll notice a pretty big different on how much easier it is to unlock the door. Some people like to use graphite, but wd-40 works fine for me. I even fix frozen lock cylinders in the winter by doing this.

not thirdgen related, but be sure to lubricate the tailgate hinges and handle on trucks too.

Pour a little oil or spray wd-40 on the hood latch mechanism under the hood. It'll pop open much easier.

Under your hood, along the fendors and on the radiator support you'll notice little rubber bumper type things that the hood actually comes in contact with when closed. Put a light amout of grease or silicon spray on these. Sometimes when cornering you'll hear a groaning or popping noise coming from under the hood, this is actually the hood shifting around. Greasing the rubber stops gets rid of this problem.

Check all the fluids while you're at it.

Check your tire pressure.

There, you just did a profesional quality oil change that a master tech would do.

as far as greasing the door jam, dont use WD40 if there is any grease left there. WD40 is a solovent.


try some white litium (sp?) grease. or even the same grease that you used on the front suspension.

the problem with grease in the hinge bushings is that you cant get it into ever little nook and crany in there. You need to lubricate both the outside of the bushing and the inside which contacts the door pin (as the inside part is usually what wears out first). arisol sprays work because they can saturate the whole thing. Even if wd-40 sprays the old grease off, the penetraiting oil is still going to stay there and lube the bushing.

regular oil works best, but you have to put it in a spray bottle or something. a regular oil squirt can cant really aim that well and you have to pump it a bunch of times just to get the whole bushing covered, and by then you've covered most of your door jam as well.

My person preference is a product gm makes called "Super Lube". It acts just like wd-40, except it leaves behind a light silicon type grease. It works real great for lubricating the hood bumpers too.

They even make another lube thats similer but specially designed to lube doors. I think its called lubriplate, but its basically the same as super lube but has a foaming effect, which works best in the newer door pin styles that are actually inside the door. But good luck getting any of that, the dealerships only have 1 or 2 cans laying around and they guard them fiercly. If someone complains about excessive door noise thats all they'll use it on.

Changing oil is easy, it takes a change or two to really get good at it. Just remember to change the oil filter, and u'll be cool, just as long as u go with an STP oil filter!:D

i used luberiplate when i was assembling aircraft parts. good stuff

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend Fram. Just put an AC Delco back on her. Fram's filters don't have bypass valves. Which means- if your filter gets plugged say goodbye to your engine. Bypass valve blocks off the filter if it builds up a certain amount of pressure. Dirty oil is better then no oil
Just my $.02

yes they do have bypass valves, but they still suck, lol. Get an ac delco.

Re: Re: Need to change oil, but have a few ??'s first
 

Pardon my ingornace but what difference does the brand of oil filter make? Do Fram filters leak or something?

Ok do the Fram ones have a bypass in them? And if so why then would they still suck? I personally use AC Delco for my car. I am just curious.

Because some of their internals consist of cardboard, for one.

eh, lets not go into filter brand bashing here..

btw. 1.. the bypass valve is bolted to the block. no filter has it.
2. most filters use a fiber filtering media.

oh, and its been PROVEN in fleet use that if you change your oil and filter often enough, it doesnt matter what brand FILTER you use....

No, the bypass valve is built into the filter, not the block. I doubt it would really make much of a difference what filter you use, but I will not use fram, just for the added piece of mind. It is a very pooply designed and manufactured oil filter.

I have never had a prob with the Fram PH8A. I use it on a filter adapter on my Triumph Spitfire racer. I will keep this in mind though. On my streetcars I use Delco and on smallblocks I use a PF35, the bigger one.

One thing about changing your own oil. On my racecar and on my camaro, I change my own oil. But on my family's "fleet" of newer daily drivers, we recently started taking them to quick lubes. It's hardly worth the hassle of the mess, the purchasing of oil and filters and the disposal of waste oil. I mean for $20 you can have it done and disposed of with no special trip to buy oil and filters and no mess whatsoever.

For any 2.8 guys reading this...

82-87 2.8's are told to use the PF-47 filter. This was the same oil filter that the 82-85 4-cylinder 2.5 used.

In 88, GM started specifying the PF-51 filter for the 2.8's. No differences exist between the oil systems of the 82-87 2.8's and the 88-89 2.8's!!

For 90-92 3.1's, GM continued to use the PF-51.

The PF51 was later replaced (by GM) and made obsolete by the PF-52 filter, with an improved anti-drainback valve.

So all 2.8's should use the AC PF-52 (or equivilant) filter. It's twice as long as the PF-47, so you'll need to add an extra 1/2 quart of oil. If you use another filter brand besides AC (only one I'll touch otherwise is Purolator), look up a filter for an '89 2.8 Camaro/Firebird.

DUDE! i have a Triumph Spitfire too!

lol, im also using a adapter and a fram filter on it... :D





25THRSS:
unscrew the filter
look on the block at what the filter screwed on to. you will see that its bolted to the block..

if you unbolt that and look at it, you will see that its the bypass valve.

they dont put them in any SBC filter that ive ever seen. and if they did, they would be giving up filtering area for somthing that already exists stock.

A.C. Delco FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, like I said every filter has a built in bypass valve set to open at a certain psi.

what year spit?