Vehicle Oil changes

[WinterDeere]

My daughters Mazda 3 takes a little longer as I have get the ramps out, place them evenly and straight under the front tires, and then position the car on the ramps. Then undo the access panel underneath to get to the oil plug and oil filter. It takes a good 10 minutes for all oil to drain.

Yeah, getting the ramps out and putting them away is probably my single most time-consuming step, as well. I try to all of our cars that require ramps at the same time, to save the time of fetching the ramps out and putting them away.

As to time it takes to drain, I start with a warm engine, dipstick or oil filler plug removed to vent air, and then spin that plug off first. By the time I have the oil filter removed, the new one pre-filled with oil and spun back on, usually I'm ready to pug the oil plug back in. Total time might be close to your 10 minutes, probably a bit less, and then you're on the home stretch!

Then hope I have a new crush washer for the oil drain pan bolt.

I bought a box of 10 or 20 for our Volve T5, which also spec'd these, so I'd just always have them on hand. But prior to that, I did re-use them on at least two occasions, and it never leaked. Probably not something you can do indefinitely, but in a pinch when you don't have a fresh one on-hand, my experience has been that you can reuse the old one at least once.

After installing oil filter and putting in new oil, button everything back, put everything back in its place (tools, ramps) and then pour the old oil into my large oil container. 45 minutes or so.

Even that's fair, probably more time spent getting out the tools and cleaning up, if you're doing just one car. But that still beats driving to a service station, waiting on them, and driving home! Best case, I suspect that's still more than double your 45 minutes, for most.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I wonder which will do more damage to your car... OEM-spec oil in place of AMSOIL, or being a dick to your mechanic?

Short of our members who may be getting too old to crawl around on the ground under a car, or those otherwise injured/disabled, I have a lot of trouble understanding anyone handy enough and with the facilities to be into tractors... but somehow unable to change their own oil in their own car. Do they hire an electrician to change their lightbulbs, too?!?

It takes all of 20 minutes to change oil on a car, literally removing one bolt and unscrewing one can filter on most, then replace bolt and filter, and pour new oil in. If it's a pickup truck, you can even skip pulling out the ramps, and probably get the job done in under 15 minutes, if you hustle.


What do you recommend for low-mileage vehicles? Some of my sports cars see less than 3k miles per year, so it can be a decade before I hit the mileage recommendation for tranny or diff oil changes.

I do engine oil and coolant on a calendar schedule on low-mileage vehicles, yearly and six years respectively, but usually go just by mileage for other fluids. Not sure if that's best, but it has always felt logical.

Facilities to be into tractors, um, a shed with a dirt floor and no electricity. Vehicle parking is a gravel and weed driveway. I'd have built a garage years ago but I like to avoid property taxes when I can.

I've changed oil in the driveway with ramps many times but at 60 I've decided it's worth $25 to have Kenny do it on his lift. I also get to talk to Kenny for about 15 minutes and shoot the sh*t.

I change my own lightbulbs.

 

[tradosaurus]

Yeah, getting the ramps out and putting them away is probably my single most time-consuming step, as well. I try to all of our cars that require ramps at the same time, to save the time of fetching the ramps out and putting them away.

As to time it takes to drain, I start with a warm engine, dipstick or oil filler plug removed to vent air, and then spin that plug off first. By the time I have the oil filter removed, the new one pre-filled with oil and spun back on, usually I'm ready to pug the oil plug back in. Total time might be close to your 10 minutes, probably a bit less, and then you're on the home stretch!


I bought a box of 10 or 20 for our Volve T5, which also spec'd these, so I'd just always have them on hand. But prior to that, I did re-use them on at least two occasions, and it never leaked. Probably not something you can do indefinitely, but in a pinch when you don't have a fresh one on-hand, my experience has been that you can reuse the old one at least once.


Even that's fair, probably more time spent getting out the tools and cleaning up, if you're doing just one car. But that still beats driving to a service station, waiting on them, and driving home! Best case, I suspect that's still more than double your 45 minutes, for most.

45 minutes or even longer is worth it for me to guarantee this simple procedure is done correctly. Too many horror stories of oil changes at dealerships or other places.
A few years ago my son, while in college, took his car for an oil change. When he came home a few weeks later I checked the oil level and oil filter and found out they never changed the oil filter. It was the same one I had used with my writing of the date on it.

 

[tradosaurus]

Facilities to be into tractors, um, a shed with a dirt floor and no electricity. Vehicle parking is a gravel and weed driveway. I'd have built a garage years ago but I like to avoid property taxes when I can.

I've changed oil in the driveway with ramps many times but at 60 I've decided it's worth $25 to have Kenny do it on his lift. I also get to talk to Kenny for about 15 minutes and shoot the sh*t.

I change my own lightbulbs.

Yeah. I might start hiring a mobile mechanic to come to my house to do oil changes as I get older. That way I can watch his work and supply the oil/filter.

 

[big bubba]

an old timer friend of mine ran a full service station here in town in the 60's. those were the days of plunge spouts for oil cans. he always had an empty can w/plunger installed. when he would check oil, mentioned it was a qt low, then invert the empty can in the crank case.
he bragged he made more money off that 1 can than gas or service. smart guy

 

[5030]

Did the same thing when I was a kid working at the local Pure Oil (remember them) station, The owner insisted we always check under the hood (was all full service back then) and if the oil or windshield washer was low to be sure to tell the customer it needed filled and if they agreed, we filled the washer bag with the same bottle of almost all water fluid and the same oil can that had little if any oil in it and then charged the customer accordingly. What a scam but it worked almost every time.

 

[tradosaurus]

an old timer friend of mine ran a full service station here in town in the 60's. those were the days of plunge spouts for oil cans. he always had an empty can w/plunger installed. when he would check oil, mentioned it was a qt low, then invert the empty can in the crank case.
he bragged he made more money off that 1 can than gas or service. smart guy

A thief like that wouldn't have been a friend of mine at that point. And I wouldn't have an issue calling someone like that a thief.

 

[ericm979]

smart guy

No, that's a crook.

 

[cj7]

I'd have a 4-post now if I had a way to get it off the truck. They won't drop it with a lift gate, and it weighs too much for my tractor w/FEL. They said have it delivered to a business and pick it up with a trailer. I said, I don't have a trailer and how would I get it off the trailer if I did have one?

Maybe someone has mentioned this already, but some trucking company will let you pic the item up at their dock. I see you mentioned you did not have a trailer but could rent a uhaul or rent a dump trailer the day of the pick up. Of course the terminal needs to be nearby.

I would also check with the manufacture or the company that it is shipping from. I know the lift I have comes in several pieces. Could break the pallet open and handle them one at a time instead of a heavy pallet. Have a buddy or two help out.

When I moved my 2 post from one shop to another 4 of us could lift the posts carefully onto a flat bed trailer.

Be safe!

 

[Tinhack]

I see you mentioned you did not have a trailer but could rent a uhaul or rent a dump trailer the day of the pick up.

It must be nice to live in an equipment wonderland like some of you guys do--Rent this, rent that. It's a 50-mile trip in the opposite direction to get a trailer. Then a 50-mile trip to the "nearest" terminal and back. The terminal ordeal could be a 4-5 hour torture at the whim of whoever is there. Then another 50-mile trip to return the trailer. Not to mention the time to off-load the trailer a piece at a time with help or not. Oh yeah, then there's the cost of the rental and a full tank of gas. It ain't happening. If they won't drop it at/in my driveway like other equipment vendors are willing to do, I'm not buying it. My time isn't worth any less than theirs. Edit: I've seen flat beds going down the highway with lifts on the back. How about those? Vendors are so greedy.

That's how I just bought a flail mower. They delivered on the side of the driveway and inside the fence. There was a $50 charge for the lift-gate service. The poor driver had to wheel it off the lift-gate and through the dirt to get it off to the side. It's worth every penny to me and far less than renting any equipment. I was able to take my time to assemble it, lube it and get it back to the barn with the 3PH on the tractor. (It was also too heavy for my FEL.)