PaulW
Member
Registered: 26th Jan 03
Location: Atherton, Greater Manchester
User status: Offline
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Its good practise to do regular oil-changes to your car, to help keep it running well & also prolong the life of the engine. Ideally, Oil Changes should be done roughly every 3000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first!
Things Needed
5ltr Oil (refer to your owners-book or ring Vauxhall for info on what viscosity you need)
Oil Filter
Sump-Nut Sealing Washer
6ltr Waste Oil Draining Container… or a Bucket!
¾” Socket
Oil Filter Removal Tool
Ramps
Paper Kitchen Towel
Ok… lets begin.
Firstly, you need to raise up the front of the car on some ramps to get good access under the car.
(note the wooden extensions to the ramps, as my car is –75mm down at the front, I can’t just drive it up them!)
Remove the oil-filler cap from the top of the engine.
Get the Oil Draining Container (or a bucket if you don’t have one)
And position it under the Sump-Nut
Loosen the sump nut till its free, but DON’t remove it just yet!
Slowly, undo the sump nut till the oil starts running out
Now fully remove the sump-nut & drain all the oil into the container, but be careful you don’t spill it everywhere like I did!
Now, once the oil has finished running & is just slowly dripping, locate the Oil-Filter…
And start to undo it till the oil starts running down the block. MAKE SURE you position your container to catch the oil! You ‘might’ need to use the tool for removing the Oil filter to do this, but I found with enough force I can undo the old filters easily enough!
Once the oil has stopped running & dripping from where the oil filter is, remove the filter & then drain the rest of the oil from within it into the container.
Now get the Kitchen Towel…
And the new Oil & Filter.
Clean up the Sump-Nut using the Kitchen Towel.
And clean off any excess oil from the Sump & also the Filter location on the block…
Re-attach the Sump-Nut with the New Washer in place…
Now smear some NEW Engine Oil on the rubber seal of the NEW Oil Filter & then offer it to the engine & just get it in place…
Now tighten the oil-filter as tight as you possibly can by hand. DO NOT USE ANY TOOLS TO TIGHTEN IT as it CAN damage the filter!
Tighten up the Sump-Nut…
If you want, remove the dip-stick… I found removing the dip-stick just helps the oil drain through the engine & into the sump a bit easier!
Start pouring Oil into the engine, but doing it slowly, about 1ltr at a time, taking a few seconds out & then a bit more. Ideally look at pouring in about 3litres of oil at this stage…
Now check the level of the oil using the dip-stick, and top-up until its at the MAX marker….
Now just go over the engine again & check make sure the oil-filter is tight & the sump-nut is tight & there are no visible leaks from the engine. Refit the oil-filler cap & now start the engine up.
When you run the engine, you might notice the Oil Warning light stays illuminated for a few seconds more than usual, this is just because the new oil is circulating through all the engine bits & building up pressure. DO NOT REV THE ENGINE!
Once the light has gone out, just run the engine for about another 30 seconds & then switch off & let to stand for a further 2 minutes…
Now, we need to check the Oil level again…
Notice the oil level has dropped? That’s because the oil has now circulated through the entire engine & also filled up inside the oil filter, this in itself holds around a litre of oil, so now we need to top-up the oil until its at the max marker.
Oil at MAX
Now just check under the car, make sure again there are no leaks & everything is secure!
You MUST then dispose of your Engine Oil at an authorised Recycling Site. Your local Waste Tip should have the facilities! DO NOT POUR IT DOWN THE DRAINS OR JUST DUMP IT!
Job Done!
[Edited on 15-03-2009 by PaulW]
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