How-To: A basic oil change

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atom
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How-To: A basic oil change

Post by atom » Sun Apr 30, 2006 12:11 pm

What you need:
1 Gallon of Oil (5w-30 or 10w-30)
1 New Oil Filter (look through the books at the autoparts store or ask)
1 Oil Catch pan (will hold at least a gallon)
1 or 2 Funnels
A ratchet with 1/2" socket
Stock jack (all you really need) but ramps reccomended.

You can safely change your oil on a neon without the need of ramps to keep the lifting of the car stable.



-Drive around in the car to get it up to normal operating temperature, then let it cool back down a little bit.

-Enter your car, put on the parking brake as tight as you can.

-Exit the car and go to the front passenger side and look under the door (assuming you dont have side skirts). You should see a part of the sheet metal that is reinforced. Take your stock jack and line up the divet with the reinforced part. Then take the included lug wrench and raise the car up. You don't need to raise it up a whole lot, the tire definitley doesnt need to lift off the ground, just a little more room to move around. Now, your oil pan is in good reach, and you never have to put any part of your body under your car. IF YOU DON'T HAVE RAMPS, DO NOT PUT ANY PART OF YOUR BODY OTHER THEN YOUR ARM UNDER THE CAR. DO NOT PUT YOUR ARM UNDERNEATH THE TIRE OR WHERE IT COULD GET PINCHED. Just use common sense.

-The oil pan is the greyish metal box that has a criss-cross waffle pattern on it. Take your 1/2" Ratchet and check that it fits the bolt that is on the rear of the pan, some neons might take a different size. If it fits again make sure that no part of your body is under the car and get the oil pan underneath the bolt.

-Just give it enough muscle to loosen it up, you might get some drips of oil coming out.

-Now lift up the oil catch pan with your other hand and place it behind the bolt, the oil is going to spew out like old faithful.

-Remove the bolt with your free hand, and bring the pan back under neath the oil drain plug after the initial "catch"

-Go grab a beer and wait 5-7 minutes for more oil to drip out, you can wait longer but its not going to make that much of a difference.

-Look for your oil filter right by the oil pan, its the thing that looks just like the oil filter you bought :roll:

- With the catch pan underneath take one hand and squeeze very hard and turn it to unscrew it, here comes more oil

-Set the dirty filter in the pan, and grab your new filter, rub some of that cruddy oil around the seal, and screw the new one in by hand, hand tight is good enough, any tighter is too tight

-Reinsert the bolt into the oil drain plug, use the ratchet but again, no need to make it too tight

-Move your oil catch tray out of the way, lower the jack and pop the hood.

-Unscrew the oil fill cap (the one that says oil on it) :roll: and put in 3 quarts or 3/4 Gallon of your oil using the funnel.

-Go grab another beer and wait 2 or 3 minutes

-Pull out your dipstick (from the car you sicko) and wipe it off with a paper towel, reinsert it and pull it out again, it should probably read at about the "min" line. If you bought synthetic oil you might have trouble seeing anything at all

-As long as its not more then 25% over the min line, go ahead and put in that other quart of oil. Start the car and let it idle for 15 minutes

-Check the dipstick again and it should read about "max"

-Carefully take your oil catch pan and put the old oil into the empty oil bottles using your funnel. Some crazy people will tell you to use a different funnel so that your not pouring dirty oil through it. Seeing as how it will be months till your next oil change simply spray it with the hose when your done. Take the oil back to the autoparts store for proper disposal, DO NOT THROW IN THE GARBAGE OR DUMP IN THE YARD


Post any corrections or questions :) I hope i did a nubby good job :angel4:
Last edited by atom on Mon May 01, 2006 9:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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atom
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Post by atom » Mon May 01, 2006 3:29 pm

Someone at least tell me if it totally sucks or if i missed something!
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tamadrumr88
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Post by tamadrumr88 » Mon May 01, 2006 3:36 pm

search through and find the oil filter part #'s and prices.... that would make it complete!

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Nick Drake
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Post by Nick Drake » Mon May 01, 2006 3:50 pm

make sure you don't get the fram #'s, they're not worth it.
kc2002acr wrote:because if I was racing you at a 60 roll, I would have been in second for a second till I hit 3rd, then I would have called you on my cell phone and asked you if my taillights were all working. :rofl: ;) :D

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Canada
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Post by Canada » Mon May 01, 2006 4:20 pm

And I also "preload" the filter, as well as using new oil to moisten the seal on the new filter...but good nonetheless :D

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03sxt
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Post by 03sxt » Mon May 01, 2006 5:05 pm

Mine holds about one quart more than a gallon.

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Post by ilpadrino » Mon May 01, 2006 7:47 pm

As for the actual how-to, I think it's more than adequate. Yeah, part numbers would be the icing on the cake or maybe even pictures, but otherwise, it's nice :thumbup:.

One simple edit you should do: double space the steps--it's just easier on the eyes.

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Post by koreysxt » Tue May 02, 2006 11:51 am

Mine holds 4.5 qts. That's what I used, and it's exactly on the FULL mark.
Traded 05 SXT mtx, for new 07 Fusion SE I4 5A.

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Post by racer12306 » Mon May 08, 2006 12:30 pm

they hold 4.5qts with the standard filter and almost a full 5qts with the bigger diameter filter.
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Re: How-to: Idiots guide to a 2nd Gen Oil Change

Post by racer12306 » Mon May 08, 2006 5:21 pm

atom wrote: -Unscrew the oil fill cap (the one that says oil on it) :roll: and put in 3 quarts or 3/4 Gallon of your oil using the funnel.

-Go grab another beer and wait 2 or 3 minutes

-Pull out your dipstick (from the car you sicko) and wipe it off with a paper towel, reinsert it and pull it out again, it should probably read at about the "min" line. If you bought synthetic oil you might have trouble seeing anything at all

-As long as its not more then 25% over the min line, go ahead and put in that other quart of oil. Start the car and let it idle for 15 minutes

-Check the dipstick again and it should read about "max"
these seem a little confusing to me. i would write it as:

- pour 4qts of oil using funnel into the oil fill hole, reinstall oil cap

- start the engine, make sure the little oil pressure light goes out (shut off if the light does not go out in 30 or so seconds, theres a problem), get out and look under the car to double check that there are no leaks, after letting the engine idle for a few minutes shut the engine off.

- let the engine sit for approx 5 - 10 minutes to let all oil drain back to the pan

- check the oil by removing the dipstick and wiping it clean and then reinserting it all the way and removing it again, then look at where the oil level is on the stick.

- more than likely since you put in 4 qts your level will be in the middle or low area of the min/max zone (if using the standard size filter, if you are using the larger filter it will read at the min level or slightly below the min line). top off the oil level so that it reads at the max level or slightly below the max level.


i excluded the removal of the oil cap because its a good idea to do that before you drain the oil. its not necessary to check the oil prior to starting it, unless you have an OCD with it.
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BlackRoseRacing
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Post by BlackRoseRacing » Mon May 08, 2006 8:00 pm

I posted a topic a little while back on all the common recomended oil filters, but I cant seem to find it....
Anyone want to chime in with the link please do so...

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Post by racer12306 » Mon May 08, 2006 9:22 pm

-Frank
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BlackRoseRacing
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Post by BlackRoseRacing » Tue May 09, 2006 6:12 am

^^^
Thanks :)

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Post by 05NeonSE » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:31 am

bump because im a noob and need pictures Lol

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Post by OB » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:48 am

youre from napa as in napa CA?

ps. pics arent necessary there is nothing confusing about changing oil on these cars. Everything is right in plain view and easy to get to.
-Derek

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atom
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Post by atom » Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:27 pm

I have to change my oil again soon So I will take pictures for you If I remember.
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Post by 05NeonSE » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:25 am

OB wrote:youre from napa as in napa CA?
Yeah like approximately an hour from Sacramento.

and atom that would be awesome if you take a couple

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BlackRoseRacing
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Post by BlackRoseRacing » Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:58 am

^^^
Back on topic please....thanks....

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Post by aperson » Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:50 pm

Isn't the pan plug 13mm?

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Post by 60trim » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:55 am

aperson wrote:Isn't the pan plug 13mm?
Yes, but a 1/2" converts pretty much to a 13mm.
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Post by atom » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:20 pm

Sorry about the delay on pics its been raining here almost every day and I haven't gotten around to changing my oil yet.
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Post by OB » Fri Jun 22, 2007 2:59 am

05NeonSE wrote:
OB wrote:youre from napa as in napa CA?
Yeah like approximately an hour from Sacramento.

and atom that would be awesome if you take a couple
I grew up in Napa, lived there on and off till last year. small world aint it. you should think about coming to our annual CA 2gn meet bro we could use some more heads
-Derek

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Post by 05NeonSE » Sat Jun 23, 2007 3:07 am

atom- dont worry no rush i still need like 1500 miles until im due for it.
OB- yeah i read about the meet but funds are a little short right now and im eyeing the mopar lip kit :twisted: . Maybe if theres one closer to home ill be down.

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Post by OB » Sat Jun 23, 2007 5:15 am

05NeonSE wrote:atom- dont worry no rush i still need like 1500 miles until im due for it.
OB- yeah i read about the meet but funds are a little short right now and im eyeing the mopar lip kit :twisted: . Maybe if theres one closer to home ill be down.
yeah I feel ya dude, but its only once a year. This is the big shabang for us CA guys. See what you can do. Either way, with the 2GN CA club getting started hopefully we can have some more small local meets here and there.
-Derek

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Post by nineball » Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:11 pm

i was killing time last night browsing around the how-to section and noticed no one ever posted pics for this. since i had to change my oil today i snapped some.


filter and plug installed


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filter and plug removed


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Post by nicksdad06 » Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:56 pm

as for a diff filter number pennzoil is pz 21
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Post by racer12306 » Sat Feb 20, 2010 11:57 pm

nicksdad06 wrote:as for a diff filter number pennzoil is pz 21
Just so you know, that is rebadged Fram.

The fat filter is a PZ-34.


ugh, I knew working at Jiffy Lube for so long would come back and haunt me.
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