Anyone do a DIY oil change yet?

[xcrew229x]

If that washer can survive the mammoth torque going in that it took to get it out, I wonder how long it might last? Mine was pristine, and I durn near went to a breaker bar to remove the plug.

[OC1Dave]

I have always been under the (perhaps wrong) impression that copper washers are used in some applications specifically because they are reusable. I would think that if a visual inspection would find a copper washer undamaged, uncrushed, etc, that it could be reused. I guess until someone gets a shop manual, we won't know what DB's procedure is - replace/not replace? Any of you automotive engineers, senior automotive technicians, good old boy shade tree mechanics have an opinion?

[JIM VINYARD]

Several of the cars I've owned in the past have had NYLON washers used on the the oil drain plug and they never need replaced unless they split after continual use. I think you maybe able to buy NYLON washers from a automotive parts house or hardware store. Just make sure they are NYLON and not just plastic.

[fortow]

Originally Posted by Old smart

Your LI (JKF APT.) annual mean temperature over the past 62 years is +54F, with a record high of +104F and a record low of –02F.

You can check out the smart oil viscosity chart (left out of the US Operators Instructions) on Evilution to see what viscosities cover your temperature range. 0W-xx isn’t good unless you REALLY need it. Evilution - Smart Car Encyclopaedia

In searching for a torque figure on the drain plug I came across this old thread and thought it worthwhile to make a comment.

The information on evilution regarding oil viscosities is not completely correct. You can't have too thin an oil for startup regardless of the ambient temperatures. A '0' weight oil will do just fine, better in fact than a 5 weight oil for startups. It's the second number is that should concern drivers as far as ambient temperatures are concerned and that can vary from 30-60 weight viscosity.

It makes no difference what the ambient temperature is for starting a cold engine as fas as low viscosity oil is concerned. A '0' weight oil is always best. The critical factor in starting a cold engine is to get oil flowing as quickly as possible, and for that the thinner the better. There's no longer any reason to be using a higher viscosity cold rated oil if synthetics are being used. The only reason why higher than 0 or 5 weight was specified before for areas with high ambient temps is because with standard oils the spread between cold and hot ratings should not be too great due to shear and breakdown of Viscosity Improver additive. This is not an issue with synthetics.

By the way, I did find the torque figure on the evilution website - 65 NM - thanks.

[smark]

Easy piece of cake. Just did it today. 24mm 1/2 drive socket/oil filter wrench. 1/2 hour tops.
• Mobil 1 0W-40 4 OTS $27.96
• Mitsubishi oil filter 1230A040 $12.60
• New copper washer $2.70
I think I'll will go with a Mobil 1 oil filter next time $6.00 cheaper, or Bosch 3300
Oil was $$$$$$ I'll look for a sale on oil next time. Changing oil at 5,000 miles.

[Rick in Yuma]

Originally Posted by smark

Easy piece of cake. Just did it today. 24mm 1/2 drive socket/oil filter wrench. 1/2 hour tops.
• Mobil 1 0W-40 4 OTS $27.96
• Mitsubishi oil filter 1230A040 $12.60
• New copper washer $2.70
I think I'll will go with a Mobil 1 oil filter next time $6.00 cheaper, or Bosch 3300
Oil was $$$$$$ I'll look for a sale on oil next time. Changing oil at 5,000 miles.

Do you know what the Mobil 1 oil filter # is? Thanks.

[smark]

Rick in Yuma-- Mobil 1 model M1108

[joy schneider]

Does this apply to the '06diesels, I was told you need a pump since there are no drain plugs?

[jwight]

Originally Posted by joy schneider

Does this apply to the '06diesels, I was told you need a pump since there are no drain plugs?

You do need a pump for the 450 models; however, there are modified oil pans with drain plugs on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MCC-S...Q5fAccessories

[fortow]

Originally Posted by smark

Easy piece of cake. Just did it today. 24mm 1/2 drive socket/oil filter wrench. 1/2 hour tops.
• Mobil 1 0W-40 4 OTS $27.96
• Mitsubishi oil filter 1230A040 $12.60
• New copper washer $2.70
I think I'll will go with a Mobil 1 oil filter next time $6.00 cheaper, or Bosch 3300
Oil was $$$$$$ I'll look for a sale on oil next time. Changing oil at 5,000 miles.

There's no need to change the copper washer.

Changing oil at 5000 miles is at least doing it twice as often as necessary - and if you are complaing about the cost of oil then the cost is also at least twice as expensive - it's equivalent to paying $56.00 for oil alone. That sounds pretty exorbitant to me.

Trust in the oil and trust in the engineers who determined the proper OCI (Oil Change Interval). Both oil and engines are much improved over when the OCI's were 3-5 thousand miles. Also, when using synthetic oil the OCI's are much longer than when using standard petroleum oils.