My First Oil & Filter Change.....

[tvengineer]

Just did mine... 2047 miles...

It would have been really easy.. except that smart apparently uses gorillas to tighten the sump plug...

I didn't have the correct socket.. tried a box wrench... tried a crescent wrench.. etc... finally broke down and went back to the auto parts store and got a 24mm socket and 18" breaker bar....
DAMN that thing was tight..

When I took the plug out.. i had not realized that the copper washer had fallen into the pan that I had to catch the old oil..
No problem I fished it out...
But had it not been for this thread.. I would NOT have known to buy a 24mm socket.. and would not have known to look for the copper washer..

next time will be MUCH easier :-)

Oh.. and pep boys did not stock the correct filter.. most of their cross ref. books don't even list the smart... I got the filter from the dealer ... hopefully soon they will have the filters at the auto parts store...

all in all .. changing the oil in the smart was easy... way easier than changing the darn air filter in my wifes VW beetle...ARGH..

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by tvengineer

It would have been really easy.. except that smart apparently uses gorillas to tighten the sump plug...

You guys must all be wimps.....

[tvengineer]

Originally Posted by Big Panda

You guys must all be wimps.....

No.. but I ain't no friggin BEAR....

Seriously..without jacking the smart.. you have to reach in kinda far.. not much leverage against the wrench.. but it was really tight

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by tvengineer

... Seriously..without jacking the smart.. you have to reach in kinda far.. not much leverage against the wrench.. but it was really tight

I made up a pair of low ramps out of 18"-long pieces of 2"x10," with the front edge beveled 30° and a 2"x2" tire stop at the back. That extra 1-1/2" makes a big difference with shoulder clearance and wrench swing.

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by tvengineer

No.. but I ain't no friggin BEAR....

Seriously..without jacking the smart.. you have to reach in kinda far.. not much leverage against the wrench.. but it was really tight

I didn't jack mine....did it right on the garage floor. Yes, with my breaker bar, not much room to maneuver for sure but I got the job done. "If" I had a 24mm socket and ratchet I would have been better off than with my box wrench, I'm sure the next time will be a no-brainer.

Mine was tight too. Oddly enough, after taking my front tires off this weekend with only a 15mm socket and breaker bar, the drain plug was torqued MUCH TIGHTER than my lug bolts!

[shadowchameleon]

Prices and part numbers for 10k service. Joe Taylor said Oil Filter, Oil, and AC Charcoal Filter need to be changed. And if not Genuine smart parts where did the part number conversion come from? ie Mitsubishi

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by shadowchameleon

Prices and part numbers for 10k service. Joe Taylor said Oil Filter, Oil, and AC Charcoal Filter need to be changed. And if not Genuine smart parts where did the part number conversion come from? ie Mitsubishi

Glad to see you back, 'shadow'......but you should be SLEEPING, not playing on the computer.

Anyway, what 'part number conversions' are you talking about? I know when I bought my oil filter from Joe, the box is actually a Mitsubishi box with a smart 'sticker' on it. It has both the smart/MB and the Mitsu numbers on it.

[chieftmc]

The Mobil 108 filter works just fine ......

[shadowchameleon]

for some reason i was thinking the filter would be 100% smart brand even though hardly anything inside is. VW/Audi, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Smart,etc. It is a mutt inside. Under 50 miles left.

[shadowchameleon]

Autozone website actually recognizes Smart. Next question on oil filter, what is better
MITSUBISHI, K&N, FRAM, STP, or BOSCH? Not even considering Valucraft