How do I change my oil?

66chevyIISS

I agree spastic lol.

Never seen an oil change turn into a calculus forumla lol. This is being way over analysed.

Serendipity

I kinda freaked out when I saw the oil leaking, hence the many posts.

MikeC78

appadv wrote: »

I kinda freaked out when I saw the oil leaking, hence the many posts.

Exactly... And, as far as I know this is the "Clubhouse", not the 2-channel sub forum.

ben62670

I knew this one was going to be good for entertainment, and then Synthetic/Dino came up:eek: A surprise is that a few brand names came up and nobody ran with it

66chevyIISS

ben62670 wrote: »

I knew this one was going to be good for entertainment, and then Synthetic/Dino came up:eek: A surprise is that a few brand names came up and nobody ran with it

We all know Valvoline is better then Pennzoil

ben62670

Cod liver oil:D

Serendipity

66chevyIISS wrote: »

We all know Valvoline is better then Pennzoil

What about Castrol GTX vs. Pennzoil?

j/k

ben62670

Castrol GTX is recycled brown oil. Another vote for Valvoline.

Face

German Castrol Syntec 0-50.

Serendipity

My vote is for Pennzoil.

That's what they had the most of at Pep Boys, so it must be the best

heiney9

M1 Synthetic gets my vote. Before that you couldn't pry conventional Valvoline outta my clenched hands.

Also, as far as the leak........ on my car the "O" rings on the oil cooler tend to wear out. And where the connections are located made the leak from the bad "O" ring look like it was coming from somewhere else based on where the leaked oil landed.

I'm telling you that's why you need to be on a Nissan forum because these are the little common sense things that many owners run into and then post about. Sure Brett gave a suggestion...............but that's just one person who has owned or known someone that had owned a Nissan.

Broaden your horizons and join a Nissan based forum.

H9

brettw22

appadv wrote: »

How severe of an issue is this? And is it expensive to fix?

Also, if the engine has high mileage, would it be worthwhile to repair?

It's definitely a common problem, but I'd just keep an eye on it and see if you start noticing a big jump in your leakage (that sounds gross, but get over it)......

If you need to replace the main seal, it will be expensive because they have to pull the transmission (what on the engine I don't know for sure)......

Look at the top of the back of your engine and you'll see/feel an oil sensor. The oil could possibly be leaking out of that as well. If that's wet, replace it (a LOT cheaper than the main seal), and then degrease your engine to track if any new oil seeps out or not.

Serendipity

Thanks for your help!!

suprafantx

appadv wrote: »

My vote is for Pennzoil.

That's what they had the most of at Pep Boys, so it must be the best

I worked for oil company before so I know it is wrong to say Pennzoil oil is better than other brand oil. Each oil company has a unique formula, one oil brand is good for lubrication, the other brand is good for preventing thermal break down... The best oil is blend several different brands together so will have the best combination oil to protect moving parts of the engine.


J/K

heiney9

suprafantx wrote: »

I worked for oil company before so I know it is wrong to say Pennzoil oil is better than other brand oil. Each oil company has a unique formula, one oil brand is good for lubrication, the other brand is good for preventing thermal break down... The best oil is blend several different brands together so will have the best combination oil to protect moving parts of the engine.


J/K

The best oil is the one that has the ID code on the label which translates to being approved by the engines manufacturer.

Jstas

Amsoil. The rest are just pretenders.

Serendipity

brettw22 wrote: »

Look at the top of the back of your engine and you'll see/feel an oil sensor. The oil could possibly be leaking out of that as well. If that's wet, replace it (a LOT cheaper than the main seal), and then degrease your engine to track if any new oil seeps out or not.

I don't see any oil leaking out of the top of the back of the engine, but are you referring to viewing it from the front upwards or when the car is jacked up off the ground?

If you mean the top of the engine block, then no.

Serendipity

And yes this is a common problem, from what I've read at the maxima.org forum. But I'm reading conflicting information on how to remedy it.

Jstas

appadv wrote: »

But I'm reading conflicting information on how to remedy it.

JB Weld.

brettw22

If you're looking at it from the top, there is an oil sensor on the back between the firewall and engine (top 1/3 if I remember correctly) that has a wiring harness going to it. If that's not leaking, the problem is most likely your main seal. Just top it off on occasion and let it go.......the ONLY way to seal it is yank the tranny, so unless you're going to rebuild your transmission, don't bother......

I tried to find a pic, but I can't seem to find one that shows the backside of the engine. Granted, my sister has had 97 and 99 models, but I think that engine is pretty consistent in it's design.......

agfrost

Here's how NOT to change it:

I worked in the Grounds Dept. at the local hospital summers while I was in college--One thing we did was routine maintenance on the hospital president's company vehicle. My boss (code name: Genius) liked to suck up and do the work and delivery of the vehicle himself. Well, Genius didn't note that the oil pan had a split sump/two drain plugs, so he emptied one, new filter, replace plug, and cram the entire complement of oil into the crankcase. He returns the car, with probably 7+ quarts in a 5 quart crankcase, to the big boss with a smile.

Less than 24 hours later, big boss is stranded on the side of the road with blown seals, oil gone, and who knows what other damage.

Nice going, Genius.

Sorry, had to tell my fun oil-change story.

Jay

Lowell_M

I took a 6 sigma class a few years ago and the instructor and owner of the company is a DOE nut. He analyses everything. So, he did a study of the major synthetic motor oils. (viscocity at different temps, content compared to recommendations of porche engineers (he is friends with engineers at Porsche) blah blah blah. He only puts Mobil 1 in his Porche and periodically analyses and charts the oil performance and changes his oil based on statistic probability using his control charts (between 3000 and 10,000 miles per change depending on a bunch of weather characteristics and other stuff). Anyway.....Not trying to tell the story of how he did the study and what he studied, but this guy is brilliant....

So, nothing touches the inside of my G35 other than Mobile 1 after my conversations with Bill.

The actual story coming from Bill is much more convincing but I can't argue with him and the fact that many performance cars today ship with Mobil 1 in the crankcase.

Mike Kozak

engine on...check Flux Capacitor........fluxing

heiney9

a_mattison wrote: »

I took a 6 sigma class a few years ago and the instructor and owner of the company is a DOE nut. He analyses everything. So, he did a study of the major synthetic motor oils. (viscocity at different temps, content compared to recommendations of porche engineers (he is friends with engineers at Porsche) blah blah blah. He only puts Mobil 1 in his Porche and periodically analyses and charts the oil performance and changes his oil based on statistic probability using his control charts (between 3000 and 10,000 miles per change depending on a bunch of weather characteristics and other stuff). Anyway.....Not trying to tell the story of how he did the study and what he studied, but this guy is brilliant....

So, nothing touches the inside of my G35 other than Mobile 1 after my conversations with Bill.

The actual story coming from Bill is much more convincing but I can't argue with him and the fact that many performance cars today ship with Mobil 1 in the crankcase.

Along the same thing...........I have a "kit" here from Blackstone and I thought about getting my used oil analyzed by Blackstone labs........for sh*ts and grins of course.

Serendipity

brettw22 wrote: »

If you're looking at it from the top, there is an oil sensor on the back between the firewall and engine (top 1/3 if I remember correctly) that has a wiring harness going to it. If that's not leaking, the problem is most likely your main seal. Just top it off on occasion and let it go.......the ONLY way to seal it is yank the tranny, so unless you're going to rebuild your transmission, don't bother......

I tried to find a pic, but I can't seem to find one that shows the backside of the engine. Granted, my sister has had 97 and 99 models, but I think that engine is pretty consistent in it's design.......

Nope, I don't see any oil leaking on it from where you described.

brettw22

Then it's a main seal IMO........can't you just have a mechanic look at it and tell you?

Serendipity

The local shops around here charge quite a bit for a diagnosis...

brettw22

Maybe, but wouldn't you rather have it properly diagnosed than guessed at until your engine explodes........

NotaSuv

I have found that nothing beats sperm whale oil....i am getting 10-12 miles more per gallon and only have to change my oil once every 6 months since switching ,and at the same time I am helping ridthe oceans of these krill killing creatures

Jstas

appadv wrote: »

The local shops around here charge quite a bit for a diagnosis...

What's "quite a bit"? Because the going rate for a diag is 1-1.5 hours labor which is usually about $70-$105 now.

Honestly, if you have to ask this many questions and keep coming back on the "How am I supposed to learn?" quip, you are clearly in over your head. Even if you figure it out, you do not have the skills and likely not the tools to fix the leak properly. Believe me, I've done plenty of oil leak diagnostics and repairs pulling manifolds, oil pans and such. As experienced as I am, I hesitate to tackle certain projects too because I know my skill level and what tools I have versus what tools I need.

As helpful as everyone here is, even if you get the occasional person offering bad advice from mis-informed points of view, this is not the way to go about fixing your car. An endless thread on an audio forum on how to find an oil leak disguised with the almost...almost...laughable topic of how to change your oil is not going to get you anything but more confused.

Lastly, if it is in fact a bad main seal on an engine block, I really doubt that you have everything you need to tackle that project and after doing several myself, it is not a job a novice should be tackling in a driveway on a car that they rely on for transportation.

Change your oil. It's easy. put the car up on ramps, get a drain pan, put it under the car, crack open the drain plug and drain the oil. Put the drain plug back in and then unscrew the oil filter. Clean the filter mount with a rag. Fill the new filter with fresh oil from the oil you have to put in the engine. Using your finger, lube up the gasket with motor oil to prevent gasket tearing during installation. Screw the new filter on. Put the appropriate amount of oil in the oil filler spot. Check the levels on the dipstick. Start the car and let it idle until oil pressure comes up. Check for leaks. No leaks and good oil pressure, you're done. But if you have a main seal leaking, the oil has to be drained anyway and you'll waste the money you just spent on the new oil.

After that, take it to the mechanic, shell out the money for the diag. You're gonna hafta get it fixed by a mechanic anyway and they will usually give you a break on labor if they did the diag for you. You lack the skills needed and you likely lack the tools. So either get it done right or do it yourself and risk trashing your car and making your several hundred dollar repair turn into a several thousand dollar repair.

If that is unreasonable in your mind then sell your car and buy a car that is more in line with the budget or lack thereof that you have set up for maintenance and repair of your vehicle.