Dumb question: oil change

[zendude]

If you have the Amsoil oil system, why not stay with Amsoil oil?

[newoldguy]

This is just my opinion but I do my own oil changes and pretty much most maintenance items I can handle.


I tried the quickie oil change places as well as dealerships before when life was really hectic. Here are some of the "wish I didn't go there items":


1) Stripped on oil filter
2) Loose rear end plug. Had to install lube myself. Luckily it wasn't a long drive to home!
3) Dealer where I bought my Toyota new piled up shop rags above the skid pan to catch oil. I only found the rags after starting to do my own oil changes.
4) My GF swore by a certain dealer and was going to them for many years. They forgot to tighten the skid pan and she lost it on the freeway! I've been doing her oil changes ever since.


Is it getting clearer?

[Steve Hunt]

Originally Posted by newoldguy

This is just my opinion but I do my own oil changes and pretty much most maintenance items I can handle.


I tried the quickie oil change places as well as dealerships before when life was really hectic. Here are some of the "wish I didn't go there items":


1) Stripped on oil filter
2) Loose rear end plug. Had to install lube myself. Luckily it wasn't a long drive to home!
3) Dealer where I bought my Toyota new piled up shop rags above the skid pan to catch oil. I only found the rags after starting to do my own oil changes.
4) My GF swore by a certain dealer and was going to them for many years. They forgot to tighten the skid pan and she lost it on the freeway! I've been doing her oil changes ever since.


Is it getting clearer?

If not i can help make it a little clearer...Luckily I learned this lesson from a few friends.
-One took in his own synthetic oil, they said sure no problem, they drained it just fine and moved his car out to the parking area, checked him out, gave him the keys. He assumed the oil containers in the passenger floor were them showing him they used his oil. He cranked the engine and the oil light never went out...you guessed it, they never put the oil in.
-another friend got a stripped oil pan, he only noticed it after seeing the oil puddle in his driveway.
-somehow they set another friends on fire and mildly melted parts of his wiring harness....they just took electrical tape and did a half ass wrap job. He discovered it at some point, went back and they didn't even fight him, fessed up and reimbursed him for the dealer repair.

It's not that hard to do it yourself, get a friend that knows how to do it (or these days there are probably 1000 YouTube videos) and get some help the first time or two. You get to know your vehicle a bit and it's satisfying to do. Honestly I'd challenge whether taking it somewhere even saves any time at all.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by Steve Hunt

It's not that hard to do it yourself, get a friend that knows how to do it (or these days there are probably 1000 YouTube videos) and get some help the first time or two. You get to know your vehicle a bit and it's satisfying to do. Honestly I'd challenge whether taking it somewhere even saves any time at all.

This is the best advise so far---by a H-U-G-E margin! Being a critical operation that's relatively simple to learn and do even in your driveway and takes minimal tools. Also as mentioned it'd done better than many, many other for-hire outfits and adds the satisfaction DIY'ing brings.

(BTW) I'm sure most of us here can relate stories of friends who've suffered at the hands of the quickie change places---almost needless to say is avoid those like they're COVID-19 in company uniforms. )

It also adds a teaching situation where you begin to observe things maybe once left unattended which possibly lead to larger problems or inconvenient break downs during a trip or excursion. Another benefit is your increase in knowledge somewhat protects you from being scammed or charged for repairs that might not be necessary, just ways to separate customers from their money.

[1der]

Just a note here and as an owner of a diesel van - and guessing because the OP is using an Amsoil system they probably have a 6.0 -

Dealing with oil changes as a DIY is normally an easily learned process. The inconvenient part around either a 7.3 or 6.0 is the nearly FOUR GALLONS of oil that needs to be collected as it drains out. This is not a 5 qt oil change draining into the Pep Boys off the shelf oil drain pan. One needs a minimum five GALLON capacity bucket or six gallon drain pan. And then a way of capping that so it can be transported or transferred into smaller containers.

This is why for diesel van oil changes I have developed a list of a few local oil change sources and if on the road do some research to find a reputable place. I also stay and wait for it to be done and poke my head in to see what is being done. I like to supply my own filter even though the credit for that is near nothing. I write the oil change date and mileage on the filter w a sharpie before handing to the person at the oil change place.

I am in agreement that the nightmare stories are valid concerns. Those can be mitigated w being careful about where you go for an oil change.

[Cali Native]

If you DIY which I would not hesitate to do be aware that much oil (15

quarts?)comes out faster than many faucets on full blast and at an angle

that can easily be just outside where you calculated it should so have a really

big drip pan inside a even larger tub to insure against sky rocketing blood

pressure caused by dirty diesel oil flooding the garage.

Did anyone mention don't forget to change the crush washer as well ?

There was a recall at one time with those Amsol oil systems are you

sure yours is plumbed right?

[JWA]

Originally Posted by Cali Native

If you DIY which I would not hesitate to do be aware that much oil (15

quarts?)comes out faster than many faucets on full blast and at an angle

that can easily be just outside where you calculated it should so have a really

big drip pan inside a even larger tub to insure against sky rocketing blood

pressure caused by dirty diesel oil flooding the garage.

NOTHING like seeing oil draining exactly where you did NOT want it to go!

Good point but this device from this outfit tends to almost fully cure that situation: https://www.uniquetruck.com/category...il-drain-plugs If you visit that page select any part then watch the generic video.

I do my own oil changes so before installing these drain plugs I would more often than not have messes to clean up in the driveway. Sadly I've become adept at oil spill clean ups which is NOT a good thing. (BTW Purple Power's Driveway and Concrete Cleaner is a wonderful product--find it for less than $12/gallon at AutoZone etc etc.

I'm not familiar with the Amsoil oil system so if this doesn't fit the situation my bad...........

The drain hose fitting can be extended to any length so the catch pan can be located in the most convenient spot. I do keep a large kitty litter pan under the spin-off oil filter just in case, also have a suitably sized plastic can or bucket to physically catch the filter and hold its oil until moving it to the recycling container I keep just for waste oil.

I've nearly eliminated all oil spills by now but did learn by doing---I hope some of what we post here will benefit a novice to the wonderful thrill of changing their own oil.

HTH

[Steve Hunt]

Originally Posted by JWA

NOTHING like seeing oil draining exactly where you did NOT want it to go!



I've nearly eliminated all oil spills by now but did learn by doing---I hope some of what we post here will benefit a novice to the wonderful thrill of changing their own oil.

HTH

It doesn't take much dirty oil to completely get away from you and on the ground to make quite the mess for sure. It will likely happen at some point. I'm pretty good at it these days but I still put down a plastic sheet. I bought a roll of 30mil thick clear plastic on Amazon or somewhere ...its a crazy amount like 12' x 300' for $20 in a nice cardboard dispenser like a roll of aluminum foil comes in. It will last me a lifetime. I just pull down a 10' section, sit the new oil filter and tools I'm going to use on the corners, then drive the vehicle onto the whole square of plastic. Then any splashes or drips don't get on the concrete. When I'm done i just roll up paper towels, rags, old filter, packaging etc etc all in the plastic and into the garbage.

[wanderers]

If you do your own oil change on a diesel make SURE you get a filter specified for the engine. A guy I worked with had a brand new F-250 and on the first oil change he just put on a filter that fit. The filter collapsed, burnt up the engine and, since it wasn't a specified filter, he had to eat the cost of a new engine. He said there were only two filters specified at that time (about twenty years ago), a Ford filter and, I believe, a Wix. Don't know what the situation for specified filters is now. I do agree that the oil change itself is pretty simple. I didn't realize that there was quite that much oil in the diesels but it makes sense that you would have that high capacity to help deal with the heat of these engines. I agree with 1der about needing a way to cap the drained oil. It would probably hard, at least for me, to lift four gallons of oil in an open pan.
______
Roger

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by Steve Hunt

It doesn't take much dirty oil to completely get away from you and on the ground to make quite the mess for sure....

All the preparation in the world doesn't help when you forget to remove the inlet opening on 5 gallon combo drain tray/catch basin. You realize how very quickly that little catch area fills up and overflows and you reach into the dirty oil to remove the stopper.


Herb