You only need a few basic tools and follow a few safety precautions and you won't have to worry about going to those “quickie” oil change facilities ever again. The first thing you will need are some basic hand tools and shop supplies. Most of the hand tools should be in every household’s garage or junk drawer as they can be used for general repair around the house as well. The shop tools, as I call them, are a little more specific to garage work but are not generally needed for changing the oil, but they do serve to making the job a bit easier.

Hand tools needed for our Rogue include the following:

1) 3/8” drive socket wrench (to loosen the drain bolt and filter)
2) 3/8" drive 14mm socket (for the drain bolt)
3) Oil Filter wrench (generic style for removing oil filter)
OR
4) Specific fluted oil cap socket (fits the filter perfectly and uses the socket wrench for better twisting. You need a 14 flute by 65 mm wrench cap. The Rogue is too new so ask for one that fits the Nissan 350Z’s oil filter, it’s the same size)
5) Oil Drain Pan (to drain the used oil into)
6) Can of WD40 (not required but helpful, to clean around the drain bolt and the bolt itself)
7) Funnel (for pouring in new oil, and for pouring old oil from the drain pan to the recycling container)
8) Straight slot screwdriver (to pop two plastic bolts loose that cover the oil filter)

Items needed to complete the task:

1) Old milk jug or other suitable storage container for recycling the used oil
2) Hand towels for cleanup
3) Large piece of cardboard or old blanket to lay on to keep you from getting dirty and in case of spills
4) New oil (5 quarts of your choice)
5) New oil filter (part number 15208-65FOB. If “FOB” is not instock, use “FOC”)
6) New oil drain bolt crush washer (part number 11026-01M02)

Shop tools that make the job easier and/or safer include:

1) Pair of ramps (to raise the car if you can't fit underneath or need the additional clearance)
2) Pair of jacks (for safety while we are under the car)
3) Wheel chocks (in case the emergency brake fails)
4) Safety glasses or safety goggles (while you are under the car looking up we don't want road debris or oil accidentally coming down into your eyes)
5) Rubber or latex gloves (oil can be absorbed through your skin)

Ok, while that may seem like a long list of items to have to purchase, many of those can be found at your local dollar or discount store. Remember, once purchased, you can use them for many years which will justify their initial cost and perhaps, as in my case, allow you to change the oil for your family’s vehicles saving them some money as well.
For reference to changing the oil, which oil to use, and how often to change, the page to go to in the owners manual is 8-9. You may need to change the weight of the oil, frequency of change, or make other changes based on you driving habits and conditions.

Ok, to get started, make sure you have all the things you need. I once drained all the oil out of my car, only to find out I had used up my supply of fresh oil that I keep stored in the garage. I had to put the old oil back in the engine, drive to the store, buy new oil and go home and start over!
Normally I can squeeze under my cars but for demonstration purposes, I will use the ramps. If any of you use a floor jack to raise your car, make absolutely sure you chock the wheels and put jack stands underneath the car! I can not emphasize how much risk you take by only having the floor jack holding the vehicle up. Having a 3,500 pound weight being held up by one lone floor jack is not only risky, but stupid. USE JACK STANDS WITH A FLOORJACK! DO NOT USE THE TIRE CHANGING JACK THAT COMES WITH THE ROGUE! Using ramps is a much safer way to raise the car, but isn't perfect either. I drive my cars onto the ramps and then put jack stands underneath in case one or both ramps fail, that way, if my 3,500 pound Rogue comes down, it'll come down on the jack stands and not me...
A word about ramps: DON'T USE WOOD BLOCKS! Wood will split. If it splits, out comes the ramp from under that wheel, and down the car goes on you!

1) Begin by warming up the engine. The oil needs to be warmed in order for all of it to flow out of the drain easier. It will also be easier to remove the drain bolt and filter when it is warm. You do not have to warm up the engine to operating temperature (6 to 7 of those LCD blocks on the temperature gauge), 3 to 4 of the LCD blocks should be fine. If you do get to 6 or 7 LCD blocks, then let it cool off for about ten minutes because if the oil is at operating temperature, it is HOT! You will not want to risk hot oil burning your fingers when you remove the drain bolt and filter!

2) Drive the vehicle up on the ramps. First put the ramps right in front of the front wheels, making sure your front wheels are straight, and the ramps are straight.
It will seem daunting at first, and if you need someone to stand outside to help guide you, have them stand out of the way off to the side in case you step on the gas instead of the brake...The CVT makes going up the ramp much easier than with a stick shift!

3) Once on the ramps, turn off the vehicle, set the parking brake, pull the hood release button, get out, chock the rear wheels, and put the jack stands underneath any strong point. Don't put them underneath something plastic or where there is thin sheet metal. You need to place them under something strong and thick which will support the weight of the Rogue should the ramps fail. I place mine under axles or rocker panels as those are very strong and can support the weight. My ramps are rated for 12,000 pounds, and the Rogue is 3,500. SAFETY FIRST!

4) Insert your finger in the gap between the hood and top of the grille about one and a half to two inches. You will feel the hood safety catch just to the right of the centerline of the hood. Pull it to the side and raise the hood up. The hood prop is under the front lip of the HOOD, not on top of the brace in front of the radiator like it is with most cars! Look for the arrow that is embossed in the brace that points to a square hole, that’s where the end of the prop goes to hold the hood up. Loosen, but don't remove, the oil filler cap. This is to let air in the engine as the oil drains out below, but you don't want to remove the cap, in case a leaf or other debris falls into the oil filler hole. (OPTIONAL: Clean around the oil filler cap with a rag sprayed with WD-40, you don't want any debris or moisture going into the oil filler neck).

5) Lay out a blanket or hunk of cardboard underneath the engine if you have it, and grab your socket, filter wrench, and oil drain pan. Put on your goggles and latex gloves and lay down underneath. The drain bolt is on the passenger side about two feet from the front bumper. Be careful you remove the correct bolt, it looks like the CVT transmission is on the drivers side and has a bolt for draining the transmission fluid. (OPTIONAL: Clean around the bolt with a rag sprayed with WD-40 to remove dirt and debris, you don't want it getting inside the oil pan). Loosen the bolt with the socket wrench just about one full turn and then loosen the bolt by hand until it's ready to come out. If you drop it, it'll fall into the drain pan and you can retrieve it and clean it later. At this point it will probably take about two minutes for most of the oil to drain. It'll gush out at first, then dribble, then drip. Clean the oil drain bolt with a clean rag or towel, take off the old washer and install a new one. You may need a flat head screwdriver to pop the old washer off. Don’t pry on the threads of the bolt either, you’ll ruin those. It's called a crush washer because as you tighten it, it will start to "crush" and form a seal against the drain bolt and the seating surface of the pan. Some people say you can reuse them but you risk a leak if you don't seal it correctly. Make sure there is no dirt or chipped paint (the bolt and pan are painted) in the threads and wipe the drain hole one last time of any dripping oil. Put the end of the bolt up to the drain hole and reinstall the bolt by hand (TRICK: It's easier to make the threads of the bolt and the threads of the hole line up by turning the bolt as if you were loosening it. Once per revolution, you will feel the bolt "jump" as the start of the thread on the bolt meets the start of the thread on the hole, it will then be seated correctly and ready to turn the correct way and it will thread its way in easily. IF YOU FEEL THE BOLT BINDING UP AS YOU TIGHTEN IT, OR IT GETS HARD TO TIGHTEN BY HAND then you are not engaging the threads correctly and will strip the bolt and drain pan. This is the most common mistake made at those oil change garages and they don't tell you that they have just ruined your 200 dollar oil pan! NEVER force the bolt, if it doesn't feel right, loosen it back up and try again). At this point the bolt should screw up snug against the crush washer by hand. Now you can use your socket wrench to cinch the bolt down just a little further. (TRICK: If you have a torque wrench, set it for 25 foot pounds and tighten). Simply put the socket over the bolt head and give the wrench just a few tugs. You don't want to over tighten the bolt, if you do, it will be MUCH harder to remove the next time!

6) Now move the drain pan underneath where the filter is. It’s hidden behind a plastic guard and held in place by several plastic bolts. The plastic guard is right along side and just forward of the passenger tire. You will have to pop two of the four plastic bolts that hold it on by prying the center head loose. It raises up past the flange or “washer” part of the bolt and then you can pull the bolt out by hand. Once the two bolts are out you can pry back the plastic cover by hand and remove the oil filter. Here is where the 65mm 14 flute cap and wrench will come in VERY handy. My generic oil filter strap didn’t fit the filter, which was too small. The generic straps work by strapping around the filter and using the friction of the strap against the filter body to work the filter loose but more often than not, it just squeezes the filter making it a lot harder to remove. Once the filter is loose, remove it by hand by continuing to unscrew it and watching for several more ounces of oil to drain out. As soon as it's loose it will start to dribble oil and it will run on top of the suspension arm that is just below it. You will need a rag to wipe off the oil from that cross beam. The filter will have a few ounces of oil in it so keep the hole/threads of the filter upright once you remove it from the threaded post. Maneuver it over the drain pan and turn it downwards to drain the oil out. Let any oil still in the engine dribble out through the threaded post that the filter attaches too for a minute or so. Take your new filter, and open a bottle of fresh oil. If you are wearing latex gloves, then stick your fingetip in the bottle to get some oil on the end of your finger (if no gloves, take the corner of your rag and get some oil on the end of it) and then spread the fresh oil around the rubber seal of the new filter. You don't need a lot, just two drops will be fine. Just so it glistens on the seal. Take your rag and wipe the seating surface where the filter goes. It's the big flat circle that is as big around as the rubber seal. That rubber mates against that flat spot to make a seal. Now put the filter up the threaded post and turn backwards, as if you are unscrewing it. This is the same as the oil drain bolt. You will feel within one revolution the filter skipping onto the threads and then you can turn it the other way and begin threading it onto the post by hand to the point where the filter won't turn any more. Now you can use your filter wrench or cap to give it another 3/4 of one revolution to make it fit snug. We are almost ready to add fresh oil!

7) Double check your oil drain bolt and filter are both snug and come out from under the car. Slide out the oil drain pan full of used oil and take a moment to look at the old oil. It should look like glossy black soup. Its job is to keep the moving parts of the engine lubricated and help carry heat away from the pistons and cylinders adding long life to the engine. You should have had a total of about 4 to 4.75 quarts come out. If not, that could mean your engine is burning oil. Not good. Now, make sure to pour the old oil into your recycling container. My old oil filled one and a quarter milk jugs, which is just right. Our garbage carrier will recycle it for free. Now finish unscrewing the oil filler cap (remember we left it loose to let air in as the old oil drained out) and clean its threads and the threads of the filler neck with a clean rag. Put the funnel in the filler hole and begin pouring in fresh oil. You can buy oil by the quart or the gallon. If you have quart bottles, you will need to pour in 4 and 7/8ths of a bottle. That’s if you changed the filter. Pour in 4.5 quarts if you didn't change the filter. Once done, remove the funnel keeping the rag under its snout so oil doesn't drip off of it and onto you or the top of the engine. Reinstall the oil filler cap snugly by hand and close the hood. Make sure all tools and rags are accounted for as you don't want to start your car or back it off the ramps if you left something underneath or in the engine compartment. Now you are ready for the last step.

8) Remove the jack stands from under the Rogue and remove the chocks from the rear wheels and get in the Rogue. Start her up! Now you can back the Rogue off the ramps (remember you should have removed the jack stands and wheel chocks) and once off the ramps, put the Rogue in park and set the parking brake and check your gauges. She should be idling smoothly (my cars always purr like a kitten after a fresh oil change) and the engine temperature should show cold (after all you just put in new room temperature oil...). Let it warm up a bit while you hop out and look underneath for any oil leaks or drips. Wipe your brow and pat yourself on the back, you just finished your first oil change!

While I have written a lot here, it's not that complicated at all. Once you are familiar with changing the oil it can be done quickly, probably on average of 20 minutes from start to finish, and doing it yourself means you know it was done, and done correctly. Thank you for reading my article, I hope I have made some of you feel more confident about performing an oil change by yourselves. Happy motoring!

If the pictures are not loading, I have a brand new photoalbum page with all seven pictures, unfortunately I can't link directly but if you click here:

http://mandp.myphotoalbum.com/...bum01

You should be able to download them one by one. Seems I've exceeded my bandwidth or have other troubles at my standard hosting site...

Modified by Beagle_Hauler at 6:13 PM 12/3/2007

Modified by Beagle_Hauler at 6:42 PM 12/3/2007

Modified by Beagle_Hauler at 6:45 PM 12/3/2007

Very well done! Thanks so much for the time you took to share this with the Rogue forum. We all owe you a big thank you!

This is a fantastic example to use if anyone else has an interest in creating a how-to article!

As a small token of our gratitude, and reward for your hard work, you are entitled to chose a custom title. Notice vox has "Boston Driver".. Let me know what you'd like and I'll install it.

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

I find it odd the dealer did not put in the recommended oil. If you are under warranty you should always go with what the manufacturer states. I've heard of horror stories where an engine siezed and because they used the wrong oil type, their warranty was voided.

- Don't overtighten the filter. 3/4 of a revolution (about as tight as I can get by hand) is plenty.
- Don't overtighten the drain plug.
- For some reason the local dealerships (I tried 2) no longer carry the crush washers. They provide a flat copper one instead. They work just fine.

For those that are more at home under thier cars, it is possible to do oil changes without jacking the car or using ramps. I do it on my Altima and the wifes Mazda Protege all the time and they have significantly less ground clearance than the Rogue. Hint, steer the front tires to the right so you can access the oil filter easier.

As for oil grades, Castrol Syntec 0W30 (has red label and "made in germany" printed on the back) is my favorite. Many owners of Nissan V6's and the 2.5l 4cyl have had good results in wear tests and some have noticed less noise and smoother operation. If you are interested in reading more, check out:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

I took a filter into the local NAPA and bought a filter wrench (3/8" drive cap wrench) that fit perfectly.

Because I know how those plastic fasteners they use on the cover in the fender well do not hold up under repeated use, I did a workarond. I drilled a 1/4 inch hole at the bottom of the cover. so I could pull it back just enough to change the filter and tie-wrap it to the suspension. When I cut the tie-wrap it sprung right back into place.

At 700 miles, I drained the original oil to get the initial load of wear metals out, and changed to AMSOIL 5w-30 full synthetic. And no, it will not keep your engine from braking in or make your seals leak. I have used it and sold it for years.

+1 for breaking plastic fastners. I've had to many on my 4yr old Alty. Almost every one that holds the splash shields in the wheel wells and the rad undertray has broken.

I've read/heard many good things about Amsoil as well although I have never used it personally.

Dave

All I used was a crescent wrench for the drain plug and a channel-lock wrench for the filter since the filter is so small on the Rogue vs. the filters on my Mustangs and truck.

I do have to mention that it is not necessary to remove the cover over the filter. It has enough play to get a wrench in there to loosen the filter. It will not get in the way of the draining oil either. Besides the crush ring, it's just like my Fords (none of which use crush rings or washers). I do like the position of the filter. Easy to get to and remove.

Yes. Keep your receipts and a simple log detailing when the oil was changed. I had used this method in the past for another warranty claim. The dealer accepted copies of my oil change log and receipts as valid proof the maintenence schedule was followed.

My Altima had the same splash shield setup and I never removed it. I just gently pryed the one corner enough to remove/install the filter. The same can be done with the Rogue.

Yup, no need to remove the plastic shield. It's just extra effort and eventually the plastic fasteners will wear out.

Personally, I've almost always been able to hand-turn the oil filters on my VW's without the need for a wrench. I was surprised to not be able to do it with this one, and since my wrench was a claw (and I didn't have any channel locks or likewise tools around), I had to fight the thing. Nissan put this sucker on tight. But I got it eventually.

Everything else was as straightforward as any oil change I've ever done. I use Mobil 1 with a Bosch filter.

Its one of those things where unless you get it in writing, I'm skeptical about. Its probably up to owners to prove the change was done, but short of taking lots of pics and signing an affidavit, what proof can we come up with?

Are you also buying crush washers from NAPA? or directly through Nissan? I can't imagine there is any price disparity on something so simple/cheap.

Thanks!
Sampson

They are less than 1$/piece at the dealership (they won't do that much of a profit with that item ).

For some reason my local Nissan dealer(s) do not sell the crush washers anymore. They are just thick copper ones you can buy anywhere.

For you canucks out there, don't buy the plastic oil filter socket from crappy tire. I just broke mine right in half. The factory must have really screwed the first filter on pretty tight. And thanks for the NAPA tips Phil , I bought the longer Wix made ones, running Mobil one now, and they were still cheaper than the OEM's from the dealership (nearly $10 )

I have one of those. It keeps slipping all the time but I have not broken it yet. Not very well made IMHO.

Talked the dealer into "showing" me and several other Rogue DIY owners in a howto for home oil changes..of course, I let them use mine for the demo.. and started the dealerships first monthly "backyard garage" series that has increased sales there by 15%..and the parts counter is booming.

Now, less guessing and some fact: I changed my oil at 5411km (3360 miles) because I was going on an about 1000 miles drive, so why not change it before than after.
It did make my oil analyzed and the results were 20ppm of iron, 32 ppm of copper, 1 of lead and 1 of titanium. Lots of Silicon (145ppm) but it is from the gasket (harmless) so nothing to worry about.

In the end, it is a close to perfect oil in a break in engine which did not need to be changed earlier.

I am now on a 7500 miles interval on the oil (to be reach around mid november).

I do a lot of highway miles, so that is easy on the oil. I don't not your driving use.

I decided to keep my $$ to buy flowers to my wife and toys to my baby (and LEDs for my Rogue ).

You have the fact and the anal thought on it, it is your $$$, so it is you to choose what you want to do.

I ask because I'm planning longer change intervals, and use a type 3 synthetic, but was still planning on somewhat more frequent change intervals for the winter months (perhaps 7500-8000 km in the winter, vs. 10-12k in the summer months). If you do get an oil analysis done in the winter, I'd be interesting to know how different the engine wear will be given the same driving conditions but drastically colder temperatures.

And yes, I will do others oil analysis, one at the end of this interval (summer), and one at the end of the winter one to see the differences, if any, on the engine. That will be a good experiment as the commute is steady and don't use the car that much on weekends.

Right now, my oil is Valvoline Synpower, and I will put Pennzoil Platinum in mid november (PP is on the thin side of the 5W30 oil and has good CCS and MRV values for cold start characteristics). There are both group 3 oils too.

After it is still a question mark as I don't know yet if I will use my car that much, but for sure I want to keep the longer interval possible, that 3750 miles interval is a joke when every other manufacturers have at least 5000 miles interval and even higher.

I think that even if I use my car only for short trips and city driving (with some long drives to help fight the fuel dilution), I will go at the 8000kms (5000 miles) mark and will back it up with an oil analysis.

That is my take on this. I know some think that I am pushing too far, but others are more adventurous than me, so I may be a little more crazy than average, let say.

My driving habits will be more like a schedule 1.75. I will do most of my driving on the interstate at 25 miles to/from work each way. The only part of schedule 1 I will be doing is during the summer months here in Memphis the temp is in the high 90's for about 2 months, and the only stop and go I do is in rush hour traffic, which is no more than 4 - 5 miles each way. I will probably do schedule 1 for the first oil change and then schedule 2 for the remaining times.

Now that my I got rid of my sports car and can actually get underneath this car I might start doing oil changes on my own thanks to the great documentation above.

So I will say we have about the same driving.

I am at 13.000kms on the car, 7600kms on the oil (4750 miles) and will go up to the allowed 7500 miles mark ( around mid november) after having done the first oil change at about 3400 miles (before my holidays) like you plan to do.
BTW, results were good with 20ppm of iron and 32ppm of copper.
I will do an oil analysis of the oil at this time and put the results here so you will see it is still a good idea to do the schedule 2 maintenance.

I am you guinea pig

FULL Synthetic oil.. have been a fan for years.. currently using Quaker state advanced due to price and availability.. it's 60% the cost of Mobil 1 presently.
Amsoil is also a top rated oil but scarce and expensive around these parts.

Special washer for oil pan plug gasket? any metric COPPER washer that fits will work if dealer crush washer is not available...DO NOT try to use steel or o-rings or the like.. you will develop a drip.

The little engine is designed to run hot for best mileage so I oil change at 3,000 just as a round number(doing mostly short hops) I will also change at 3-4 months just so I don't develop a problem with acid buildup/condensation contamination or any of the plagues of the short trip cars. A few bucks for oil and filter is much cheaper than losing time sitting at the dealer getting something fixed....