1st attempt to oil change failed= need help!!

[evil200000000]

Hello fellow members,

I've searched and read some of the oil change posts already and have not found what I was looking for. And because of those posts, I felt it was fairly easy to do so I gave it a try. I bought the synthetic oil, 2 axe stands and a hydraulic bottle jack (plus other little things). So my first problem is with the bottle jack being to tall to fit under the edge of the car. Where would be the best spot(s)to jack up the car? a picture would be great. So i went on to use the tire change jack in the truck instead. Got the car jacked up, attempted to take off the drain plug from underneath. Problems come up again. I used a crescent wrench turning the plug counterclockwise and striped the s*** out of that thing. like WTF.. Did I do this wrong or did the guy at the dealer use an impact gun and screwed the s*** out of my drain plug? anyway, my question is are the thread on that plug counterclockwise and that I should take it out by going clockwise or vise versa? according the manual in chanter 8-9, the picture shown the drain plug with a arrow going clockwise where the writing is saying counterclockwise. Would anyone be able to tell me the drain plug size? I think i need another one if I can even get this s*** out. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT: APRIL 04/2009

So, I attempted to give it another shot at it and it worked. Thanks to all of those throwing out suggestions and tips. I returned my axe stands and bottle hydraulic jack and bought a pair of rhynoramp. It worked out great and saved a lot of time. I tried both the 14mm and 9/16 socket and the 9/16 worked better. I had to use a pipe as a extension to get more leverage to take it out. I replaced the plug with one that says for the sentra because there isn't one for the versa at a local canadian tire store. The filter was easily accessed from underneath and was only hand tighten off and on. The oil came out still pretty clean. I had a sticker saying oil change at 21000 and im at 22500. I drive 90% city. How long should i change my next oil considering i use the mobil 1 synthetic oil? Will a normal filter be compatible with the longer oil change? Anyways, it really feels great to have it done. It was pretty easy after all, just not haing the right tools that's causing the problem. once again, thanks everyone!
Modified by evil200000000 at 10:58 PM 4/4/2009

[silverarrow27]

14mm socket

I did my first oil change yesterday too and it's more of a pain than I'm use to. Was quite a windy day too so that made it less fun with oil spraying all over the driveway.

You should have just bought a set of those plastic car ramps to drive up onto. $40 and will last you a very long time.

Btw, lefty loosey and righty tighty.

[shiryu0]

get yourself a set of sockets and a ratchet.........the last thing u wanna use is a crescent wrench, unless its a big gigantic bolt/nut/suspension part, which the V has pretty much none...........lol

and yes, if youve taken to some 'place' to get ur oil change done they probably used an air rachet, thankfully the V doesnt have an aluminum pan, ive seen my share of stripped drain plugs on alloy pans.............

[Driving Instructor]

Mr. Lube.

[evil200000000]

i've always let my dealership to change my oil cuz it was included with the car but now they're telling me that i need to do their schedule maintenance so I said screw this. i hate how they use little things like this to catch your attention. but i'm still liking my car.

back on the oil change, if the plug is stripped, what can i do?

[MinisterofDOOM]

Don't use "bottle" style jacks for changing the oil. Get a hydraulic floor jack. Drops lower and lifts higher. Much easier to work with in addition to being safer. Don't forget wheel chocks (even just pieces of wood) if your driveway's not level. Toss the "bottle" jack in the back of the car for your next flat tire and you'll be glad to have an upgrade over the clumsy scissor jack.

Drain plug is standard lefty-loosey. No one should EVER EVER use an impact wrench to tighten a drain plug on a modern car as oil pans are usually aluminum these days. Alminum is soft and strips easily from overtightening. If you strip it, you have to re-tap and use a goofy custom drain plug or replace the whole pan. Carefully tighten by hand with a wrench, don't overtighten.

The manual shows the only acceptable lift points for using a jack. Only those points are able to support the car. If you use the jack anywhere else you risk damaging the frame and/or bodywork or whatever else you're putting the car's weight on. Easiest way if you want to be super safe is to use the forward middle lift point behind the bumper, then place your jack stands at each of the forward side lift points behind each front wheel. Gives you the most room to move around and lots of safety.

Remember to put the drain plug back in before adding your new oil. Sounds simple but I know a fair number of people who aren't used to changing their own oil who have forgotten that step a time or two.

Also, don't forget about your oil filter. Find a good filter wrench...a good one is worth the money as cheap ones can just add to frustration.

Gasoline is excellent for cleaning oil spills as it's oleophilic (will absorb the oil) just be careful (of course). Pour a little gas on your spill spot, let it sit for a minute (not too long or the gas will evaporate) and wipe up with a rag. Make sure to dispose of the rag safely because gasoline fumes can lead to bad things.

It also helps a lot to have a 5+ gallon bucket/jug/or other container on hand to store the oil in until you can take it somewhere to be disposed of. Something with a wider mouth makes getting it out of the drain pan less potentially messy.

[#1Tango]

righty tighty, lefty loosey. 14mm socket, and careful about the oil filter. mine was screwed on SO tight that i had to jam a screwdriver through it and TRY to twist it off. it was SO tight that the filter just ripped in half and i had to get a tow truck to take my car to jiffy lube....

take your time. patience. and use the right tools

[Papercarz]

Jam a screwdriver through it... and then ripped in half? Damn that is some violent oil changing!

[Bubs daddy]

Some suggestions:

Get some ramps, it's much easier.

Use a specific socket and ratchet. Don't use a crescent (adjustable) wrench.

Use brake cleaner for any spills. Evaporates very quickly.

[feloniousmonk]

Mr. Lube.

Gaining knowledge and skill to do it yourself is priceless and a bargain compared to paying Mr. Lube to possibly not do it right. You, as a driving instructor, should know better. I feel sorry for your students. How can you be a teacher and not encourage one's thirst for knowledge?!

[frankoV]

Gaining knowledge and skill to do it yourself is priceless and a bargain compared to paying Mr. Lube to possibly not do it right. You, as a driving instructor, should know better. I feel sorry for your students. How can you be a teacher and not encourage one's thirst for knowledge?!

My guess? Litigious society.

Suggest someone do their own oil changes, the car falls/they forget to put the plug back in/they spill oil on the driveway/their nails get dirty and voila! a lawsuit on your hands.

[sooner4x4]

Ask around some of your friends if someone could spend some time on a weekend showing you all of the little details on doing an oil change properly. It is a relatively simple procedure compared with other car repairs or maintenance. But it is easy to mess up also and the consequences could be very expensive. I have shown several of my son's friends how to do this.

It is a good feeling when you do the job yourself correctly. But you do need some proper tools. I have a ton of tools and do quite a bit of work myself on my cars and don't even own a crescent wrench. They are ok to carry around on a tractor to make basic adjustments or to tighten something in the field.

[silverarrow27]

If stripped, VICE GRIPS are your best friends most of the time. Get a replacement from Nissan first.

[#1Tango]

Jam a screwdriver through it... and then ripped in half? Damn that is some violent oil changing!

ya, im pretty HxC when it comes to my oil changes

[pfc369]

zerothread?id=332829this is how i did my oil change.

[scooterbob]

zerothread?id=332829this is how i did my oil change.

How does this form of oil change remove any possible sediment, metal shavings or anything else on the bottom of the pan? I wouldn't say there is a lot of these sediments, but there has to be some, right? (Hopefully the filter woud take of all of this) I'm just trying to see if there is any negative things about using your form of oil change method, that's all. Anyone?...........

[Driving Instructor]

Gaining knowledge and skill to do it yourself is priceless and a bargain compared to paying Mr. Lube to possibly not do it right. You, as a driving instructor, should know better. I feel sorry for your students. How can you be a teacher and not encourage one's thirst for knowledge?!

You will be thanking me when you don't put your oil pan bolt on properly and you loose all you oil on the hyway then blow your engine!

Also, if you not "knowledgeable" enough how to do this, what will you do when you did not secure your car properly and it falls on you.....

Ignorance does not get you far.

For years, I changed my oil. I have my first year mechanic apprenticeship and I drove tow truck for years. I have scene what happens when people who don't know what to do attempt this.

evil20000000000, I applaud you when it comes to trying but remember that if anything goes wrong, waranty does not cover this.

[Rockhound]

You will be thanking me when you don't put your oil pan bolt on properly and you loose all you oil on the hyway then blow your engine!

Also, if you not "knowledgeable" enough how to do this, what will you do when you did not secure your car properly and it falls on you.....

Sure, but that's an extreme case. If you do the QC work afterward, drive it around the block, check for leaks when you get back, you should be able to prevent something as catastrophic as you described.

When I was in college, it wasn't always possible for me to change my oil, so on a few occasions I took my car to a quick-lube joint. Once, a genius at Walmart didn't put the filter on properly on my Sentra, which resulted in a slow leak. That was the last time I didn't do the job myself.

My other concern is that I use Mobil1, and I question the honesty of some establishments. I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, but most quick-lube places charge $45-$60 bucks for a synthetic change around here. I would not be a bit surprised to find that some places will charge $60 only to fill'er up with good 'ol $1/quart Trop Artic and pocket the change. It isn't readily apparent from the dipstick what kind of oil you received, anyway.

Plus, I can do a Mobil1 oil change + filter for about $25 myself, correctly.

Also, I'd highly recommend using ramps. They are easy to use, foolproof, and secure.

[ereinion]

A question about oil change..... Is do it yourself void your waranty? Some guy at work told me i can do it myself and will not void my waranty, as long as i keep the receipt. But salesman said i have to do it at dealer to not void waranty..... I am sure it is for $$ he said that, but...... I don't do a lot of KM in a year, average 12 000 km/ year for the last 3 years, so doing it myself same me some $$ since lower cost, and i will go synthetic too, will do around 2 times a years and will be enough...

So what to do .....

[Rockhound]

A question about oil change..... Is do it yourself void your waranty? Some guy at work told me i can do it myself and will not void my waranty, as long as i keep the receipt. But salesman said i have to do it at dealer to not void waranty..... I am sure it is for $$ he said that, but...... I don't do a lot of KM in a year, average 12 000 km/ year for the last 3 years, so doing it myself same me some $$ since lower cost, and i will go synthetic too, will do around 2 times a years and will be enough...

So what to do .....

DIY oil changes absolutely do not void your warranty. Some folks strongly urge the practice of keeping the receipt of your oil & filter purchase, which is fine if you wish to do so, but a receipt of purchase of said items does not prove that they were installed properly nor in a timely manner.

The burden of proof is on Nissan to prove that your oil changes caused the problem on which you are seeking warranty coverage. It's also worth noting that the owner's manual uses language like the "recommended oil change interval", not required.

[ereinion]

Ty for prompt answer,

another question in that line, switching from dino to synthetic, any particular step between the two, do i have to do one change with a mix dino/synt. ? or just do a syntetic? and do i keep the same code? mean 5w40 if good memory.

[raventare]

Most of the posts answered most of the questions but...you may want to remove the plastic shield under the filter prior to removing the filter and that will take some special learned skill as there are two plastic fastenersthat give me a pain. Always while you are under there, check and clean the surrounding area. This will give you knowledge of what has happened since your last visit. NO oil change place will do that for you and that is priceless for the future of your car. High quality absorbent towels (blue in my case) and a good quality "bio-degradable" cleaner, buy it by the gallon with a squirt bottle because you will be needing it, and not aerosol cans of brake cleaner or gasoline, unless you have more dollars than sense. A couple of brushes, toothbrush and finger-nail brush, should take care of all the heavy grime and then clean you afterwards if you don't by a box of rubber/neoprene gloves. Some people are allergic to latex gloves so be careful.

I like to mix my oils but always use the same grade for warranties...1 qt Mobil one, 1 qt Syn Blend, 1 qt Royal Purple, 1qt straight dinosaur oil, finishing with some oil additive...many choices. Don't go to Synthetic tillthe engine has been used for a while, about 5-10,000 miles, depending on your type of driving.

I have also found that my Versa and my GT-R use the same Fram oil filterunless you get the higher level Fram and that is a bigger filter...size matters with filters and I believe the more the merrier so I am using the larger size now on the Versa...Anyone else experienced in this?

[Driving Instructor]

I ran 3 oil changes with syn and I was my level of oil was dropping. I went back to conventional oil and everything is back to normal. All my oil changes are done at the dealer as usually I have waranty work that needs to be done! lol

[Rockhound]

Ty for prompt answer,

another question in that line, switching from dino to synthetic, any particular step between the two, do i have to do one change with a mix dino/synt. ? or just do a syntetic? and do i keep the same code? mean 5w40 if good memory.

No, there's no special 'step' to switching. You can just switch straight up on your next oil change. Synthetic oil myths die hard...and trust me, they are all myths. You can mix it with conventional oil, you can use it in high-mileage cars, you can switch back and forth from change to change.

These myths are about as prevalent as the idea that Pennzoil leaves 'wax' buildup in your engine because some pinhead thought that paraffinic crude oil meant that the oil had paraffin wax in it to provide lubrication. Most conventional motor oils are made from paraffinic crude oil, but this 70+ year old myth persists to this day.

Speaking of myths...

I like to mix my oils but always use the same grade for warranties...1 qt Mobil one, 1 qt Syn Blend, 1 qt Royal Purple, 1qt straight dinosaur oil, finishing with some oil additive...many choices. Don't go to Synthetic tillthe engine has been used for a while, about 5-10,000 miles, depending on your type of driving.

I have also found that my Versa and my GT-R use the same Fram oil filterunless you get the higher level Fram and that is a bigger filter...size matters with filters and I believe the more the merrier so I am using the larger size now on the Versa...Anyone else experienced in this?

Okay, where did you get the 5-10k mile "rule" for synthetic? Everything I've read on the matter from technical sources would rule this out as nothing but a synthetic oil myth. How do you explain that many cars come with factory-fill synthetic?

And why oh why go to all that trouble mixing your oil? Talk about diminishing returns.

Furthermore, Fram oil filters are widely regarded as pure crap. There's a now-famous oil filter 'study' that was published on the web a few years back that showed that the build quality and durability of Fram filters is suspect. There are plenty of other brands that don't cost much more that offer much better quality (Purolator, for one). It enraged Fram enough to threaten legal action, although he was very clear in his language that he wasn't recommending/bashing filters as much as he was simply stating the results of sound measurements.

Here's the link to the oil filter study: http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw....html

As for filter size, from what I've read, there probably isn't much to gain. Some hypermilers think that a larger filter = less oil flow restriction = better mileage. That's likely bunk since filters have a bypass valve that pass oil through in the event that there is a flow restriction through the filter medium (which is almost always). Nissan spec'ed the filter to meet the needs of the engine - if there was actually much to gain, they would have put a larger filter on from the get go.

I ran 3 oil changes with syn and I was my level of oil was dropping. I went back to conventional oil and everything is back to normal. All my oil changes are done at the dealer as usually I have waranty work that needs to be done! lol

Really? So synthetic oil made your engine lose oil? Sorry, I'm not buying it.
Modified by Rockhound at 4:34 PM 4/3/2009

[Red Devil]

I like to mix my oils but always use the same grade for warranties...1 qt Mobil one, 1 qt Syn Blend, 1 qt Royal Purple, 1qt straight dinosaur oil, finishing with some oil additive...many choices. Don't go to Synthetic tillthe engine has been used for a while, about 5-10,000 miles, depending on your type of driving.

Mixing oil is actually a bad thing, same thing with adding oil additives. You pay x2-x4 as much for synthetic for a reason. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in testing and development to create a specific oil composition. Mixing oils can actually cause the various detergents to counteract or react differently. Castrol may have 1 type of detergent/additive package that works great with Castrol, but could reduce the effectiveness if mixed with Amsoil or RP. Adding additives could also produce the same issue. And why even bother putting in non-synthetic? It's just backwards and really serves no purpose except to reduce the synthetics effectiveness.

You have a GT-R? I find that hard to believe. And I pray to god you don't do the same oil mixing to the GT-R if ya do.

How does this form of oil change remove any possible sediment, metal shavings or anything else on the bottom of the pan? I wouldn't say there is a lot of these sediments, but there has to be some, right? (Hopefully the filter woud take of all of this) I'm just trying to see if there is any negative things about using your form of oil change method, that's all. Anyone?...........

The oil filter is there to remove any particles over a certain micron size. Do you know how big a micron is? This is also why I'll never use a fram filter as well. anything over 20 microns will cause pre-emptive wear and I don't trust the cheapo par medium to do the job in the Fram filters.

[feloniousmonk]

You will be thanking me when you don't put your oil pan bolt on properly and you loose all you oil on the hyway then blow your engine!

Don't count on it. I know how to do a full oil service properly. Also, what makes you think the quick lube guys will put the "oil pan bolt on properly"? It's called a "drain plug" by the way. And "hyway" is spelled "highway".

Quote »Also, if you not "knowledgeable" enough how to do this, what will you do when you did not secure your car properly and it falls on you..... Ignorance does not get you far.[/quote]Why do you think the OP is here asking about how he/she can do it correctly? Ignorance is going to the quick lube and assume the minimum wage monkeys there will some how, magically, do it right. Even if that's what you prefer to do to get your car serviced, it's still important to know how it's done properly so that you'd know if you are getting your money's worth.

Quote »For years, I changed my oil. I have my first year mechanic apprenticeship and I drove tow truck for years. I have scene what happens when people who don't know what to do attempt this.

evil20000000000, I applaud you when it comes to trying but remember that if anything goes wrong, waranty does not cover this. [/quote]There is a first time for everything. If the OP doesn't learn, then he'll never know how it's done right. Taking your car to the quick lube doesn't mean the warranty agreement with Nissan is safe. If anything does go wrong and it's the quick lube's fault, Nissan can easily wash their hands clean and tell you the responsibility is between you and the quick lube.

To the OP, get yourself a copy of the factory service manual (search, it's been posted), study and follow the instructions as if your life depends on it — because it does! Follow instructions precisely and take your time to do it right. Check and recheck your work. Quick lube places are the last places I'd trust my cars and my safety to.

[DrivingHabit]

i usually go have some place to do it for me change the oil. no hassles of environmental issues for storing, transporting, etc.

[Driving Instructor]

For 3 oil changes, by the end of the time for my oil change, I had to add one litre of oil. Then I went back to regular oil (3 oil changes since then), and I have not had any problems?

Not sure what else I can say. I check my fluids about 3 times per week with students and I it all happend close to when the oil change was due. I change my oil once a month!