2009 Ford Flex Limited: DIY Oil Change

2 things:

I love how the drain plug and the filter are right next to the exhaust pipes.

Pouring out oil with the spout at the low side and a slug of oil spill out, follow by air rushing into the bottle, and another slug of oil spilling out again. Oil won't glug out when poured with the spout at the high side because air is constantly replenished at the top. I never used a funnel for my oil change.

Is it possible to do an oil change without making a huge mess? I just did the oil on my car and although I managed to hit the pan with the initial deluage from the drain, I walked away and missed when it slowed down and dribbled onto the floor. And then there's the process of getting the old oil back into the bottles to be taken to the recycle center. Ugh.

I use Mobil 1 Syn. At the bottom barrel price aka Walmart, 1 qts are $6.69/each and 5 qt jugs are $23.50. 5 qts are manditory in my household at that price difference.

Use a funnel. The best funnel I even came across was free (ok it was the price of a 1 qt bottle of valvoline about 10 years ago).

Take an empty 1 qt bottle with a small opening (like most conventionals come with). Cut it in half horizontally. Toss the bottom and keep the top with the opening...and the cap. Now you have a funnel that:

1. Fits in the hole correctly without wobble
2. Can handle another 1 qt botton of same size hands free by stacking it
3. Holds the volume of oil in a rectangular catch basin instead of a flimsy shallow cone
4. Is wide enough for those large 5 qt bottle openings.
5. Has a cap for the opening so it doesnt leak all over when not using it.
6. Is Free.

I understand the benefit of doing your own oil if you own a BMW where the oil changes at the dealership (if you want them done more than every 15,000 miles) costs over $100. But for a car like the Flex where you can bring it to any Ford dealership or service center and get an oil change for about $30 bucks it makes no sense to do it yourself.

Oil changes anywhere are left to the entry level guys for the most part...im my experience. Im not going to leave the most important maintenance on my engine to a19 year old working for beer money.

I went into autozone and a kid came out and diagnosed my car (jetta TDI) had a cylinder 2 glow plug malfunction. I said thanks, I guess its not an emergency now that its summer to have functioning glow plugs...and he replied, "well they are the spark plugs of your car, you might want to replace them now"....too which had to explain the interworkings of the diesel engine and its no spark fuel ignition......same concept with oil places....unscrew this nut and pour oil in this hole....no real understanding what doing the job wrong will entail.

What happened to the DIY brake change?
Did you guys give up on that just because of that tiny torx fastener?

I buy the OEM oil and filter at Wal-Mart and always change it myself. It's only $16.42 total and I know it's done right. I've gone to changing oil every 5K miles just because it's easier to remember. I agree about the oil drain plug, having it on the bottom of the pan would reduce the "windage" adjustment you have to make with the drain container, but on such a low-slung car, I can see it might get knocked off easliy on an off pavement excursion. I drain into a 3 gallon bucket from Lowes and once it's full, off to Auto-Zone for recycling.

Me again... Just watched the video. Holy cow, you jacked up the car and took off the wheel? No wonder it took so long. Run that bad boy up on some ramps and get on with it! :) That will save a bunch of time. Another trick I have is to just loosen the filter a bit, so you are sure it's free, and then punch a hole in the bottom with an ice pick or an awl etc. You'll get a single, less messy stream of old oil out instead of the gusher all around the sides. Good luck!

i recently changed the oil in my dad's 2000 silverado. probably the first time in 10 years i've changed the oil in a car. (do it every year on my motorcycle.) i ran into the same issue with the band-type wrench. why do those oil change guys put them on so tight?! instead of your "come on" my comment was something like, "COME ON, MFer!!!!!!!" AHHHHHHHH!"

i got to say that the piece of mind i get from doing it myself and saving a few bucks and knowing it was done right... so not worth it.

And don't forget to loosen the oil cap prior to draining oil. Makes the process fsater. I'm assuming this was done but just not mentioned.

I don't have issues picking up a 5-qt. jug for my 3.7-qt oil change for my Protege5 or my wife's Protege. It's cheaper and I don't find it inconvenient.

although chunky's idea of pouring the oil with the hole at the top applies to 1 qt bottles well, that adds even more height to the pour. next time, try pouring the five liter jug sideways, with the hole on either the left or right. not only will that decrease the height of the pour, but it will prevent the glugging. also, the jug is handy and easier to refill than the single quarts for recycling.

Many of my friends ask why I don't let someone else deal with this sort of thing as well. Often, it's more expensive and can be more of a hassle. The best logical answer I can come up with is that I still take pleasure in doing as much of my own maintenance as possible, and that I know for a fact it's done right. Not to mention the relationship you can form with your car over time. Years ago I used to let one of the oil places do it, till I found out they jammed on the wrong filter on my commuter car.

I'll take my scraped knuckles, and dirty clothes any day of the week. Plus, I can reward myself with a nice cold beer after a job well done. You don't get that kind of satisfaction by sitting in the waiting area of Jiffy Lube.

just some thoughts...

nice of ford to cast in that lip to catch runaway oil from the filling port.

once you get the oil filter broken loose, use a piece of sandpaper to get more grip on the oil filter so you can twist it off easier.

i was taught to oil both sides of the oil filter o-ring/gasket, could be overly anal but i always felt that both sides should be lubed since both are contacting metal and need to seal.

try pre-filling the oil filter next time, especially easy since it looks like the filter is installed vertically on the block.

I always wrap the oil filter in a rag, then put the band wrench on...much easier than slipping and sliding with metal on metal. I dunno why they don't rubber coat the band for extra grip...

"i got to say that the piece of mind i get from doing it myself and saving a few bucks and knowing it was done right... so not worth it."

LOL.

Hey Dan, thanks for posting this and reaffirming my desire to never change my own oil. :) I know it's considered risky taking it to someone else to change the oil, but honestly they probably know more than I do. "Know your limitations."

It is a lot cheaper & faster than taking it somewhere. I'm not about wasting time or money.
Oil changes are also a chance to quickly inspect the drivetrain, check the filters, etc.

If you have no skill to unscrew or turn a wrench, nothing wrong with taking it somewhere for service. That's how dealerships & indy's make money. Nothing wrong with that.

If you are doing the work, you will never king kong a filter. It will be easy. Undoing someone else's work is always an unknown- especially a 15 yr old Jiffy Lube kid that could care less about your car or if they cross thread the drain plug in...

Cool deal Dan! I like it when a project goes fairly easy and I'm also a huge fan of the water bottle funnel.

2 Things I would add. A check of tire pressure and re-setting the oil life monitoring system in the DIY feature car. Even if you keep track of the interval, it nice to know that the moniter is at 100%.

Just to clarify: I didn't spill any oil on the ground, and the whole process took less than 25 minutes, including time to move the camera around. Call it 20 minutes. Subtract another minute or two (and nearly all the frustration) with an end-driven wrench and a compatible filter.

Dan

Don't burn your nuckles on that exhaust pipe!

I sometimes change my own oil...I too like the idea of knowing it was done right...

I'm always careful to change the oil about 30 minutes after I shut off a warm engine. And it's not just the hot exhaust I'm leery of. I don't want any part of hot oil dribbling down my arm.

Jacking up the car and removing a wheel or two gives me something to do while I wait. I can look at the brake pads and rotors, for example. An oil change is a good opportunity for me to give the hidden parts of the car a leisurely once-over. It's time well-spent.

Dan

Typically any car that I have under warranty goes back to an authorized dealer for service like that, so there isn't any excuse for warranty repairs (saying maint. was neglected). Wasn't really expensive either, typically around 15 bucks.

Otherwise it's not that hard on most cars, although I would have filled that oil filter up with a little bit of oil to prevent dry starting.

+1 on doing your own oil changes. Its a good time to see if there are any other problems going on and I'd hate to give the keys of my 370Z to a kid who's only heard about driving a stick. Finally, its an enjoyable task to do for me after working for someone else for a week.

Ok - I had this question with the previous oil change video and failed to post it:

Why only chock the rear tire on one side? Can't the car roll either way? Safety in absolutely important when under a 3000+lb vehicle.

great video.

Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that you needed an oil filter removal tool to get the filter off? I've been changing my own oil for years -- the filters go on hand tightened only and come off by hand, too. I assume the need for a tool tells us the filter was installed at a quickie lube place where no one will lose their job for overtightening.

I was recently perusing the flyer from one of the big auto parts chains where they were advertising 5 qt jugs but I seem to recall it said, in the small print, that you could get five one-quart bottles instead. That's how I'd go.

@yellowmiata: Easy one. My driveway slopes downhill at 5%, maybe more. No need for an uphill wheel chock.

I use a Mityvac fluid extractor for oil changes, and it sure beats climbing underneath a car. Yesterday I did it on the 528i, and 6.5 qt of hot oil came out... not bad, considering its capacity is 6.9 qt.

You need a rectangular oil drain pan. I've had the same one since the early 1980's and it is long enough to catch both the pan drain and the filter drip on my Duratech 2000 Taurus with a similar setup. You just have to wait until the oil drains enough so the last of the oil in the pan is running down instead of back, then reposition the pan to catch both before loosening the filter.

Any owner that does it themselves should buy the proper end cap filter wrench. Then as long as you keep with the OEM filters, which are inexpensive when purchased somewhere other than a dealer, you are set for the life of the vehicle.