Oil and filter change , advice required .

[Matt Ker]

I've decided due to my current money situation ( or lack of ) to do an oil and filter change myself on my 2.5 6 . Although this is probably very basic to anyone vaguely mechanicaly minded i've never done it before . I'll get the oil change kit from probestore and i presume it goes as follows -
1 - pour -in the flush and run the engine a bit (10 minutes ?
2 - undo the sump -nut and let the oil drain out
3 - change the oil filter
4 - repace sump nut using new washer
5 - pour-in lifter treatment and then the oil

Is that about it ? how difficult is it to change the oil filter ? i don't even know where its located and does it just unscrew by hand ? etc

Any advice would be helpful
Cheers , Matt .

[mx6-uk]

I'm going from memory here as its been a while but your pretty much on the button.

When you have drained the oil position the drain pan under where the filter is (front bottom side of engine) so its under the filter and still just under the drain hole.
Take the filter off and tip it so you keep the excess oil inside it as soon as its loose.
There will be some oil drop down from the filter and a little more from the sump.

If the filter was fitted correctly a decent grip with your hands should be able to get it loose. If its tighter than that ythen you have a few options. get a filter tool to get extra leverage on it or put a flat screwdriver through it (as close to the end away from the engine as you can) and use that to lever the filter round half a turn till it becomes loose. BE WARNED if you go the screwdriver way the oil will flow out all over the place so be ready to catch it.

As for me from there then clean the oil filter housing with lint free material and wipe clean the mating surface. A smear of clean engine oil on the oil filter seal (both sides) before you fit it will make for the next time to be easily removed by hand. Dont over tighten the filter. Screw it till it meets then you only need half to three quarter turn from there.

Again my preference is to pour in a little clean oil "before re-fitting the drain plug" just to clean out that last bit of old oil.

Replace the plug using new washer and re-fill.

I cant comment on lifter treatment as I never used it. I used a fully synth oil and nothing else.
Any additive is excess to requirement in my book but I'm a bit of a purist in that way.
I dont say its wrong to use it but a good oil and filter always did the trick for me.

All in all its quite simple and you will have it done in no time.


good luck Sorry dave

[dave100]

Originally Posted by Matt Ker

I've decided due to my current money situation ( or lack of ) to do an oil and filter change myself on my 2.5 6 . Although this is probably very basic to anyone vaguely mechanicaly minded i've never done it before . I'll get the oil change kit from probestore and i presume it goes as follows -
1 - pour -in the flush and run the engine a bit (10 minutes ?
2 - undo the sump -nut and let the oil drain out
3 - change the oil filter
4 - repace sump nut using new washer
5 - pour-in lifter treatment and then the oil

Is that about it ? how difficult is it to change the oil filter ? i don't even know where its located and does it just unscrew by hand ? etc



Any advice would be helpful
Cheers , Matt .

Hi matt

flushing is complete waste and unnecessary if the oil and filter were changed frequently.
On the other hand if the servicing has been neglected and the engine is full of old black deposits, flushing it can be a disaster, as it just loosens all the gunge and ensures that it gets pumped round everywhere.
also i wouldn't use any additives like hla just do regular oil changes using a decent full synthetic oil i use Halfords 5W/40 Fully Synthetic Oil or you can get the same from probe store probably lot cheaper.
warm up engine
raise vehicle and support with axle stands
undo the sump -nut and let the oil drain out
change the oil filter using filter wrench if you have,normally put a screwdriver through mine and turn counter clockwise,put a smear of new engine oil on filter seal,filter located underneath engine
replace sump nut using a new crush washer
then the oil .check dipstick to make sure level is on max,run engine and check for leaks.
more info here on oil
http://www.probe-mx6.com/pdf/v6_oil.pdf

Dave

[Matt Ker]

Thanks for the info above , i'm going to get it done over the weekend , not sure about using the flush now though ! . I used it with the lifter treatment on a change once as the car developed the early-morning ticking and it did seem to improve it ( it does it only on the odd morning now ) . I've done 3 or 4 oil changes in the last two years but in that time its done 25k , its just gone past 140k on the clock so i guess it could have some sludge in it (but it goes like a rocket still )

[ElmerFud]

Hi Matt

Been thinking of doing this myself soon. I agree witht he lads though about the flush treatment. I seem to remember HLA noise being heard after someone did theirs. Just a change of the oil does mine and I've never had HLA noise.

Elmer

[MX6 addict]

Engine flushing depends on the condition of the oil and how frequent the oil was changed.

Opie Oils do some very good deals and are very helpful with advice.
The advice I was given from Simon at Opie was to only flush the engine if you didn’t do the last oil change and don’t know what oil was put in. If this is the case do the oil change as described and flush. Replace with the best 5-30 of 5-40 fully synthetic you can afford then commit to regular oil changes with the same oil but don’t flush, flushing will only thin the oil you put in.

I use their Fuchs 5 – 40 fully synthetic. When they have a deal on you can get 5 ltr for less than £40, the last deal (with MX6.com discount) I got from them was 6 ltrs (enough for an oil change and some top up) for £39!!

Worth swapping the air filter as well.

Mark