Well I tried my first oil change today - thanks and props to Xviper's DIY. It went pretty smoothly except for the following little speed bumps that cost me more than a little time:

1. Oil spilled all over (missing my catch can) - lost 20 mins

2. I could not get off the old oil filter. I even tried sand paper in the filter wrench. 1.5 hours and a few bloody knuckles later, that SOB spun loose. - lost 2 hours

3. When I went to grab the new filters my friend picked up for me at the dealer (Russle and Smith) - they were the wrong ones!!! Being Sunday afternoon - I headed to Autozone and bought a Mobil-1 filter. - lost 1.5 hours

5.2 quarts of Mobil-1 later - and the car sounded so smooth. I suppose 6K miles was too long to wait to change the oil. This is first I've had all synthetic - so Im looking forward to seeing how it runs.

I hope the next one takes just a little less time. Thanks for listening to me vent.

 

i went to autozone for same reason as you and the mobil1 filters they had didnt fit car my car even though their computer said it would? lost 1 day. haha hope next time goes better for ya

 

Tell me about it. All in all - the procedure would be pretty fast if you had the correct filter, and the old filter had not been (I assume) over-tightened.

Im not sure if Mobil 1 filters are any good... but I figured - how bad could they be?

 

My first time it took almost a week. I could not get the oil filter off and had to order the Honda wrench.

 

#1....operator error.
#2....try a screw driver and a hammer... punch the screwdriver through the filter and it will come off.
#3....If I lived 1.5 hours away from Autozone, I would be getting my OWN filters from the dealership.

Better luck next time.


Tim

 

if dealerships and autostore are that far why dont you just order a case of ten online? no point on wasting gas.

 

Wow... a few tips for next time.

- get your mobil 1 in a 5 gallon jug from wal-mart..$22
- get a fumoto drain valve
- order a bunch of honda filters from hardtopguy.com

Word on this board is that synthetic shouldn't go in until 10k...but i wouldn't worry about it.

Your next oil change should take 10 minutes..hehe..

 

Yeah, the screwdriver trick works wonders.

When it's time to take your old filter off, you don't love it anymore. You grab a large screwdriver and drive it through the filter sideways, then you can use it as a handle to twist the filter loose. If you use too small a screwdriver, it can just tear the metal sometimes, leaving you with only half a filter attached to the block. Ugh.

Too large a screwdriver can give you clearance problems when turning, so just find something else to stick in the new hole and turn the filter.

I suppose it's obvious but work mentioning anyway: When you puncture the filter, it'll *always* have what seems like a gallon of old oil waiting to drool on you. Be prepared to catch it one way or another.

 

After draining the oil, I use an oil filter cap that I attach a 3/8" socket to that takes off the filter no problem. No messing with screwdrivers, sandpaper, that make a big mess. You can get it at your Honda dealer or any parts store for a few bucks. They come in several sizes and one will fit the S2000 filter. I tighten the filter using a torque wrench (16 ft. lbs.) or going by the numbers on the filter which is a 7/8ths turn. Drain plug torqued to 29 ft. lbs. In goes the oil and done in about 20 minutes.

 

I suppose you live to learn - so it was a good experience overall. The trip to autozone took an hour mostly b/c I got lost (new to the area); plus it was so damn hot outside I had to change clothes before going anywhere.

I almost used the screwdriver through the filter - but I got so darn pissed at the thing - I just kept at it with the filter wrench and it finally got off.

I just hand tightened the filter back - definitely not too tight. The drain bolt was somewhere between 30-32 lbs (cheapo torque wrench).

Really it was a comedy of errors -- but the car is so much happier now.