If you use old laundry containers, etc., don't leave them out in the sun for more than a few weeks - filled or not. They degrade fairly rapidly, and get brittle. Tends to make a mess......
I buy the 5 quart jugs, and refill them.
Hi Guys, Do any of you do an oil change for your Elantra 02 (or for that matter any car) on your own? I mean how can it be done without raising the car on one of those lifts? And how do you dispose off the old oil? Anything else that I need to be careful about? Thanks, Bini
I've changed my own oil for more than 30 years. I don't have an Elantra, but I have an 06 Sonata and just changed the oil in that.
I don't think it is possible without raising the car, unless you are built like Twiggy. I use a set of car ramps that you can buy at almost any auto supply store. I drive the front end up on the ramps and that gives me plenty of clearance under the front of the car.
I dispose of the old oil at a local garage. Many garages and places like Wal-Mart that sell oil are required to accept a certain quantity of used oil from the public. I think many places limit you to 5 gallons at a time. I have a 5 gallon gas can that I used to save the oil until I have enough to be worth taking it in.
The main things to be careful of are re-installing the drain plug and the oil filter. Start the drain plug with your fingers and finger tighten it before applying a wrench. That will almost ensure that you won't cross thread the plug. Then carefully tighten the drain plug, but don't overtighten it. Overtightening is probably the biggest problem next to cross threading. I've changed oil enough times that I can get pretty close to the proper torque using a box-end wrence and my "calibrated" forearm. However, if you haven't changed oil before, I would strongly suggest you get a torque wrench and use that to tighten the drain plug.
Same thing with the oil filter. Be sure to coat the gasket with a thin film of clean oil and then tighten it by hand until the gasket contacts the engine. Then turn it the fraction of a turn called for by the filter maker. 2/3-3/4 of a turn is fairly common, but some filters call for a full turn. I can do this by hand, but if you don't have strong hands and arms, you may have to use a filter wrench to tighten the filter sufficiently.
The other main thing is to remember to refill with oil before starting the engine to back the car off the ramps! :-)
Probably the most common errors are:
Matt
Keith adds a good point that I omitted in my response, namely to ensure that the old gasket came off with the old filter and didn't remain stuck to the sealing surface on the engine. Also, some cars, my Sonata included, recommend that you also replace the aluminum washer on the drain plug each time. I generally replace it every 2nd or 3rd time, but the recommendation is every time.
I prefer to let my engine drain for more like 30 minutes rather than the
10-12 Keith suggested, but then again, I tend to start it draining and then do something else until it nearly stops dripping. I just like to get as much of the old oil out as possible.It is a pretty straightforward job, just a little messy, especially with the vertical filter as my Sonata has. Some folks puncture the bottom of the filter to drain it before unscrewing it, but I haven't found this much less messy than just unscrewing it and letting the oil run down the filter.
Just take your time and confirm each step before moving on to the next step.
Matt
I have an 03 and an 05 Elantra GT. I've been changing my oil since, let's see...about 1977..so that's 29 years. Damn I was hoping it was
not to nit pick too much but there is a fair difference between 3 qts and 3.5 ltr. I 'd guess about a qt. I think you reversed your units.
3 ltrs ~= 3.5 qts. liters are bigger;-)
hate to burst yer bubble but a quart is bigger than a litre..;-)
least in Canada they are..;-)
Pete...
You sure ???? ... for what I know Canada has joined the civilized countries and switched to metric too, so nobody is using Imperial Gallons anymore. The only barbarians using Gallons are the folks at the U.S.A., their gallon is the US Gallon (smaller than the Imperial), and their quarts are smaller than the Litre.
I just drive one front wheel up on to a curb from my driveway. It raises the front enough for me to crawl under to work.
Making sure the old gasket comes off cannot be stressed enough. We had a customer who had to pay for a new engine in his Tiburon (V6 no less) because he did his own oil change, double gasketed the filter, had it start leaking later, and didn't stop driving when the oil light come on.
I've left them out for a good month or maybe even two at times. Never had a problem, but thanks for the warning anyway.
That is why you should run the engine for 3 - 5 minutes after the oil change while looking under the car for leaks.
It is funny as I've never had this happen in more than 30 years of changing my own oil, but I keep hearing the stories. I always check the old filter when I remove it and wipe the mating surface on the engine clean as well, so it is incredulous to me that someone could miss this. I mean, who puts a clean filter on a dirty mating surface.
Anyone as stupid as this person deserves to pay for a new engine! Driving with the oil light on is about as dumb as it gets.
Matt
The trouble is that this situation might not occur until you have fairly high oil pressure. If you do an oil change correctly, your engine is quite warm after the change. And if the engine is idling and fairly warm, the oil pressure is at its lowest. The worst case is during a cold start and driving away with a cold engine and cold oil. I rev the engine and idle it for a few minutes after each change as you do, but I also take a close look at it after I drive it the first time after a completely cold start. I've never had a leak, but there's always a first time!
Matt
1 quart [US, liquid] = 0.946 352 95 liter
hehe gives meaning to the phrase "talking out of your ass"
accent wrote: : On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 06:09:36 GMT, "Victor A. Garcia" : wrote: : :: You sure ???? ... for what I know Canada has joined the civilized :: countries and switched to metric too, so nobody is using Imperial :: Gallons anymore. The only barbarians using Gallons are the folks at the :: U.S.A., their gallon is the US Gallon (smaller than the Imperial), and :: their quarts are smaller than the Litre. :: : : 1 quart [US, liquid] = 0.946 352 95 liter : : hehe : gives meaning to the phrase "talking out of your ass"
?????????????????
So you know that 1qt=0.94635 liters, in another words, 1 qt is less than 1 liter .... notice the: ' 0. ', Zero < One. But, still, you think that ONE quarter is bigger than ONE liter ....
It looks like you are 'Mathematically Challenged'. Apparently it was not me the one talking out of the outside valve of the Colon.
It might depend where you live. I live in NC, and UV is pretty intense here in the summer. I had a gallon jug of Glyphosphate - Round Up - where the container got brittle enough that it cracked wide open from being left in the sun. My red gas cans have a severe case of sun bleaching, also..
Have been changing my own oil for 40 years. never had a problem. Speaking of oil changes. Went to the dealer and got oil filter for new 06 V-6 Sonata. cost me 8.32 and another 92 dents for pan drain crush gasket. Now find you can get them for 6.52 at hyundai parts on line. anyway dealer says we'll NEVER get aftermarket filter replacements for the V-6!! Isn't "never" a long time??
Sure, NEVER is a long time. But the dealer figures that if you believe him, you'll be hooked buying the filters from him at $8.32.
Speaking of which, I'd like to know where he got that crystal ball that tells the future. It'd be useful for all those times when the service advisor doesn't understand why I cannot diagnose a problem which occurred one time three months ago.
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