Ford Ka 1.3; Sump Plug and Oil Filter.

The message from danny snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk (DannyBoy) contains these words:

Do you not have a handbook? That'll tell you the capacity and the type of oil required. As for where the sump-plug is - I'd use my eyes if I were you. If you really can't tell where it is - then I venture to suggest that you're not really suited to changing oil as a hobby.

Back of the sump. Get a decent socket to fit it - I used a cheap ring spanner that wasn't a good fit, and was worried about rounding it. Had to hit it with a hammer to get it undone too. You might as well get a new sump plug and washer whilst you're at the Ford dealer. They're not dear and the new ones are better than the old ones.

Above the sump plug, a bit fiddly to get an oil filter wrench around. A strap one would be better than chain (easier to get around the filter).

5w30, and about 3.25litres from what I remember. Check with the dipstick to be sure, or get a Haynes manual. Buy mine off me if you like :D.

Cheers mate! Know what I'm facing now! Wanted to know if plug was front or back so I know if it's ok to jack it up to give myself some room! (If it's at the front and you jack it I worry that some oil may be left at the back of the sump!)

There will probably be some old oil left anyway - don't put in 3.25 litres of new oil straight off, do 2/3 of that & keep checking the level.

Where? If you've got the engine hot, have it jacked up on level ground and have taken the filter off, where's it still going to be hiding when you've left it dripping on the drive for a while whilst you have a cup of tea and some chocolate digestives?

Hey Doki he can change his oil how he wants!

As you say if you follow standard procedure you can usually put the theoretical full amount of oil in. I always do!

Did it.

That filter is *really* hard to get to. I had to bend the old filter to get my chain-filter-gripper round and burned my arm (painfully) twice on the hot exhaust.

I'd recommend the 'band' type of filter tool and a long sleeved top! ;-)

Why oh why do manufacturers put the filter underneath the car at the back of the engine? My Rovers filter is at the back underneath...

In message , DannyBoy writes

It's a very, very, old engine design. In fact I suspect its much older than you. The engine is horizontally mounted in the Ka engine bay but when it was designed, cars were mostly rear wheel drive with the engines longitudinally mounted. The oil filter would have been accessed from the side when installed this way.

That explains the push rod Endura E designed in the 50's. (My dad had an Anglia with the same engine ).

It doesn't explin my Rover 416.

5w30 :-o

Really aren't most 'normal' cars 10W40 or 15W40? Isn't 5w30 a really weird number?

3.25 :-o, my 899cc Seicento takes more than that!

Ah yes, but if you're a mechanic with a garage you'll be able to lift the car easily etc. and it'll be easy to get to.

My one was really fidley, but I managed to do it without getting any oil on me :-D. I don't think it's possible to get a chain wrench in there though. I was fully stretched with my shoulder touch ing the wheel. My dad did the filter with his hand in the end. If we couldn't get it off with our hands thoughwe would've probably needed to have raised the car to get closer :-(

I have one of these; it's a Honda D16 engine, which I don't think has ever been used in a longitudinal installation. I just assumed the awkward position of the oil filter (damned if I can get a wrench onto it - just have to rely upon the Marigold-glove approach!) is some sort of perverse Japanese piece of design ("Ah - something which has to be replaced every six months. Let's stick it in the most difficult-to-reach place we can manage...").

It also rotates backwards compared to most other engines, which is why the gearbox is on the right hand side, as opposed to being on the left in the other models in the 200/400 range.

Brian.