Ah, changing your Max,s oil. . Oils aint oils as they say. This may ring true for so many reasons. Some people tell me to always use the manufacturers recommendations on the oil cap. Other’s may say after so many kms you need to go to a higher cold weight.
This is what i like to do with my 2001 Maxima oil change. After this post, if you think my method of doing this is not correct, or you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave them in the comments. I would like to learn off of you as well as you off of me. Lets get rolling.
Checking The Level And Gradability Of The Oil
1: Check the condition and texture of the oil, especially if you have just bought your belovered Max, and are changing your oil for the first time.
Things to look out for are colouration , grittyness, and if there may be water in the oil. If the oil is a milky sort of texture,or water droplets on the underside of the oil cap, don’t panic, but it probably might help. Your head gasket may have crossed over to the dark side.
Pull out your dipstick, checking the colour of the oil. If it is a dark colour on the dipstick, and gritty, its definately time to change your oil.
Other things to check are the odour or smell of the oil. If there is a burning smell, this may indicate a leak, maybe dripping onto the exhaust. or other components.
To check your oil level, the best way is when the car is warm, not cold. Drive at a cruisy speed until the temperature is up to where it should be. Stop on a level surface. Wait 10 minutes. Pull out the dipstick.
Be warned though, trying to read this thing is like mission impossible. I swear, every time i need to do this, i wish Tom Cruise was around ready with his team. I know it’s corny, but the music is cool.
You may need to wipe the dipstick a few times and reinsert until you can see the level. . Its tricky, but you do get it eventually. If it’s at the top of the cross hatch section, you are good to go.
Changing The Oil Itself. Be Warned, It Can Be Messy For First Timers
Okay, the level and gradebility are checked. Next comes the real fun stuff. The change over. Your car is warm. Another suggestion is to drive up to the auto parts store to get your gear and tools or what ever you need. Once home, drive your Max on to some ramps or use jackstands.
I won,t say one way is better than the other, but some poeple like to use jackstands because the car is on level ground when lowered and restarted, making sure the pick up tube isnt starved,
Personally, iv’e never had an issue with the ramps. Its up to you which direction you wish to choose.
After lifted, place chocks around the back wheels, keeping the hand brake on until finished.
Undo your drain bolt. This can be done with either a spanner or ratchet. Stay away from rattle guns. They simply aren’t necessary.
Using a spanner, you get a good feel when the copper washer is crushing. If you have forgotten your washer at the auto parts store, you can reuse it a few times.
If the bolt is stubborn, hit the spanner with your open hand. Don’t loosen until you have some chemical gloves on though, as the oil can get hot. Scalding isn’t a very nice experience. I know first hand how awful this can be.
If the bolt is stubborn, you may need a socket with an extension bar. A medium bar will suffice. The bolt should loosen easily. Once loosened, keep undoing with your fingers. The chemical gloves are not too thick so you can hold the bolt.
Place your drip pan, but don’t let the bolt drop into it .Once almost all the way out, pull the drain bolt away quickly with your hand.
The oil will pour out like a fountain. You may need to reposition your drip pan to avoid spillage.
To help pouring easier, keep your oil cap open. Next, comes the oil filter. If your drip pan is big enough, you should be ablke to catch the oil coming from the oil filter as well. If you feel the need to remove the splash guard, do so by all means. But after you gain experience changing your oiul, you can just place your hand up. The splash guard will move across.
Turn very slowly. If the filter is hard to move, there are tools available. There are filter wrenches, but these can be expensive. There is awrap strap. One size fits all, but are hard to get up inthat tiny space. There are channel locks, which i find can be fairly easy to get up in that space, small turns are best to get that wrenching action.
The tool i use and recommend has a stel strap with a bolt in the middle. Works a treat. It looks like this.Pictures availablse soon.Try not to loosen the filter too quickly, about half way, oil will start coming out. Let drip. Once finished, take the oil filter all the way out.
Dont let it drop once all the way out. Yes, it has happened to me. After a few four word profannities, i cleaned my face and the concrete from the splash. A good tip is to place your spanner across your drip pan, and place the oil filter on top of the spanner. Another tip is to have a plastic container to put the oil filter in, letting the oil drain out.
Grab your rag, give the surface area a good clean, especially around the threads where the oil filter goes. Next, its time to prepare the new oil filter.
Before you put the oil filter back on your Max, you need to fill it with clean oil. Place it upside down on your workbench, There is usually a plastic seal. I find pushing in the middle with your finger, is enough to remove this plastic film. pour in a little oil at a time. The oil will soak into the filter filament. . You may need to do this a few times until filled.
Place a little oil around the o ring. with your finger. Congratulations. The oil filter is ready for replacement.
Give the dran bolt a wipe with your rag, checking the coppor washer. F the washer seems scored and flat, replace it with a 12 mm coppor washer. These are readily available.Tighten on dry until you feel the washer squash. Once the spanner feels firm, the bolt is done and tightened.
Next, grab your new oil filter, placig over the threads, gently start to tighten. If it starts to feel tight right away, back it off, and try again. The filter should go on smoothly and easily. Once the filter is firm but not too tight, you are done.
Now its time to refill your oil crankcase.Grab your funnel.. Use a measuring jug wuth 1 litre incriniments on it. , or if you dont have one, your fresh oil container should show litre measurements all the way up to 5 litres. Either way, you want to go about 4.5 litres.
Once filled to 4.5 litres, let sit for a good half hour or so Tighten your oil cap. You will herar a few clicks crank it until you hear a few clicks, then it is tight. Give the entire area a good wipe with a rag. Now its time to let the car down.
Start up your Maxima, if you are on ramps, very lsowly reverse . Take tour time with this, theres no rush. Once you are ocer yhe first bar, you will feel a sudden drop, dont worry though, it just means your car has gone over the safety chocks on the ramsp
Give the car a good drive unti it is warmed up. Wait the usual 10minutes. Check the cross hatch, make sure Tom is with you though to give you some reassurance That cross hatch is impossiblr to read.
The next day, give your Max another drive, make sure thatr lovely new oil gtheall the way into those tiny nooks and crannies in our engines.
Recheck the level again. Let cool down. PArk on a level syrface. The next day, the level of the oil should be over the cross hatch. Where ever the level is at on the dipstick, is where your cold level is at. Scrape a little tiny mark with a knife or screwdriver. This is how you can check your oil level when the car is col;d, it just makes things easier for you.
Before you put that old oil in your old container, grab a magnet. I like to see how much debris is floating around in there. If there is a few specs, thats good. If there’s a few more than that, it might mean your engine is still good, but maybe getting on a bit.
Generally, it isnt anything to worry about.
If the information i have providedcould be improved upon, or if you have your own feedback, please do leave it in the comments.
Thankyou so much for reading.and i hope your repair goes well. Thankyou
Doug
repairyourowncar.com
.
