gilberttribe

I recently changed the oil in my newly purchased 2005 civic EX and was surprised to find very little oil in the oil filter. I had the front jacked up about 6 inches off the ground, drained the oil, and took off the filter. I was ready for a big mess, but no oil actually ran out when the filter was removed. Is this common or expected? I have observed no problems with it.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

If you let it drain for a while, THEN take out the filter, there wont be much in it,

Though occasionally, there might be that initial disgusting few dribbles that go down your arm while taking out the filter
(the part where your arm is not directly above the oil pan, and drips from your elbow to the ground, and you're like "ahhh FML")

ottotheclown

What kind of filter did you use? You are dealing with a anti drain back valve. If Fram reason very clear. Try oem or Pure One should help.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

that always happens to me am im glad it does lol. no mess i let the oil drain for 5 mins with the car cold, then remove filter and not a drop comes out. ive used K&N, mobil1, napa gold, honda oem, whatever i feel like at the time

MelJ

I drive my car for a few minutes to let the oil drain a little easier personally. Just a reminder, don't try to get that filter off if you've been driving for a while. Bad filter location+hot oil= no bueno. I usually drain the oil from the pan and walk away for a while before I even touch the filter. Next to no mess. The little mess there is is what I was warning you about with the filter.

gilberttribe

Thank you for your replies. Our other vehicles for the past many years have had filters that hang down, so those filters were always full of oil and were a mess. I like the no mess feature. If only the Civic were as high off the ground as my truck, it would be really nice and easy.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Actually, the filter on civics are at a perfect location, easy to access right behind the oil pan

I have a 2005 CR-V.....MAN that filter is in the worst position ever
Its hard to get to from below because of the axle
and it's hard to get to from the engine bay because it's an awkward position

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

our accord has the filter in the same spot as civic, but oil poured out. the first time i changed it i was really surprised lol.

MelJ

I guess so. My old 94 Corolla's filter was RIGHT there. I mean, it's easy now, but the first time I changed it I was like, WTF!? I've seen much, much worse though.

MoreRicePlease

I live in Minnesota, where the winters are fierce and the summer rarely gets hotter than 90 degrees. What engine oil type do you suggest i use gearbox? I have been running 5w20 castrol gtx high mile. 2002 civic ex, 90,000. Thanks in advance.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

EDIT: Sorry, I was sleepy, didnt know what i was sayin :P

Older engines with more mileage on them should use a tad bit thicker oil
Like 5w-30

I asked my dad (Honda salesman for 16 years) whether it makes a difference between the two
He said it shouldn't cause a noticeable change, u can even use a combination of the two, just as long as they're consistant (Same brand)

madbull

the colder it is you want your oil to be lighter. how do you want thick oil to flow in cold wheather

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

my rule is stick with 5w20 year around if summers dont get hotter than 65-70F unless you dont drive much in the summer or only do mild city driving. hotter than that, switch to 5w30. also castrol is good, but valvoline maxlife is a better hi mileage oil. you could also get away with running 5w30 year around if you use the full synthetic maxlife. 5w20 was really only used for slight gas mileage improvements. the engine runs better on 5w30. add some LC20 additive from lubecontrol.com and you can easily go 10k miles on a single oil change. sample image:

MoreRicePlease

Okay, so i enjoy the fact that 5w20 allows better gas mileage; as a delivery driver, that is something i would like to keep to my advantage. I am, however, curious how 5w30 allows the engine to run better.. Can you possibly elaborate a little?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the gas mileage is not really a selling point. if you add it up, its hardly any savings. its less than 1mpg gain. there is no brand new engine technology that would suddenly require the use of a lighter weight oil at operating temp. almost every honda engine has used 5w30 for the past 20 yrs, even the 6thgen which is only a year older than the 7thgen. yet honda all of a sudden says, 5w20 is the best oil to use. its all based on the guidelines for emissions and standards they are having to meet. and its cheaper for them to say okay, start using this thin oil, than it is to redesign the engine to be more efficient. MANY other car companies have done the same things, in fact recommending 5w20 for the same EXACT motor that they recommended 5w30 for the previous year! well in colder climates 5w20 may be fine, but in the hot summer days the oil will break down too fast from extreme engine heat and not protect the motor as well. many of us have had problems with the vtec system because the oil is too thin to properly operate the solenoid. the engine seals will also be more prone to leaks with 5w20. esp a delivery driver with alot of severe driving conditions, you definately need to be using 5w30.

MoreRicePlease

Sounds good. I just stumbled upon this thread and thought, hm maybe i should be using 5w30, although i haven't had any problems running 5w20. So you definitely think valvoline is a better max life versus castrol? I started hearing good things about castrol so i recently switched from valvoline to castrol, ha. but i only just began using high mileage. Hey, thanks for the info gearbox. You're my favorite consultant regarding my civic!

MelJ

Edit:Found what I was looking for.

Silver02EX

iTrader: (3)

Punch a hole in top of the oil filter (dome end) this should get more of the oil out. If you find that, there's no more oil coming out of the filter. The anti drain back valve in the oil filter has fail. It's not that big of an issue. The purpose of the ADBV is to keep the oil in the filter so it prevent "dry start" This is usually not an issue when you have an vertical mounted filter. On the Civic the filter sits horizonal, which makes the ADBV more important.

MelJ

I have a question about dry starts. Is that why some manufacturers tell you to add oil to the filter and swish it around before installing it? I've never done it personally with either one of my cars though since it never said anything about it. I read it somewhere on another automotive site.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

technically an oil filter will never dry out once its wet. alot of oil stays soaked in the media. the only real dry start would be if you put the new filter on without filling it a bit with oil. dont forget to recheck the oil level after driving the car and letting it cool down. you will prolly need to add more since the filter will suck in some more. oiling a new filter prior to install is pretty much general practice no matter where the filter is being installed (car, oil furnace, bike, etc). having it dry can cause issues.

MelJ

Ah. Okay. Gotcha. Yeah. I check the oil the following morning before I go about any driving. I just never thought of putting oil in the filter after the change. I hope I didn't eff anything up. I fill the engine with the recommended amount of oil and then, I just oil the filter gasket and set it. Like, a little oil gets in the filter, but I never fill it up.

MoreRicePlease

I have to dissagree. I've never even heard of putting oil in a fresh filter pre-installation. Never had any problems because of it either. I don't see why, logically, it would be necessary. Just my opinion.

MelJ

Yeah. See. That's what I'm saying. My manual doesn't say anything about that. It just says oil the gasket, which is pretty much common practice no matter where you go. Even my filters say just oil the gasket. I'm probably just looking too deep into this. Like I do with everything else.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Oil filters should be pre-oiled slightly always
logically, it doesnt make sense, but technically, it does

I'm not exactly sure what it does, maybe gets the filter used to the oil, or helps the filter somewhat, not sure

but it's one of those things...like genuine transmission fluid from honda, gotta use it, even though there are other brands out there that claim it's the same
just do it to be safe than sorry

Silver02EX

iTrader: (3)

I've never heard of this. Look how quickly the car build oil pressure. It takes a second for the oil to build pressure. There's already enough oil in the passage for this not to be an issue. Think about it, our filter mounts horizontal, how much oil are you able to put in the filter and have it stay in, after you turn the filter to the side before mounting it on the engine. It's not going to make any difference if you fill the oil filter with oil before putting it on. If the filter mounts vertical, then maybe you can take advantage of it.

Silver02EX

iTrader: (3)

Here's a 5w20 that went 14,000 + miles on a 5.7 HEMI
Take a look at the UOA... No sign of oil breaking down.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...23613&page=all

If anything a 5w30 will shear out of grade to a w20 much faster than a 5w20 will. Just about every 5w20 I have seen on bobistheoil guy, it stays within it's grade much better than a 5w30 will.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

technically a dry filter wont hurt, since there is already some oil coating the engine parts (unless you let the car sit for weeks before changing the oil). yeah it would be like a dry start for a second and could take away some engine life, but the engine wont die because of it. i would rather have oil ready to go in the filter so it doesnt need time to soak into the dry media on the first crank. some people have reported that it makes a difference tho.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...1891195&page=1

as far as oil weight, my engine runs better on 5w30 so thats what i use. if you feel 5w20 is better and youve tried both, go ahead and use the 5w20. but if you follow honda's logic of why they switched from 30 to 20, you would have to also say that all older hondas pre 2001 have to use 5w20 now. the motor technology didnt change, just the oil. its silly when i hear people say "the newer engines have smaller oil passages and cannot function on thicker oil" in fact you could put 10w30 and it would run just fine. most civics overseas use 10w30.

Kevinkriz

The reason there's little oil in the filter when you take it off is because it's mounted to the engine horizontally instead of upside down which would allow it to pool inside. The filter on my Ford Ranger is upside down and it's always full to the top with oil when I take it off but like everyone else, my civic never has any in it.

Silver02EX

iTrader: (3)

I understand why Honda, Ford, and just about every car company picked a 5w20 now. I know about CAFE, but for you to say that a 5w20 break down faster than a 5w30, and a 5w20 will not protect as well is false. A 5w20 will hold it's grade much better than a 5w30 will.

kbook

When I was a delivery driver. My MPG was around 20-21 and I used 5w-20 as my main oil. Later on, I tried Castrol Syntec 0w-30 (aka German Castrol because it was made in Germany). It used to have GREEN color but it is gold now. Check the oil forum www.bobistheoilguy.com for more info

Base on the virgin oil analysis from that website, the Syntec 0w-30 is pretty thicker than weight 30 at high temp so it is thick. The engine ran very smooth due to the thickness : D so I drove like hell (STOP and GO)

I used Amsoil 5w-30 for a while.
Mobil 1 5w-20 is always my civic main staple : D when I still did delivery.

Nowadays, I used Valvoline SynPower 5w-20 and house brand and cheap synthetic that I can find.

TRUE. If it meets the API requirement then it's good 5w-30 for delivery is pretty good choice in my opinion. The castrol syntec 0w-30 is too thick don't use it.

Don't forget to change the Transmision fluid too. I just did mine today.

The K engine in CR-V 2008 is really nice. They placed the filter in the right place. I love it. Today I filled CR-V with good oil, the Mobil 1. Good engine deserves good oil.