DDragon7

Hey did my first oil change today, and I wasnt able to get the old oil filter out. How much longer could a motormaster filter last (Put in by previous owner)? Also, I put in about 3.3 litres of oil in there and when I poured my oil back into the bottles, I only got about 2.5 litres of oil, I was wondering where almost 1 litre of my oil went? Could the filter actually hold that much oil?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well not all the oil gets drained from the car. alot of is is stuck in certain places. as long as the stick shows full, you're fine.

taehoshi

get the oil filter changed

motomaster filters are crap; the filter is made out of paper.

DDragon7

I see, good thing I didnt fill it with 3.5 litres or I would have over filled it.

DDragon7

I know they are crap, but I had no choice, I couldnt get it off. I was gonna change it with an OEM filter. Next time, Im taking it to a mechanic, since my dad and uncle was biching about how unsafe it is under the car the whole time I was under it, even when I had jack stands and the rear wheels blocked.

CivicSF

if you're car is totally level, and your jack stands are appropriately place (like on jack mount tabs, not on the control arms, etc)... you'll be fine. it always seems creepy to crawl upsidedown under a jacked-civic low to the ground, i was just under mine last night doing the oil & filter and it always seems scary having a 2500 lb object over your head about 3". even tho i used to work in a differential shop for a while and used the truck lift all day long, i'm still a little wary of being under jackstands in a driveway....

might consider NOT taking it to a mechanic if you're interested in really knowing your own car. you can use that extra dough to buy Mobil One Full Synthetic and K&N Oil Filters for every oil change. it won't make you more horsepower, but with synthetic fluids and race quality oil filters you don't have to be paranoid about WOT on the streets. plus the more your wrench, the more knowledge you got on your own car. and a civic is a great learner vehicle because of its relative simplicity.

first thing i'd do is get rid of that oil filter ASAP. FRAM and other cheap filters have been known to (infrequently) disintegrate during use, so ALL sorts of crap will be running around your engine and stickin to unwanted valvetrain parts if you're unlucky enough to experience that

CivicSF

also, K&N have a standard anti-drain back valve which helps keep more (but not all) of the oil towards the top end. which means a lot less wear on the engine during startups because the oil circulating to the right places faster when you first crank on the starter

not sure if OEM filters have anti-drain back, someone with the know please chime in...

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yes they do. visit your dealer and grab a brochure about that. i use honda oil filters all the time cause they are cheap $5 or less usually but how much does the k&n run?

Ichiban

iTrader: (2)

I use the fram because it's easy to get off.

CivicSF

k&n cost is around $6-7 bucks if ya got a friend in the parts dept, general retail is $11-12 in bay area here.

david vizard completely analyzed the oil filter market a few years back. after reading actual scientific data on every part of different brands of oil filters, the conclusion was k&n just rocks for durability and ability for sustained high oil volume flow. fram scored the worst for everything. K&N was also smart enough to put the socket head on the backside of the filter so you can do an complete oil change using a single rachet and two sockets. fukin quick as hell. other filters do have the socket head, but K&N has the best rated internals (paper type & properties, flow design, flow capacity, durability, etc)

K&N was also the best air filter for all aspects. highest rated flow of air per cubic inch of all of the major brands and OEM brands and had the best filtration with the appropriate amount of oil applied

liliechen

Well, you can get a filter wrench at kragen, or autozone. You can get the oil filter off very easily.

DDragon7

Is it ok to remove the oil filter, now that I have the my new mobil 1 oil in there?

nick95673

iTrader: (13)

yes but you will need to buy more oil to fill it back up. next time if you cant get it off just wait.

streetglower

iTrader: (13)

yes it is ok to remove it. all your oil sits in the drain pan, and if you remove the filter, the oil in the filter will be what comes out. Just make sure you top off the oil after you put the new filter on.

CivicSF

better to drain oil completely, then replace filter, then fill with Mobile One. i don't know how much oil will drain out the filter if you take it off now because i'm not sure of the volume of oil that stays in the top end.

however i think you should be ok. just have the oil bucket underneath (don't have your head right under the filter, oil in your eye will be more than a small problem) and stuff a lotta rags around the area because the oil will drip from a few different spots once it runs down them motor mounts and bottom of the pans. once the oil is pretty much stopped dripping, clean up the engine area with some rags (stuff your hand up there... ahem... and clean the bay before installing the filter. a light spray of brake clean on the metal only can help get rid of drippy oil on the block (but ONLY on a warm/cold motor, don't spray brake clean on a hot motor its flammable).

take the filter, run a THIN layer of the new Mobil One oil on the rubber circle with your finger (just dip your finger in the oil and run around the filter once or twice), and screw it on. tighten but soft tighten, check the torque specs. make sure the contact surface of the rubber circle is fairly dry on the engine itself (where the filter seats around the edge) before putting it on, it'll help you clean up the fringe oil once the whole install is done

CivicSF

street's got the answer... cool

DDragon7

Hey thanks for the answers guys, I'll replace the oil filter after the holidays. Oh and what happens if I dont put some oil around the rubber ring on the filter?

CivicSF

it'll help you avoid tearing fractional slices in the rubber which can lead to seepage down the road. when you install the filter rubber on pure dry metal, once you start tightening you run the (very small) risk of having too much friction between the surfaces and the rubber will give 100% of the time. you may be lucky enough to even tear the *** outta the rubber, but have it on tight enough that it won't seep. in that case cool but your still playin a gamble

just kinda keepin the breakdown percentages to a minimum