First Oil Change for Me and the Car, Require Assistance
 

Hey everyone,

Well...its finally time(well about time)...to give my baby an oil change. I really dunno much about oil changes. But I think I can get the oil and filter out easy enough. Do I need special tools? Imma go look for a diy, but Im at my friends house, in San Diego...so no time.

Also what type of oil should I use? Should I stick with the stock filter or move to something else? I know everyone will have their own opinion, but I wanna get a combined opinion from everyone. That way I can see which oils and filters seem to be picked by the majority. My car has about 3030 miles on it, going to change it at about 4000. But I wanna start gathering the required stuff soo I can mentally prep myself. My car means a lot to me and as you guys can see I like to know what I'm doing in detail before I go ahead and try.

Please don't flame me for not searching, I will be reading all about the stuff when I get back home.

Thanks for all your help and opinions (you all have given soo much information)
Boggie6868

P.s. I know I'm getting that FP60 from lubecontrol because everyone says its the BOMB!!!

you have quite a lot of questions, ill try to answer to my knowledge, but keep in mind im no oil expert.

first things first, read your manual.
as for tools, honda tightened the oil filter on purpose hoping you will come back to the dealer paying them for oil changes. i say fcuk that. autozone/kragen/sears or your local automotive parts store should carry oil filter wrenches which should be abou 5-10 bucks. i believe there is an DIY around here, but not sure. its pretty common sense IMO.

i RECOMMEND using honda 5w-20 once again as the honda motor oil has addictives/lubes/minerals that help break in your motor. maybe its a rumor, but thats what i have heard from an oil genuis on this site. honda oil filters are probably the best oil filter you can get for your honda. they designed the car and im sure they built that oil filter specifically for that car. fram/bousch/mobil 1/stp/etc make good oil filters, but i think of them as universal type. i myself use fram because im waiting on the sale for honda oil filters (3 for $xx, hopefully =D). keep in mind all oil filters work the same, some can filter more, some are cheaper. if the price tag is higher, that doesnt always mean its better.


when i first bought my car with no miles, i ran the motor oil and filter that was in it for about 2000 miles. i replaced the motor oil with honda 5w-20 again and ran that for 3000-3500 miles. so now im about at 5000 miles, im sure my break in period was completed so i moved on to thicker and fully syn. motor oil... mobil 1 5w-30. again, i drive in california weather where it does get cold and mostly heated, so the thicker oil can benefit me somewhat.

ive used fram oil filters about 5-6 times, no problems at all. as for mobil 1 5w-30, car runs perfectly fine and smooth as usual. i say stick with honda motor oil and filter for your first oil change then make a decision of moving to something else.

as for FP60, its uncessary because your car is basically brand new. i believe its meant to clean your fuel injectors and get rid of all the grime/dirt/unwanted minerals, but your only at 4000 miles... you wont need it quite yet


heres some tips:
-dont change the oil when its cold, warm up the car in advance
-after warm up before oil change, let it sit for 15min so you dont get hot oil on your face
-safety first: goggles, gloves, hair nets, jack stands, etc
-change motor oil on a flat surface, not on slanted driveways
-i believe the oil pan drain bolt is 14mm (all forgein cars are Metric, never standard)
etc

huh. ok. first don't keep the original filter. thats a horrible way to baby a car. change the filter as part of each oil change. second your supposed to wait 5k miles to change it the first time. so if you hadn't done it yet, don't. just wondering but have you ever changed your oil? if not then go get a ratchet, and i a socket to fit your oil plug. i think its either 17mil or 19 mil. i forget. anyway, when you actually need to change the oil, get an oil pan that can hold at least 5 or six quarts of oil, just in case, a whole bunch of shop towels that you can buy at walmart or somewhere else, and a set of clothes you really don't care what happens to. jack up the car and put it on some jackstands. front of car only btw. get under the car and use the ratchet to unscrew the oil plug. go COUNTER CLOCKWISE. i can't tell you how many idiots strip an oil bolt cause of that. make sure you have a washer for the oil plug. do not re-use the old one. new one with every change. the bolt will be hot, so unscrew it and try not to let it fall in the oil pan. let it drain and while its draining get the new oil filter ready. before you do any of this, drive the car till its hot. before you get under the car lift up the hood and open the oil cap. leave the cap on just open it. after the oil drains from the oil pan, it will come to a drip, wait however long you want. then when your ready put the new washer onto the bolt and screw the bolt back in the pan by hand first. then with the ratchet. find the specs in your manual on how tight to turn that bolt. its 3 in the morning i can't remember.then get under the car and look for the oil filter. unscrew the filter with something. i do it by hand. also COUNTER CLOCKWISE. the oil will get on you so keep a rag or towel ready. used oil is carcinogenic. meaning if you don't clean it off fast it will cause cancer. it will take a minute for you to unscrew the filter completey if you do it carfeully so it don't fall on you. get 5 quarts of 5-20 oil. 5-20 not anything else. open a quart and fill the new oil filter a quarter full. then take a little bit on your finger and rub it along the rubber seal of the new filter. make it shiny. then go screw it on the engine until you feel it get tight. then turn it about 2/3 of a turn. if you make it too tight it will be hell to get off next time. if you make it too loose your engine will blow from lack of oil. get out from the car and put in 3.5-3.7 quarts of oil. scince you put some in the filter less than 3.7. 3.7 is the specs with the filter. close the cap and lower the car. start the baby up. the oil light will come on for about 5-10 secs. then go off. your temp gauge will be on cold because its new oil. turn it off and clean up your crap. by the time your done you should smell. go grab a shower. good luck.

i also forgot to add in:
its better to underfill than overfill. cause if you overfill, it would be much harder draining the oil than adding more in. what i do is i fill it up with about 3.5 quarts, start the car up, check dipstick to see the level. then add more if neccesary. you got to keep in mind, the oil is cold and its thicken. before you drive off, make sure you start the car, let it idle for about 15 sec and check dipstick. then add if neccesary.

Alrighty then guys....going to go get me a rachet...and start browsing for the types of oil to buy. Any recommendations?

Thanks again for all ur help!!

i use castrol. its great. penziol with no problems. valvoline is great too. pick one. wait a couple of oil changes before you go to synthetic.

I use mobil 1 full synthetic, but Ive got over 50k on the engine.