DIY oil change easy on the Civic?

[Slickone]

All personal opinion ^w^. I'll stick to what I know works, as will everyone else.

Except those are not opinions. Most are based on lab test results (or else many that say they're engine was quieter with PP). If you haven't compared both, instead of saying you would not recommend any other oil, if I were you, I would just mention that M1 has worked well for me.
And imagine where science/tech would be without trying new things.

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[Balto]

Except those are not opinions. Most are based on lab test results (or else many that say they're engine was quieter with PP). If you haven't compared both, instead of saying you would not recommend any other oil, if I were you, I would just mention that M1 has worked well for me.

Nah, wouldn't recommend anything else. You are comparing high-performance cars using 5w-30 or 10w-30 vs the 0w-20 this car calls for. My previous statement stands. Thanks for the links though, they were an interesting read!

 

[Slickone]

You are comparing high-performance cars using 5w-30 or 10w-30 vs the 0w-20 this car calls for.

Nope. Those were just a few in the examples I included. I also Acura, Honda... Plus there are many more online of all kinds of vehicles. Probably some for Prius.
This doesn't mention any type of vehicle:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/round-1-bitog-q-a/
"Would you consider Pennzoil Platinum to be a higher quality product than Mobil 1?"

Besides, oil good enough for a high performance car, should do even better in a lower performance car. It's the other way around that would be a concern.

Not sure why weight would matter when comparing oil brands.

 

[josby]

Anyone know what the torque spec is for the oil drain plug?

 

[bhorn]

Anyone know what the torque spec is for the oil drain plug?

Mine was marked, so I used a new crush washer and turned it back to the mark.

 

[Penryn87]

Mine was marked, so I used a new crush washer and turned it back to the mark.

You will probably be fine, but you should consider getting torque wrench regardless since you can't account for variables in the crush washer.

 

[Penryn87]

Anyone know what the torque spec is for the oil drain plug?

I believe 30 pounds.

 

[Slickone]

I've personally never seen anyone anywhere use a torque wrench to tighten an oil drain plug. And I've seen a LOT of oil changes.
Just use a new crush washer, hand snug the plug and you'll be fine.

 

[aaronarf]

I've personally never seen anyone anywhere use a torque wrench to tighten an oil drain plug. And I've seen a LOT of oil changes.
Just use a new crush washer, hand snug the plug and you'll be fine.

Factory has torque specs for every fastener on the car...I personally have used a torque wrench a few times but usually just use a torque wrench on critical driveline/suspension components and wheels. Oil drain plug is good-en-tight. Filter I go as tight as I can by hand.

 

[pwschuh]

Just use a new crush washer, hand snug the plug and you'll be fine.

^^ This. I've successfully changed the oil on many cars, hundreds of times, and never used a torque wrench. They supply torque specs to aviod law suits. You don't need a torque wrench for this.

 

[Slickone]

Yep. Car dealers don't even torque them.

 

[Penryn87]

I had a hell of a time getting the oil filter off my car. But other than that, I replaced the factor fill with Pennzoil ultra platinum at about 3500 miles. It was all pretty easy after getting the filter off lol.

 

[Slickone]

I had a hell of a time getting the oil filter off my car. But other than that, I replaced the factor fill with Pennzoil ultra platinum at about 3500 miles. It was all pretty easy after getting the filter off lol.

Did you have to use a wrench?

Good choice.

 

[shihkster1015]

I've done the oil change on my canadian LX.
It's simple enough, but the oil filter is on pretty tight. I couldn't get it off the first time, so i didnt bother. but for my second oil change, i might buy an oil filter wrench.

 

[kirkhilles]

I'm definitely glad I bought the oil filter wrench from Honda which fits on a socket wrench and fits completely around the filter on our Pilot. My guess is that it'll be same for the Civic too.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is Tire rotations. Some people mention ramps. Okay, great. Now, how do you rotate the tires? On my Miata and Pilot, there are places I can raise the rack with a jack and places to put the jack stands. Not yet to the oil change interval for the Civic yet, but my guess is that it might be tough to do without damaging the body.

Do you guys just let someone else rotate them? Do you use a combination of the factory jack and another jack? Do you just skip the tire rotation altogether?

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