[FuLIsh]

ok im gonna attempt to chnage my own oil but i got a few questions:
all i gotta do is warm up the oil, shut off the engine, jack up the front of the car, remove the oil drain plug and filler cap and let it drain then remove the oil filter correct? will this get out all of the oil? do i replace the same EXACT amount that came out or just add back 4 1/8 quarts?

ive been using castrol synthetic but im thinkin of trying the mobile 1 but i cant make it down to the dealer today so i was gonna just use some auto part store brand filter like a puralator brand filter. would that be ok?

 

[metalhead]

i dont think u have to warm the oil up man...ive never heard of that, but again, ive never changed my own oil....let the **** drain as much as possible, take the filter off, and put your 4 1/8 quarts in....

 

[metalhead]

btw get a fram oil filter if u can get a hold of one, if not, im sure the puralator will be just fine

 

[Sentrase00]

dont warm up the oil. Hot oil and a hot exhaust hurts when you touch it...LOL

 

[SR20dee]

if you feel saucy get a mobile one filter..

Getting your car to operating temprature ensures that most of oil will flow out of the head..

4 quarts is " THE MOST" you want to put back into the engine.

 

[chimmike]

perhaps you should check www.nissanperformancemag.com for a how-to on oil changes

 

[lawngn0mex]

perhaps you should check www.nissanperformancemag.com for a how-to on oil changes

recognition whore.

 

[SilverBullit]

-Warming up the motor before draining the oil is a catch 22 -
1. -positive side- the oil flows better out of the drain hole because it's warm and any sludge bulid-up is loosened up (if you have any?)
2. -negative side- it'll take longer for the oil to drain because it is spread throughout the engine is is high up on the valve train. Gravity will take time for the oil to reach the bottom.

-When you jack up your car make sure you place jack stands below it before you crawl under your car.

-Doesn't really matter if you drain your oil before removing the filter...it'll be messy either way. Ensure you place fresh oil on the rubber gasket of the oil filter before installing it. And use a new crush washer on your drain plug before screwing it back on.

-The amount of oil your engine requires will be in your owner's manual

-Don't use crappy filters (especially Fram) try using the Nissan OEM filter or filters like: K&N, Mobil1, SuperTech, etc...

 

[adc100]

Don't ever crawl under a car with a jack on it. Buy a set of RninoRamps for $30.
Its best to have the car thoroughly warm up. Buy a filter for the Maxima year 2000. That will be the larger one. I don't think purolator makes a larger filter anymore. Fram 7317, Supertech 7317 are what you want. Its good to use a torque wrench for the drain plug.

But seriously get ramps. Its a small price to pay for not dying under a car.

 

[SE R SpecV OmSi]

I usually let my car warm up to where everything is at normal temp, put it on ramps, drain all the oil, (when warm it flows better and ensures you get more out including debree) put the drain plug back in, grab a filter (I use K&N) lube the outter ring, put a little oil in the filter itself and put the filter on, then fill it up, start the car up let it run for a minute, turn it off check for leaks etc... and be done

 

[jpalm]

Just make sure the oil is "warm" and not "HOT"! Otherwise you WILL get burned and you'll probably melt a hole right through your bucket!

 

[SR20dee]

umm.. at operating temprature.. my cars oil feels like a warm bath..

use gloves when available.

 

[Jasondt2001]

The SPEC will take a bit over four quarts of oil, so dont do what i had done and only buy four quarts, you'll be low.
That sucked, walking to the auto parts store for a stupid quart of oil... lol.
(I prolly could have driven, but, why chance it?)

 

[SR20dee]

well since we are talking about the SR20de.. shhh..

 

[Squirrel Mafia]

This is a very simple procedure. First thing's first. Go get the stuff you need.

4 Quarts of Mobil 1 10W-30
1 Oil filter
14mm wrench (I could be wrong on the size.)

You don't even need to jackup the car if you have a thin oil catch pan.

Park the car on a flat surface after you come back from the store. Wait a while. Maybe about half an hour or a little less. Ths should allow the oil to flow down completely.

Get the thin oil catch pan unde the car. Loosen up the oil drain plug.

Let it drain out. Sometimes I wait up to 30 minutes to make sure that it all comes out.

Now put the plug back on. Tighten the plug enough. Don't use all your might.

Next, remove the oil filter.

You might need a filter wrench, but somtimes you can remove it with your hand.

Now open up the new oil filter & open up a bottle of oil. Put some new oil on the gasket.

Put the oil filter back on. You can actually tighten the filter completely by hand. I do this on all my cars & never have any leaking problems.

Now, put in about 3.5 quarts. Go run around the block & then let the car sit for about 10 minutes after you come back. Check the oil level. You might need a little more or you might be ok.

That's it.

 

[SR20dee]

despite popular beleif about oil amounts.. you can easily get away with using 4 quarts without causing frothing.

 

[BodeB15]

I just changed mine to Royal Purple 10W30 & an OEM Nissan Maxima filter . You can jack the car up , but it's not exactly needed . The hard part ( If you have big-a55 hands like me ) is fitting your hand through the front-right suspension , past the control-arm to reach the filter . You kind of have to " slither " your hand through . But all in all it took me a whopping 6-9 minutes at best .

 

[jpalm]

Ramps....come into 2004 with me.

 

[BodeB15]

Oh yeah , I used my Rhino Ramps .

 

[jpalm]

It takes longer for the oil to drain that it does for me to do everything else. I've done every oil change my car has ever had since I bought it 2-1/2 years ago and 45K miles.

RAMPS
14mm socket & ratchet
Old Bucket
OEM Filter
5 Quarts of Mobil 1 Syn (10w-30), I use about 4.5-4.75 Qts.