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How-To: DIY Oil Change

107 posts in this topic

I am ready for a oil change. My Smart has 112000km. A friend has mentioned he used a synthetic for high millage engines(not a Smart) I wouder if with my kms I should use a similar product

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You should have been using synthetic oil from Day One!

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If you ve been using the recommended synthetic oils from day one I would stick with them. 112000km is not "high mileage" for a diesel....

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Could I just pull the filter to drain the oil? I'm just about at the 2000km mark on my smart and engine break in makes oil ugly fast. I'd like to change it out now before 8000km. I was just thinking if I change the filter out with the oil can I just pull the filter out first before pumping the oil out thus skipping a step. I guess my greatest concern on this is will I indeed drain out all the oil? Thought, ideas, experiences?Thanks

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No, you will need to suction out the oil. The oil isn;t that bad, black is normal. Any particles will be in the filter. If you are going totally DIY, for comparison, I am going to do oil changes every 6000 kms in my second smart, and get A or B services done every 12,000 kms...

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Just did my first smart oil change. I didn't even wait for hubby to get home. I got a fluid evacuator at Princess Auto for $75 (had to order one in) and found 5w40 "european car formula" amsoil that had the MB specs on the lable. It drank 2.7 l but only gave up 2, which is odd, but I guess she was getting low. I followed all the directions here and on evilution and I gotta say it was the most gracious oil change process I've ever been part of. I'd far rather suck it out with a pump than spill it all over my hand, wrench, the plug, and tray in the usual manner. Only dealing with 2 l of old oil is nice too, most cars drink upwards of five!I'm already back in lady clothes and cleaned up.One little problem was getting leverage enough to break that first wrench turn while the car was so very close to the ground. That I fixed with some blocks and a long chunk of 2x2 wood as a lever. Yay! Now I'm going to get a 27mm socket and a torque wrench for next time so it'll be that much more gracious. and some pipe to extend the wrench for that better leverage, while I recycle the oil at Canadian tire.Nice job. Heh.

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Get a set of ramps at CT - they are cheap and a lot safer than messing with a jack if you are going to be under a car - make life under the car easier - heck even I can squeeze under there. Allows you to get at stuff and have a good look see at anything that might be a potential problem.Cheers,Cameorn

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Get a set of ramps at CT - they are cheap and a lot safer than messing with a jack if you are going to be under a car - make life under the car easier - heck even I can squeeze under there. Allows you to get at stuff and have a good look see at anything that might be a potential problem.Cheers,Cameorn

LOL, have them, used 'em to put on the lights, but didn't want to bother for this job. I didn't jack the car up at all and I dont' think I will next time. I AM thinking of digging the dirt down a bit on the garage floor (old carpet over dirt) and make a shallow pit so I can lay down under the car more comfortably. Even with the ramps space is awful tight.And thanks for the praise glenn :-) I still feel pumped that I did it myself. I gotta say, it's nice using a regular wrench instead of those godforsaken oil filter wrenches that slip and slide or squish the canister.

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I still feel pumped that I did it myself. I gotta say, it's nice using a regular wrench instead of those godforsaken oil filter wrenches that slip and slide or squish the canister.

'' I'd far rather suck it out with a pump than spill it all over my hand, wrench, the plug, and tray in the usual manner. ''-YolandaI've been doing my own oil changes on the smart for almost 4 years now. I've almost forgot what it was like doing it on the others. Thanks for reminding me!! :thumbsup_anim: I'll stick with the smart.

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Good job, Yolanda!

I think you meant a "breaker bar," which is a log socket wrench without a ratchet, and pipe -- you shouldn't be using a torque wrench to remove fasteners.

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The suction method is obviously working out fine given the life-span of these cars but I wonder how cleaned-out the pan can really get this way.What about running a bit of oil through from top to drain to "flush" as can be done with "normal" drain-style pans?There was a quick note awhile back from bilgladstone (he had great success, btw) about installing one of these archaic and dirty devices; anyone else try it?Does anyone know someone who can mod an existing pan to work this way, or if possible?Peace,Ryan

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... Does anyone know someone who can mod an existing pan to work this way, or if possible

:waving: Yep. Let George do it.Bil :sun:

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I think you're getting it just as clean. After all, draining to the sump and out the hose isn't so different from draining to the sump and out a hole in the bottom. I was sure to have the engine good and hot when I started so the particulate won't have settled too well and the oil would be maximum fluidity. Besides which, these are fairly new and well built engines so the residue left inside isn't going to amount to much and is likely to be trapped in the filter very early on. At best you'd get an extra month or two out of your filter if it didn't have to trap the leftover particulates from the last change and if you change the oil at proper intervals then it's really not an issue. But you could still pour in some oil and let it flow down then suck it up the tube.See, the oil-in hole is at the top, the bottom of the dipstick tube is at the very bottom, where the plug would be. In fact if you were going to install a plug I expect it would best locate under that dipstick tube!But for those who just gotta climb under a jacked car and spill oil all over their hand and tools, there's a number of people on here who have changed their pans out, there's at least one guy who does this for a very reasonable price. He'll send you an altered pan then reimburse you a core charge type fee when you send him your old pan. Also, we have at least one vender listed on our club who sells adapters to put into the female threads of the OEM filter attachment which puts on the kind of attachment needed for ordinary oil filters that use those crazy loop wrenches.:-)Wrenches: I needed a 27mm socket or wrench and no, a breaker bar would be too big, a handle extension was all I needed, and in fact I solved the problem with lumber instead. the torque wrench I wanted was about tightening it to the 24nm spec listed right on the part when reinstalling it. I almost got one yesterday but they didn't have the adapter for that particular size to the size of the 27mm socket so I just bought a crescent/box wrench for the job in future and it's longer in the handle, so while it's harder to get in there, it'll give me more leverage when breaking that first quarter turn. I had used an ancient adjustable crescent wrench my dear old Dad gave me when I was young. It doesn't hold it's size really well. It's old and worn but other than vice grips which can break plastic parts, was the only tool I had that fitted (maybe a plumbing wrench would fit but they're REALLY brutal tools)As to the torque, I figure I'm not strong enough to over-tighten so I just took it as far as I could without breaking things. I figure that's the reason for having a torque spec on it, to prevent over-tightening and breaking the plastic cap and threads.

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The suction method is obviously working out fine given the life-span of these cars but I wonder how cleaned-out the pan can really get this way.What about running a bit of oil through from top to drain to "flush" as can be done with "normal" drain-style pans?There was a quick note awhile back from bilgladstone (he had great success, btw) about installing one of these archaic and dirty devices; anyone else try it?Does anyone know someone who can mod an existing pan to work this way, or if possible?Peace,Ryan

Note that the "suction method" is used on a LOT of expensive luxury and performance cars, including many current Mercedes Benz models.

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You never really get the pan totally clean with a drain plug either - there is always the odd pocket of oil left over in low spots and baffles etc. (believe me - it all becomes evident when you pry the oil pan off and it dumps on your head :D )The drain pump has worked for years in marine engines - no reason it won't be as good as the drain plug method - just some people prefer to pull a plug.Cheers,Cameron

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... The drain pump has worked for years in marine engines - no reason it won't be as good as the drain plug method - just some people prefer to pull a plug...

Just about any service garage in the town, besides MB, prefers to pull that plug. Now I can get a simple oil change done (if I don't want to do it myself) @ $69/hr instead of $110/hr at the luxury MB shop. And any shop in any small town in North America can do an oil change with the drain plug and a spin-on filter adapter.

It's all good, IMHO.

Bil :sun:

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Just about any service garage in the town, besides MB, prefers to pull that plug.

It's all good, IMHO.

Bil :sun:

Yeah, and they all have some kind of lift. Also, they frequently strip that plug or worse, strip the pan threads, requiring a new oil pan. that can require removing the engine on some cars.

It's very cool that smart owners can choose right now. When MB starts going to oil plug OEM we won't be able anymore really. I hope IRIS lasts till there's solar smarts or something.

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One of the reason they eliminated the plug is that as the vehicle ages it gets harder and harder to keep the slow drip from forming - even with changing the washer. The gang in the quick oil change places tend to focus on fast - including some times cross threading the plug in (I have had to rebuild a few - remove pan - braise - re-thread - replace on car - take a bit - the self-threading oversized kind never seem to seat in right).I considered doing the plug thing but now I am going to stick with the suction method.I remember the physics experiment - where you put a drop of oil in a container of water and measure the volume etc. based on the fact it will spread to 1 molecule thickness - one drop of oil can cover an amazing area. Eliminating a few drop here and there adds up pretty quick.Anyhow - each to their own - good job Yolanda and I am glad you are making an effort to find out about your car - pays off in the long run!Cheers,Cameron

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This should probably work, too, no?

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Au...rease%2BGun.jsp

I don't want to spend $75 for (and have to store) the larger tank-type. I don't mind a little mess. I'll measure the dipstick tube ID obviously to see if it'll fit.

-Iain

PS - to whoever is the mod here now, you might want to edit the index file I created; the "www" in front of each of the topic URL's in the links doesn't work, since it's now just http://clubsmartcar... instead of http://www.clubsmartcar...

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Duck, stay away from that device for doing oil changes. I bought something similar from NAPA a few weeks ago and I spent an hour and only got about a litre of oil out of the car and a big mess. If you put a one way valve on the hose then you may have better luck, but the big problem is that you have to put an extension on the hose to get to the bottom of the engine and by the time you have sucked the air out of the hose you have no more travel on the "pull" plunger. Now if you installed a one way valve then you could remove the tool reset it to the start position and start again. This time you will get some oil since it won't have a chance to fall back into the engine.

I highly recommend you spend the $55 bucks and get the PELA 6000 oil extractor. It stores in a square box about 12"x12" and you can get all of the oil out of the car in about 5 minutes with no mess; you don't even have to use gloves (except when you remove the oil filter).

I got my PELA 6000 oil extractor in Halifax from ca.binnacle.com and they have lots in stock. They have a smaller one but it will only hold about 2.5 litres which is not quite big enough. So, I went for the 6 litre one so that I can change the oil in the Saturn VUE as well. Reading on another site the 2.5 litre one is 7 inches in diameter where the 6 litre one is only 9 inches in diameter.

See company video here.

See smart car video here.

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It cost me $12 bucks from NAPA for my trial pump, that sucked. I see that someone else used the same suction pump on this site to fill the transmission fluid so I may use it for that. Click Here.

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