Car Forum / Honda Cars / June 2005
Changing oil on a '94 Accord LX
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R. P. - 26 Jun 2005 04:28 GMT I've never done the oil change on it myself as I could not even see from the top where the drain plug and the filter is. As I had to change the ATF recently that turned out easier than I originally thought it would be, I took another look at the oil drain plug and filter from under the car (without lifting it up) but I still could not find the oil filter and I only *think* that I discovered the drain plug at the back side of the oil pan. If that's really it I still think it would be a pretty big challenge to reach it without lifting the car up. So I wonder if any of you, '94 Accord owners, figured out a way to do the oil change yourself without raising the car. If so, I'd like to know how.
Rudy
jim beam - 26 Jun 2005 04:42 GMT > I've never done the oil change on it myself as I could not even see from > the top where the drain plug and the filter is. As I had to change the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Rudy drive the car so it straddles a ditch but remains level. let it stand for about 10 minutes for all the oil to drain to the pan, then AFTER YOU HAVE PERFORMED A THOROUGH SAFETY CHECK TO ENSURE THE CAR WON"T ROLL OR SLIP IN ANY WAY, crawl underneath to do the change. the filter's screwed onto the back of the engine block.
you'll need a special wrench to unscrew the filter, so while you're at the auto parts store, buy a pair of ramps. much safer and you can now change oil in your driveway.
[most] all honda fastners, includng the oil plug, are metric.
butch burton - 26 Jun 2005 15:20 GMT You have to jack her up - I bought a made in china hydraulic floor jack- set the parking or emergency brake - slip the round cup under the front tie down hook which is in the center of the car just behind the bumper - I slip a small piece of wood in the jack cup so the edges of the cup do not hit the car. You will want to have bought a pair of jack stands to slip under the car to protect in case the chinaman who made the jack had a bad day when he made your jack.
Do it on a fairly flat paved surface, slip a piece of card board under the drain plug - slide a oil catch pan - auto parts stores have these - use a 17 or 19 mm wrench to unscrew the plug - careful cause you should drain the oil when the engine is hot - keeps the crud suspended and after the oil draining out is reduced to a slight drip - replace the plug carefully and tighten to around 20 foot pounds.
The filter is about 6" behind the drain plug located on the back side of the engine - what a royal PITA - don't burn your arm on the exhaust - a filter wrench may not be a bad idea - cheap at auto parts store - you may want to use some paper towels to hold the filter as you unscrew it - oil will start to pour out as it gets looses - get the drain pan under to catch the oil. Wal-mart's house brand filters are pretty good - avoid Fram - used to be good and are now garbago. Slightly wet the gasket on the filter - screw it back on carefully - keep turning till it gets really tight and then back it off a bit until it is moderately tight - should take some effort to remove. Just do not use that wrench to tighten the filter.
Now I can change my oil in maybe 15 minutes. I have a several 6 gallon plastic gas cans which I drain my used tranny and oil into and a local garage uses it to heat with. Don't mix in any radiator coolant - take that to a recycling center - never dump it into the sewer or on the ground - critters like the sweet taste and die an awful death.
It take less time to change oil than to tell how to do it - I have a quick oil change facility a few miles away - you should avoid those places because problems with over/under fills and wrong filters and stripped threads and falling out drain plugs are way too common.
jim beam - 26 Jun 2005 18:22 GMT > You have to jack her up - I bought a made in china hydraulic floor > jack- set the parking or emergency brake - slip the round cup under the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > jack stands to slip under the car to protect in case the chinaman who > made the jack had a bad day when he made your jack. no kidding. my intro to safe working practices was coming home one day to find my father crushed under a car. he'd been working under it supported only by a jack, wheels off, no stands and the jack failed. he got away with broken ribs, but he was lucky i came home when i did. that's one of the reasons i like ramps - the wheels /have/ to stay on the car and in the worst of all possible worlds, that limits the extent to which the vehicle can drop.
> Do it on a fairly flat paved surface, slip a piece of card board under > the drain plug - slide a oil catch pan - auto parts stores have these - [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > places because problems with over/under fills and wrong filters and > stripped threads and falling out drain plugs are way too common. R. P. - 26 Jun 2005 22:47 GMT > no kidding. my intro to safe working practices was coming home one > day to find my father crushed under a car. he'd been working under it [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the car and in the worst of all possible worlds, that limits the > extent to which the vehicle can drop. Oh man, that story sounds like a nightmare! I wish home garages were built the way I've seen them in Europe: with a kind of trench you see in these quick lube shops that are normally covered but come real handy to work under the car without all the extra hardware and extra time one needs here in a typical garage to create the necessary clearance under the car. Now that you guys confirmed my suspicion about the difficulty of changing oil myself, I think I'll stick to having it done at my dealer as before. But my next car will have to have an easier way to do the oil change.
Rudy
jim beam - 27 Jun 2005 01:10 GMT >> no kidding. my intro to safe working practices was coming home one >> day to find my father crushed under a car. he'd been working under it [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Rudy didn't mean to frighten you! if you take the right precautions, there are many advantages to doing the oil yourself, the main one being that you make sure it's done right. last time a had my oil changed by the honda dealer, they had their most junior tech do it. he didn't do the filter right, oil sprayed all over the inside of the engine bay, contaminated the belts, caused all kinds of problems.
it's your call, but doing work yourself can be a good thing.
SoCalMike - 27 Jun 2005 03:20 GMT > didn't mean to frighten you! if you take the right precautions, there > are many advantages to doing the oil yourself, the main one being that > you make sure it's done right. not only that, it gives you a chance to inspect the CV boots, oil pan gasket, oil pan, tranny pan, exhaust, check for leaks, etc...
TomC - 27 Jun 2005 16:21 GMT The wife has a 2000 accord V6 and I recently changed the oil. Previously, It was always done at the shop. The drain plug was very hard to loosen and it did not have a plastic washer on it. All the other vehicles I have owned had some sort of washer on the drain plug. Now, I've noticed a slight drip from the drain plug even though it's tight. Soo....I'm wandering if there's supposed to be a washer on the drain plug that was lost on a previous oil change. Can anybody advise? TIA. TomC
SoCalMike <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote in article <w8adnQI5MfMb_yLfRVn-rA@comcast.com>...
> > didn't mean to frighten you! if you take the right precautions, there > > are many advantages to doing the oil yourself, the main one being that > > you make sure it's done right. > > not only that, it gives you a chance to inspect the CV boots, oil pan > gasket, oil pan, tranny pan, exhaust, check for leaks, etc... jmattis@attglobal.net - 27 Jun 2005 17:25 GMT > The wife has a 2000 accord V6 and I recently changed the oil. Previously, > It was always done at the shop. The drain plug was very hard to loosen and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > change. Can anybody advise? TIA. > TomC You need a 14mm aluminum seal from the Honda dealer. Just tell them it's for the oil plug. It should be replaced at least every 3rd or 4th change. Around 50 cents or so. The shop was trying to compensate by severely over-tightening your drain plug.
Brandy Alexandre - 27 Jun 2005 22:09 GMT TomC <ooo@ooo.com> wrote in rec.autos.makers.honda:
> The wife has a 2000 accord V6 and I recently changed the oil. > Previously, It was always done at the shop. The drain plug was [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >> not only that, it gives you a chance to inspect the CV boots, oil >> pan gasket, oil pan, tranny pan, exhaust, check for leaks, etc... My mechanic had a bolt washer welding onto my pan. It cost me $35, but I have no doubt it's saved me in the long run from having to buy a new pan because lazy or overzealous oil change monkeys machine or overtorque. You might consider something similar in the future.
 Signature Brandy Alexandre® http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you?
Elle - 29 Jun 2005 22:04 GMT "Brandy Alexandre" <brandy@kamikaze.orgy> wrote snip
> My mechanic had a bolt washer welding onto my pan. It cost me $35, but > I have no doubt it's saved me in the long run from having to buy a new > pan because lazy or overzealous oil change monkeys machine or > overtorque. You might consider something similar in the future. The washers used for the oil drain plug are, by design, "crushable" to give a good seal when the plug is torqued. Whatever your mechanic welded into place either doesn't crush, and so a good seal is not obtained, or does crush for now but won't eventually.
I don't see how this 'design improvement' will prevent overtorquing, and hence stripping of either the bolt threads or the pan's threads, either.
Unless someone has a better explanation, I would run, not walk, from this mechanic.
To the OP: Hard plastic ramps ("Rhino ramps") run about $20-$30 at either Autozone, Pep Boys, or Wal-Mart. Steel ramps run about $10-$15. Jack stands at Wal-Mart are great, too, for under $10, but of course you with jack stands you have to do the labor of jacking.
Steve Bigelow - 29 Jun 2005 22:35 GMT > "Brandy Alexandre" <brandy@kamikaze.orgy> wrote > snip >> My mechanic had a bolt washer welding onto my pan. I translate that as "nut".
It cost me $35, but
>> I have no doubt it's saved me in the long run from having to buy a new >> pan because lazy or overzealous oil change monkeys machine or [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > at Wal-Mart are great, too, for under $10, but of course you with jack > stands you have to do the labor of jacking. SoCalMike - 27 Jun 2005 03:19 GMT > dealer as before. But my next car will have to have an easier way to do > the oil change. the scion xA is easy! i imagine the xB and toyota echo are the same. oil filter is up behind the front bumper, and the drain plug is witin reach, too. to change the oil on my moms xA, i lie on my back and stick my arm under the car.
dold@XReXXChang.usenet.us.com - 30 Jun 2005 01:22 GMT > the scion xA is easy! i imagine the xB and toyota echo are the same. oil > filter is up behind the front bumper, and the drain plug is witin reach, > too. to change the oil on my moms xA, i lie on my back and stick my arm > under the car. On my Mazda RX-2, I could change the oil and filter from the top. There was enough room on the left side of the engine to put the oil pan down under the engine. The oil filter was right there, sticking up. The drain plug was on the side of the pan.
How many times did I change the oil on that car? 60?
--- Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5
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