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Car Forum / Oldsmobile Cars / October 2003Aurora oil change problem
I bought a pristine '97 Aurora a little bit ago at a "friends and family" price and just went to change the oil for the first time. At the risk of seeming excessively stupid, which is just how I feel, where did they hide the drain plug and filter? There is a blue cylinder under the engine, over toward the passenger side, that's clearly a filter for something, but it looks bigger than the usual oil filter. As for the drain, it's beginning to seem that I will need to jack-hammer the floor of my garage and dig a pit in order to find the darn thing. Naturally, the owner's manual doesn't say a thing about it. Olds probably didn't intend this car for someone who would think of doing any of his own maintenance. Thanks. Owen Davies Looking at it some more, it seems the drain plug must be behind some of that plastic ahead of the wheels. Which brings up the question of how to get the plastic off. It looks like it should be possible just to pry with a screwdriver under the "washer" of those rivet-like things, but I've pried until I'm afraid of breaking them. How do you get them off? And is that what I need to do? Thanks. Owen Davies Owen, Nothing is hidden here and none of the plastic shielding needs to be removed to access either the drain plug or the oil filter. The drain plug is right there on the oil pan where it is in 99.9% of the cars out there and the filter is accessed from underneath, located on an adapter mounted to the front side of the block about halfway down the length of the block. With all due respect, if you are not able to identify the block, the oil pan and the tell-tale signs of the oil filter this may not be the job for you. The ability to identify these parts and at least a very basic knowledge to identify any pending problems that could be seen while under the car are pretty important (cracks in brake hoses, oil cooler hose leaks etc). I'm assuming you're going to lube the chassis as well (if you're not you should be) will you know where to find all of the grease fittings. I've seen people doing there own lube oil and filter for years and have grease fittings that never saw lubrication all that time and I've seen people put their grease gun on brake bleeder screws ( they look somewhat like grease fittings) and discover that they could get grease into them by loosening the fittings while pumping the grease gun. I once saw someone not familiar with what they were doing pull the drain plug on the transmission (back when they had drains on trans) then add 4 quarts of oil to the engine. If you're not sure of what you're doing, don't do it. FWIW > Looking at it some more, it seems the drain plug must be behind some of that > plastic ahead of the wheels. Which brings up the question of how to get the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Owen Davies he's right granted, when I 1st worked on them in my previous oil change jobs, they were hard to catch, but I quickly learned how to find them J > granted, when I 1st worked on them in my previous oil change jobs, they were > hard to catch, but I quickly learned how to find them Actually, Steve's slightly "tough love" approach got me to go back and try again. Looks like the oil filter is exactly what I thought. It's just a lot bigger than the filters on any other car I've owned--which is very welcome, now that I think about it. As for the drain, I had expected to see it on the bottom of the crankcase, not at the bottom of the rear side, and thus overlooked it. All this would have been easier if we had not moved recently, leaving ramps and suchlike behind. I wound up having to jack the car in order to get under it far enough to see the drain plug. Thanks for the help. Owen Davies Glad you didn't take offence to my remarks, didn't mean to offend. As to greasing it, there are 6 fittings that I've found, the 2 lower ball joints, 2 outer tie rod ends and the 2 outer ends of the strut rods at the rear wheels. Before I started doing this myself I always had to point out the 2 at the rear wheels to the lube people in the Olds dealership, and to anyone else that's ever lubed the car. Good luck with the new car. Driving this 96 Aurora that I have is the most fun I've had with my clothes on in a long time. Steve > > granted, when I 1st worked on them in my previous oil change jobs, they > were [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Owen Davies |
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