Do you change your own oil?

[aigel]

Originally Posted by eastbay

Never paid for an oil change, never will. Heck, bought a new car with the free oil changes deal and I still do them myself.

Smart.

My VW came with 36k mi free maintenance = the first three oil / filter changes. When I di my first service at 40k myself, I found one stripped screw on the under-belly pan and a missing plastic screw on the pollen filter cover.

I never had oil changes done at a shop other than this.

I actually think a complicated job, i.e. a transmission rebuild or a timing belt replacement is much more likely to be done well at a shop by a skilled mechanic than a lube job, where the lowest level dork gets to work without a cert. or any other training.

G

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by eastbay

Never paid for an oil change, never will. Heck, bought a new car with the free oil changes deal and I still do them myself.

Exactly how I am. I just don't trust others to work on my cars.

[KNS]

Someone on this forum once said that not changing your own oil was for girls and penis-less men. Maybe a bit harsh but... I always change my own oil and usually end up doing my wife's car and now the stepdaughter's. For all the reasons stated above.

Check out http://www.jiffylubeproblems.com/, that's enough to keep you away.

[GH85Carrera]

For a few years I worked two blocks from a locally owned oil change place. I could just drive by and see if the bay was open. If it was open and the Elky needed a oil change I would pull in. I knew the owner and he had his son and one employee. I would stand in the bay and watch them drain the oil, swap the oil filter and tighten the drain plug with a proper box end wrench. With the El Camino it is easy to look down into the engine compartment and see the drain plug and oil filter. It would take 6 to 8 minutes and I was out of there. Eventually I changed jobs so I went back to doing it myself.

[oldE]

I do the Miata with the help of a couple of ramps. The F-150 is done outside in the driveway. I'm not sure why the truck (a 2wd) is so far off the ground, but it makes getting a wrench of the oil pan plug easy. The Jetta TDi is done by the shop, as you have to take the shroud off the underside.
When I had the old E, I did all the work. My garage floor still has some traces of her marking her territory.

Best
Les

[GH85Carrera]

Well this does make it easier for me. The Elky goes up just as easy.

[yazhound]

Most of the time I do. Found missing and broken bolts on my Sequioa's front transfer case skid guard. Only folks who'd changed oil were the dealer and a reputable tire place..... so, will have it done only when time is short.

[yazhound]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Well this does make it easier for me. The Elky goes up just as easy.

this I want!!

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by yazhound

this I want!!

Agreed. When I told my wife I wanted a lift for my Porsche, she just crossed her arms and frowned.

LOL.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by yazhound

this I want!!

The lift is right at 2 grand delivered to your door. The pit is extra.

I keep the plywood on top of the pit when not in use.



This was before the pit. I had some 2x12 planks to park on to get over the lift. It was a real pain so the pit went in.

It makes car repair a lot easier!

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The lift is right at 2 grand delivered to your door. The pit is extra.

I keep the plywood on top of the pit when not in use.

This was before the pit. I had some 2x12 planks to park on to get over the lift. It was a real pain so the pit went in.

It makes car repair a lot easier!

Yeah, the $2k part was not to her liking. What's the brand of lift, if I could be so bold as to ask?

The time and effort I would save when working on the cars would be worth that.

It seems as though you have a nice, thick garage floor. If I were going to put in a lift, I am guessing I'd have to do some kind of fancy work with concrete to get the proper depth - I have no doubt that my garage floor is no more than 4" thick.

Nice set-up there - I is jealous.

[gt350mike]

Never considered allowing anyone to change the oil in any of our vehicles, especially my truck. 13 quarts of synthetic oil and filter alone cost close to $100 so I don't even want to think how much it would cost at the dealership or a jiffy-lube. Not only is it the best time for me to form my own opinion to the condition of my vehicle (not someone who's trying to sell me additional services), I also avoid having some meathead over torquing and/or stripping the drain plug.

Unless a parts store is running a special on oil (Autozone likes to combine the oil & filter as a package), they don’t compete Wally World because of the reduced profit margin. I hate buying anything there but I'm not going to pay $2 extra per quart of oil (especially for the truck) at Autozone or O'Reilly unless it would be inconvenient to make a run to Wallys.

On the flip side, the auto parts houses do have a better selection of oil and filters.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by gt350mike

Never considered allowing anyone to change the oil in any of our vehicles, especially my truck. 13 quarts of synthetic oil and filter alone cost close to $100 so I don't even want to think how much it would cost at the dealership or a jiffy-lube. Not only is it the best time for me to form my own opinion to the condition of my vehicle (not someone who's trying to sell me additional services), I also avoid having some meathead over torquing and/or stripping the drain plug.

Unless a parts store is running a special on oil (Autozone likes to combine the oil & filter as a package), they don’t compete Wally World because of the reduced profit margin. I hate buying anything there but I'm not going to pay $2 extra per quart of oil (especially for the truck) at Autozone or O'Reilly unless it would be inconvenient to make a run to Wallys.

On the flip side, the auto parts houses do have a better selection of oil and filters.

5 qt jugs of M1 at Walmart at about 6 am is a tolerable experience.

[yazhound]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The lift is right at 2 grand delivered to your door. The pit is extra.

I keep the plywood on top of the pit when not in use.



This was before the pit. I had some 2x12 planks to park on to get over the lift. It was a real pain so the pit went in.

It makes car repair a lot easier!

How is it anchored? That sure would be sweet to have.

[gordner]

I do all mine, since I installed a full size two post lift I kinda have to or the wife questions the "investment" lol

[Por_sha911]

I have a friend who brought her car to JL. They drained the trans instead of the oil. She drove it about a mile or two and realized something was wrong. End of the story: trans never was right and she had to fight to get them to take care of it.
I've also seen where the JL type places put the wrong oil in or don't fill to the right amount (I'm talking common cars here not Porsche). I have heard a 2nd hand story (so I can't say it is fact) that one of those oil change places sent a car out with NO oil. Yikes.
Lastly, I've never seen an oil change, Firestone, Goodyear, Sears type place that didn't try to upsell stuff you don't need. Belts, hoses, flushes, rotate tires...

BTW, you know this is the best time to flush the air in your tires, right? That old stale air will give a harder ride.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by SilberUrS6

Yeah, the $2k part was not to her liking. What's the brand of lift, if I could be so bold as to ask?

The time and effort I would save when working on the cars would be worth that.

It seems as though you have a nice, thick garage floor. If I were going to put in a lift, I am guessing I'd have to do some kind of fancy work with concrete to get the proper depth - I have no doubt that my garage floor is no more than 4" thick.

Nice set-up there - I is jealous.

It is a BendPac MD6XP. My garage floor was just 4 or 5 inches thick. I used it for a while with no issues at all except clearance to the bottom of the car.

The pit was dug down deep enough into the dirt for total overkill belts & suspenders 8 inches of 3,000 PSI concrete with rebar.

Originally Posted by yazhound

How is it anchored? That sure would be sweet to have.

It is not anchored at all. It is a portable Scissor Lift I made less that portable by sticking it in a pit.



By putting the lift in a pit is is not going to be portable so I mounted the pump to the wall (see arrow)





Even with the lift in a pit I car raise the 911 up to the point it is almost against the garage door opener. That piece of plywood is the cover. When lowered it is flush with the floor. I can put my lawn mower on the plywood and raise it up to work on the mower.

BendPak MD-6XP Mid Rise Lift, 6,000 Lb. Capacity, Portable

[sand_man]

Originally Posted by eastbay

Never paid for an oil change, never will. Heck, bought a new car with the free oil changes deal and I still do them myself.

Put me in this camp, also. I do my very best never to return to the stealership for service...EVER...

And I'm with Matt, if I had a tire machine, I'd do my own damn tires too! One time, I even took off the rear wheels to my 930 (went through back tires like bourbon through my lips) and brought them to the tire shop to save them (and me) the hassle of jacking up the car!!!!!!

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by sand_man

One time, I even took off the rear wheels to my 930 (went through back tires like bourbon through my lips) and brought them to the tire shop to save them (and me) the hassle of jacking up the car!!!!!!

I do this all the time. One of the reasons is that the stupid tire monkeys like to take a air tool to my lug bolts/nuts to put them on. I can't tell you how many times I needed a cheater to get my lug bolts loose. On my wife's Mercedes, I needed a 5-ft cheater to get one of the bolts loose.

I finally figured out that the monkeys just don't give a schitt, so I have to.

[GG Allin]

What do you guys do with the old oil?