Date: Sun, 10 May 1998 14:13:39 CDT
Reply-To: Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Changing the engine oil
In-Reply-To: <v03110700b17b8dda9f56@[209.17.189.180]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
WARNING. LONG and BORING. for Neophytes and first-timers only. :)
On Sun, 10 May 1998 10:06:55 Katherine Lee said:
>Please forgive such a basic question, but it is time for me to get my hands
>dirty for the FIRST TIME on my van ...
:) there's a first time for everything.
>Except, I have no idea where the oil drain plug is. Is it the one that
>looks like a slotted screw?
nope. that's the oil pressure relief gizmo.
here's what you'll need beforehand:
- large plastic pan (needs to hold about two gallons. i use one that is
used for washing dishes in the sink. made by rubbermaid or someone).
- large piece of cardboard (a u-haul box, flattened out, works fine. even
better is a large refrigerator box). you want this to lay on while you
work, to keep from getting dirty. well, too dirty. :)
- a roll of paper towels. you were planning on wiping the oil off your
hands and tools, right? :)
- a 13mm socket (and ratchet wrench. get the 3/8" drive ratchet. do NOT get
the 1/2" sockets or ratchet ... they are too "powerful" and you could
easily strip the drain plug when you tighten it). you can also use a
13mm box-end or open-end wrench, but of those two, i recommend the box-end
(close loop on the ends) with SIX sides (not the 12-sided ones ... they
tend to round off the corners of the drain plug, making it harder to get
out next time).
- some sort of oil filter wrench, or BIG Mutha set of pliers. i've got an
oil filter "socket" that fits on the butt-end of the filter and i use my
ratchet wrench to remove the filter. if you get one of these, you have to
make sure it has 14 little facets or sides. otherwise it won't work. not
all the "filter sockets" are the same. Big Mutha Pliers work on most any
filter. :)
- FIVE quarts of oil. you were planning on putting new oil in it, right?? :)
which brand? it's up to you ... get a "nationally known" brand, that is,
i'd stay away from Bubba's Recycled Auto and Tanning Oil. :)
ok. so laying on your back, parallel to the rear bumper, with your feet at
the exuast pipe (i prefer this orientation, so you can see the drain plug
AND the filter at the same time), look in the very very middle of the bottom
of the engine. there is a sort of "ridge" that runs front-to-back, and right
about in the middle of that (about maybe a foot from the rear end of the
engine) is a little bolt. the 13mm socket or wrench should fit on it. that
should be your drain plug. there should be a little circular "area" around it.
there should not be any other bolts around it.
put the pan under neath the drain plug, and loosen (you DO remember which
way loosens, right?? :) the plug. it may or may not be easy to unscrew with
your fingers. the trick here is to get the plug out without dropping it into
the oil that is gonna come flooding out into that pan. and i DO mean
flooding! BIG stream of oil is gonna come out. wouldn't hurt you to wear some
eye protection. if you have been running the engine, to warm up the oil, that
oil is also gonna be hot, hot, hot!! and it will be painful if it gets on
your skin. when i do it, i use a 13mm socket, with a short extension (little
round thingie that snaps into the socket and onto the ratchet and just puts
the socket further from the ratchet) to unscrew the plug, that way, my
fingers are on the end of the extension, not right at the plug. and i still
sometimes drop the plug into the oil. :( so i have a magnet on a string
that i can "fish" for the plug and get it out. :)
ok, got the plug out, and the oil is draining out? now, pull down the
license plate flap (middle of the rear bumper), and unscrew the oil filler
cap. this will allow ALL the oil to flow out quicker. notice that there is
a little "extension" pipe inside the oil filler pipe ... this inner pipe
pulls out, so you don't have to spill oil all over the bumper when you
refill the engine. but there's a trick to it. more later.
now, the filter. back on the ground, feet toward exhaust pipe. right by
that big exhaust pipe by your head, is the oil filter, just kinda pointing
toward the ground, but at a slight angle over toward the rear wheel on that
side. if the engine is warm, be wary of the exhaust pipes ... they can burn
you if you bump against them. you can wrap an old towel around them to give
yourself some protection, but you MUST remember to remove the towels later
... exhaust pipes will get hot enough to set them on fire if you run the
engine with the towels in place! :(
if you got a pan big enough, it should reach from the stream of oil draining
from the drain plug, to over under the filter. this is necessary cause when
you take the filter off, MORE oil is gonna drain out. :) and the filter is
full of oil, so you don't want to drop it on the ground or anything ... let
it fall gently (as possible) into the pan ... don't just drop it in the pan,
though, cause it'll splash oil all over the place (and you!).
ok, got the filter unscrewed and off? oil is running out of the drain plug?
oil dripping down from where the filter used to be? good. now we wait.
about 15 minutes or so. let as much of the oil get out as possible. then
take a paper towel and clean the area around the drain plug, wiping off as
much oil and crud as you can. then put the drain plug back in (move the
oil catching pan out from under the plug hole first!! you don't want to
drop the plug back into the oil again!). be SURE that the washer is on the
drain plug. you CAN re-use the washers, but it helps to replace them every
few oil changes.
drain plug in? ok, screw it all the way up, and snug it tight against the
engine. try to make SURE that you have the threads going correctly before
you start screwing it all the way up ... a cross-threaded plug can mean
BIG expenses to repair. :( now, to tighten it, put the wrench on it, and
grip the wrench with your hand as close to the plug as possible. that is,
you do NOT want your hand way out on the end of the wrench ... that could
generate too much torque (i.e., over-tighten the plug). and tighten it
against the engine bottom. watch your knuckles here ... with all the oil
splashing around, the wrench can slip off the plug and you could skin your
knuckles on some of the sharp edges on the bottom of the engine.
ok, got it tight? nice and tight? it doesn't take too much, so don't go
straining really hard. now, the filter.
take the new filter out of the box, and fill it full of oil. yes, BEFORE you
put it on the engine. :) notice that the oil level in the filter drops ...
that's the pleating inside the filter absorbing the oil. now fill it up one
more time. and the oil level will drop again. now take some of the new fresh
oil from the new bottle, and rub it around on the rubber gasket that is on
top of the filter. this will keep the gasket from "bunching up" as you
tighten it (which might cause leaks later).
now, stick your head up under the engine and with another paper towel, clean
round that threaded pipe that the filter screws onto. get as much old oil and
crud off as you can. that silver box at the top of the threaded pipe is your
oil cooler. feel that big nut (at the top of the treaded pipe) and see if it
feels loose. if so, tighten it!! ok, ready for the filter to go back on? ok,
look at the filter and the oil level inside it. if it's lower than about an
inch or so from the top, you can add some more oil in the filter. all we are
doing here is keeping the engine from having to pump oil into an empty filter
when we first crank up.
now, this is the fun part. :) the filter goes on at an angle, and you need to
screw it on quickly so that oil inside it doesn't come out (like it did on
the old filter when you removed it!). once you get the filter screwed on,
go ahead and tighten it up BY HAND. do NOT use any wrench or pliers or
any sort of tool ... do it by HAND only!! very important. if you think you
don't have any strength in your hands, that's ok. get it as tight as you
can, and that's good enough. it'll tighten up as it heats up (remember how
hard the old filter was to get off??).
NOW we get to put the new oil in the engine!! :) pull the license plate flap
down, and put some paper towels (or old towel or rag) over the back of it,
below that pulled-out filler tube extension. you WILL spill some oil, so you
might as well prepare for it. :)
remember that one quart of oil we were filling the filter with? ok, now pour
the rest of it into the filler tube. the neck of the oil "can" (plastic
bottle, more than likely) should fit into the filler tube extension. when it's
about "glugged" out, take the oil can/bottle out and put it on the ground.
open up another can/bottle and pour about 1/5 of it into the now-empty first
can/bottle. then dump the 2nd can/bottle into the filler tube. when it's
finished, get the 3rd can/bottle and pour about 1/5 of it into the not-so-
empty 1st can/bottle, then dump the remainder of the 3rd can/bottle into the
filler tube. and so forth with the 4th and 5th quarts of oil.
well, wait a minute? i've still got this 1st can/bottle and it has oil in it!
yup. :) now, you can dump it into the filler tube. all that 1/5 into the
1st can/bottle businesss just keeps you from spilling so much oil onto the
license plate flap. it lowers the level of oil in each can/bottle, so it
can be tilted more (to reach the neck of the filler tube) without spilling
oil all over the place. this is my way of not having to use a funnel. :)
and that's about it. push the filler tube extension back in (sometimes it
doesn't want to go), put the oil filler cap back on. double check the filter
and the drain plug (you'd have known it by now ... with a big puddle of new
oil creeping out from under the bus!). and you're ready to crank it up.
when you do crank it up (to circulate the new oil and fill the filter up
completely), the oil light will blink longer than it usually does. this is
ok, but it SHOULD go OUT. let the engine run a little while, and look for
leaks at the drain plug and at the filter. you MAY see some new oil dripping
off the filter. wipe it off and see if anymore comes out. the first drips
are usually due to the oil we put in before we screwed it on. this is normal
for the procedure.
ok? shut off the engine and wait about 10 minutes and check the dipstick.
it should read right at the Max or Full mark. now, some folks like to leave
the oil level lower than Max/Full. they say it makes the engine run cooler.
ok, if so, you can NOT pour that last bit of oil from the 1st can/bottle in
until you check the dipstick and decide what level you want the oil (then
as little or as much as you want from the can/bottle). me? i like to pour it
all in ... i figure i need as much oil in there as possible, and if vw
says to keep it up to Max/Full, ok by me. :)
that's about it. you've now changed your oil. :) good luck!
joel
>(who also swore that her vehicle would NOT become her main hobby ... right)
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