Oil and filter change

No big deal, I did it before leaving for the winter. Mobil 1. Drove already 1,200 miles leaving south from WI.

I'm spoiled. The oil filter on mine is on top of the engine and at the front. The down side is the MB spec oil is made from the breast milk of mermaids and the price reflects it.

My small town car dealer charges $11 labor to change oil and filter. I take advantage of that. I take them my own oil and filter. However I don't just hand them the keys and go to the customer waiting room. I go to the oil change bay and watch them. I don't get in their way but they know I'm watching.
I'm a retired Millwright and Machinery Specialist so I have pulled wrenches and don't have any aversion to it.

I also replace the oil and filter on our Ford E450. As others have said, there is enough room so you don't have to raise the front end. I use a filter wrench..guess I'm just weak ;-). There is quite a bit of oil that drains when you loosen the filter....just let finish draining before to finish removing the filter and is much less messy.

While I am under there I also lube the front end. Just a couple of shots of grease to each of the zerk fittings and we are good to go.

For us this is normally an annual process in the late Fall before Winterizing. We use Mobile one and drive 5K miles and occasionally more before changing.

On my E350 I must be careful about the rubber seal on the old filter. It tends to stick to the engine rather than the filter; then when I screw on the new filter there are two rubber rings and leaking. One time I got the old filter stuck on. Maybe I forgot to grease it or tightened it too much with the filter wrench. That was messy - removing with the filter wrench broke the filter so the wrench was unable to get a grip. I drove a big screwdriver through it to turn it off.

A large funnel with outlet nearly as large as the oil filler cap makes pouring oil in much easier.

I agree, a good time to also have a good look at rubber radiator hoses, snow deflectors, give the front end a bit of grease, check brake and steering fluid levels and clean or replace the air filter.

bill257 wrote:
Ok will do it myself. A question do I need to use oil filter wrench to loose and then tighten the filter or just hand tight.

If you install the oil filter using your hand (as the instructions say) and lubricate the sealing ring prior to installation, you will never need an oil filter wrench. If you use an oil filter wrench to tighten the filter, chances are you will need a filter wrench to remove it.


Chum lee

ScottG wrote:
Yes, I use one hand to loosen but would use the other as well if it weren't holding up the truck.

exactly.

Yes, I use one hand to loosen but would use the other as well if it weren't holding up the truck.

Tighten it by hand an additional 3/4 turn once it hit the metal. Don't use a tool to tighten. The best tool for filter removal I've found is these channel locks. Get the small one not the big one.

ksg5000 wrote:
More clearance under the RV than the car - pretty simple job.

X-2, don't even need to jack it up or use ramps, you will need a wrench to loosen, but tighten by hand.