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Quick question about changing my own oil

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Old 10-15-2005, 03:10 AM
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Quick question about changing my own oil

It states in http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/511 that I should go for a nice long 30min drive before changing. Can I not change the oil when the engine is cold?
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Old 10-15-2005, 03:35 AM
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You can, but it would take forever to let the oil to drain out if it even does drain out completely. 30 mins might seem like overkill, i usually drive for around 10 mins if my cars been parked, but that seems like long enough to get the oil fairly thin.
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Old 10-15-2005, 04:31 AM
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Your cars oil is thicker at startup then any other time so unless you wanna sit there all day I would recommend driving it around for a few minutes
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Old 10-15-2005, 08:53 AM
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the warmer the oil... the faster it drips.
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Old 10-15-2005, 09:06 AM
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dont drive too long or it'll get very hot. like 5 minutes
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Old 10-15-2005, 09:08 AM
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just let it idle for like 15 minutes than drain it
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Old 10-15-2005, 09:28 AM
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Originally Posted by greengrass215
just let it idle for like 15 minutes than drain it
Let it idle for 15 min? You gotta be kidding me. Why not go to the bank, or get some groceries, or check out what's new at Best Buy, or a million other things, anything other than just letting your car idle. That's just a waste letting your car idle just to warm up the oil so that it will drain faster, not to mention the fact that you're polluting the air we all breathe.
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Old 10-15-2005, 11:25 AM
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you don't have to let the oil warm up to drain it. Open the plug, let the oil flow out, and change the oil filter. After the oil starts to drip like a leaky water faucet you got enough out. Plug it up and measure how much oil you drained. Fill it to level on the dipstick.
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Old 10-15-2005, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Armelius
you don't have to let the oil warm up to drain it. Open the plug, let the oil flow out, and change the oil filter. After the oil starts to drip like a leaky water faucet you got enough out. Plug it up and measure how much oil you drained. Fill it to level on the dipstick.
Its always a good idea to let the Oil get nice and HOT before you change it out....I take at least a 15 min drive usually to go get oil, and Ill take the long way to get the Oil hot...its alot better than changing cold oil

-matt
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Old 10-15-2005, 12:28 PM
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Drive it around the block. You'll be good to go
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Old 10-15-2005, 01:42 PM
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Never could get the logic behind hot oil drainage. The oil after it set a night (let's say) has already settled to the bottom of the oil pan from the engine block. Everyone knows that starting the engine is what wears it down quicker than running it because the oil isn't circulating first or most has drained to the pan.

Also if it is hot the dirty oil is still in the engine block. You want as much of that oil out as possible, with it in the pan you don't have anything to worry about for if you remove the oil filter it will drain even faster with the action of gravity, just like two holes in a can.

I have yet to see the nissan car manual saying start the car up first to warm up the oil before changing it.
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Old 10-15-2005, 02:29 PM
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armelius has a goood point but i usually drive to get oil then come back and change it.
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Old 10-15-2005, 03:24 PM
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dont forget to find a place to dispose of it before hand! nothing like having 5 quarts of used cancerous oil sitting around for a week until you get around to getting rid of it lol
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Old 10-15-2005, 04:03 PM
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With all the supportive commentary on changing the oil while its hot, Im surprised no one's offered any tips on pulling the plug without burning yourself. I like to change my oil cold just for this reason, but as luck would have it I did the quickest oil change I've ever done yesterday evening. Having experienced the discomfort of getting your hand drenched in hot funky oil, I tried the "pull as fast as you can" method. Surprised to say, it worked better than I thought it would.
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Old 10-15-2005, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Armelius
Never could get the logic behind hot oil drainage. The oil after it set a night (let's say) has already settled to the bottom of the oil pan from the engine block. Everyone knows that starting the engine is what wears it down quicker than running it because the oil isn't circulating first or most has drained to the pan.

Also if it is hot the dirty oil is still in the engine block. You want as much of that oil out as possible, with it in the pan you don't have anything to worry about for if you remove the oil filter it will drain even faster with the action of gravity, just like two holes in a can.

I have yet to see the nissan car manual saying start the car up first to warm up the oil before changing it.
ex-friggin-actly! i'm sitting here laughing at how many people are so misinformed. why, exactly, would you VOLUNTARILY put dirty oil back to the top of your engine?

here's 2nding the cold oil change
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Old 10-15-2005, 04:48 PM
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Originally Posted by matty
Its always a good idea to let the Oil get nice and HOT before you change it out....I take at least a 15 min drive usually to go get oil, and Ill take the long way to get the Oil hot...its alot better than changing cold oil

-matt
any details behind this logic? i understand personal preference, but...why is it "alot" better?
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Old 10-15-2005, 04:48 PM
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wow you guys are dumb. who needs to pull the drain plug when you could just use this.
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Old 10-15-2005, 05:00 PM
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fix typos

i don't believe in warming up the car in order to change the oil. like Armelius says, its all dripped into the oil pan from the last time you drove it, so you'll get more old oil out if the engine has not been run. it does drain a little faster when hot, but we're not talking hours or anything like that.

and here is something for you to think about. why don't you jack up the left side of the car a little bit to make sure the oil flows to the drain?
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Old 10-15-2005, 06:23 PM
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Originally Posted by RockfordMax
wow you guys are dumb. who needs to pull the drain plug when you could just use this.
we aren't talking about enemas here
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Old 10-15-2005, 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted by DennisMik
i don't believe in warming up the car in order to change the oil. like Armelius says, its all dripped into the oil pan from the last time you drove it, so you'll get more old oil out if the engine has not been run. it does drain a little faster when hot, but we're not talking hours or anything like that.

and here is something for you to think about. why don't you jack up the left side of the car a little bit to make sure the oil flows to the drain?

That is a real good idea.

I wonder what they have to do to used oil to clean it up so that it can be resold or if it's just burnt in some power plant somewhere.
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Old 10-15-2005, 09:58 PM
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the best thing is to use synthetic oil which stays at optimal viscosity at most temperatures and drains uot pretty good even when cold. also you can increase the interval you change your oil yo 5000mi. I mean what is better than that. it flows through the engine better when cold than regular oil so it reduces wear, and it (supposedly) gives you better gas milage because of the reduced friction, it breaks down over a way longer interval, and finally a lot of new cars come from the factory with Mobil1 oil, so unless you live in north dacota, the synthetic oil will drain just as easy as a regular hot oil from your angine when cold
i hope you know wht i am talking about as sometimes I think faster than I write
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Old 10-15-2005, 10:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Capitone
With all the supportive commentary on changing the oil while its hot, Im surprised no one's offered any tips on pulling the plug without burning yourself. I like to change my oil cold just for this reason, but as luck would have it I did the quickest oil change I've ever done yesterday evening. Having experienced the discomfort of getting your hand drenched in hot funky oil, I tried the "pull as fast as you can" method. Surprised to say, it worked better than I thought it would.
what I do is take the bolt until it only has about one thread left ( you can feel when its close to coming out) then turn it from the top and move quick when it finally comes completely out. I usually never get any oil on my hands when taking the drain bolt out.

clifs
1. pull drain plug out really fast
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Old 10-16-2005, 03:43 AM
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I usually try to change mine when it's sat for a while, but I agree with the "Pull drain plug out really fast" Method too, so I guess it's mostly just what you belive and personal preference.
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Old 10-17-2005, 06:15 AM
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Like some people have already said, I don’t think that there is any worth while advantage to changing oil while its hot. If there were it’d probably be in the manual. If I had the time Friday, I would have waited until the oil cooled down, but that’s not the first time I’ve had to change it hot, probably won’t be the last. Good to know at least one way to do it without getting burned.
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Old 10-17-2005, 07:54 AM
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change it cold - that way all the contaminents are settled at the bottom of the sump and more will drain out (as opposed to being stuck in the top end of you motor). THEN - pour a quart of cheap virgin dino (the thinnest you can find) through the motor and let it flush out any old oil/crud that is still pooling in the sump - it will start to drain clear near the end of the quart. I know it seems like waste of fresh oil, but for <$1 to keep your sump clean...
 
Old 10-17-2005, 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by sky jumper
change it cold - that way all the contaminents are settled at the bottom of the sump and more will drain out (as opposed to being stuck in the top end of you motor). THEN - pour a quart of cheap virgin dino (the thinnest you can find) through the motor and let it flush out any old oil/crud that is still pooling in the sump - it will start to drain clear near the end of the quart. I know it seems like waste of fresh oil, but for <$1 to keep your sump clean...
That's a really good idea that I never would have thought of. I'll do that next time I change my oil warm/hot if I remember.
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