Prophecy 99,
Go for it. Just make sure you don't take any shortcuts regarding safety and tools. I was forced to do this stuff out of necessity when I was in college but now that I can afford to get my car serviced I prefer to do a lot of this stuff myself. With all of the help from this forum and a good service manual, most routine maintenance is in reach of the average DIY mechanic. After a couple of jobs your tools will pay for themselves.

 

I did this last nite ! i cant believe i never did this before after all these years ! thanks to your vid it def inspiried me to do it. It was scary considering the extreme nightmare scenarios. i just drove 30 miles to work though and it was great. i will check at lunch break if anything is dripping but nothing happened over night.

if I can say anything , not sure if you did in the video but one thing to note is how u have to take the oil cap off the engine BEFORE the oil drain plug so it can breath i learned that at the autozone once i double checked the basics w a nice guy who helped me.

also the most confusing part for me was how tight the oil filter needs to be, my neighbor helped and said go till the filter makes contact then another full turn only my hand, no oil filter wrench is really needed when putting the filter back on.
my oil filter wrench is universal and dosen't even allow you to tighten w that tool.
over all easy peasy, and it was just my first time learning the process and over thinking things

 

I've done several oil changes, but always take my time because I don't want to screw anything up. Worst part for me is jacking up my car and praying the rust doesn't give way hahahaha.

 

That's why I use ramps for oil changes. The less I have to jack up the car, the better.

 

SubwayVQ and Prophecy99,
I updated the video to incorporate your suggestions:
1. The oil filter install is done with only hand tightening.
2. I suggest that the oil drain plug crush gasket should be replaced.
3. The oil filler cap is removed before the oil is drained to ensure proper flow.

All of your suggestions were confirmed in the service manuals.

Prophecy99,
Great to hear that you got the job done.

 

thanks again ! and nice to add those little touches in, and this drain plug gasket is news to me... i didnt really see any signs of gasket there, but didnt look hard.

 

Pretty much all vehicles have a copper crush washer installed on the oil pan drain plug. If you go to the Nissan dealer, they'll give you a handful of them for free, usually.

 

I do 4 1/4 then add the rest of the bottle over time.

 

thanks man, is it a thing you should...replace every time? or just whenever?

ps. still gotta get my final evap sensor to be on the same diagnosis page as you.

also i even reached out to a company that makes EVAP sims for hondas! but to no avail on Nissans, the evap systems are too different for direct swaps.

 

I've never removed the cap first in my life. It's unnecessary. In fact, it's worse. If you have the oil warm (which you should), then it's already going to shoot out. Allowing it to breathe more could launch it out faster, potentially, making a nice mess.

I tighten by hand as much as possible (and I have big, strong hands). Doing it like a ***** is a huge risk. I've removed several filters that were finger loose. One of them was even my own that was very tight originally.

 

That’s why the drain pan isn’t the size of a soda bottle. I have never once spilled because of poor pan placement or had an issue where it was under pressure. The crank case is already ventilated, so taking the oil cap off would only increase flow by a minute amount at the most. The only reason I take my cap off is so I don’t forget to fill my oil up.

 

I do it every other time, just for preventative measures, but they can honestly seal longer than that.

And yeah, for the EVAP issue I think my next step is to drop my tank to check everything in more detail. The fact that Nissan couldn't diagnose it with the consult-II kind of worries me, but there is definitely something wrong still.

 

Not sure if this helps, but I recently watched a video of a Ford Escape that had an EVAP code for some sensor. A bunch of diagnostic work was done. Later, it was found that the power steering pressure sensor was bad and sending too high of a signal to the ECM, and it in turn it caused the EVAP sensor to be whack.

Just food for thought

 

Thanks much for the suggestion, but in my case, there's definitely something wrong with the fuel tank venting. I have to pump gas slowly to be able to fill it, which is more aggravating than the SES light, to be honest!

 

i noticed my light going off at near to empty on the last fill up , and one other time.. 1/8th full and under. i am afraid it's possibly fuel related too...

i have been filling up TCW3 for years, but always try to burn off a few oz on the drive home before "overfilling" with the 4 oz of TCW3 additive, its crossed my mind about how that may be a culprit... because i read on here that someone always topped off their fuel way too much (like beyond when the nozzle auto turns off) and caused evap issues.

(we should move this back to the evap thread , lol)

 

For VQs, yes, not so much for all cars. Some have obstructions where the oil drains, others have PCV valves off of both VCs, and some even have very restrictive PCV openings.

 

thanks ! good to know, and yes it was a mess car was running 10 mins prior to unthreading plug (w oil cap off )

i will make that filter and drain plug snug as heck by hand. thanks.

 

i will make that filter and drain plug snug as heck by hand. thanks.[/QUOTE]
Don't confuse the two. Drain plug has a torque spec by wrench. Filter can be hand tight.

If you don't use a wrench on the drain plug you will likely have complete motor failure when it and all your oil comes out with road vibrations.

 

no i feel ya, snug by hand with a wrench ! and it will be way over the 27 ft lbs as mentioned in the video via the haynes manual