Change my oil myself. It cost me $12 for mitsu filter and drain plug washer, $5.29 a quart of mobile1 syntec. Thats about $42 right there. The dealer would probably charge like $80. Man if you can do it yourself. If not take it to someone.

 

Changing the oil is no rocket science. You go and buy the oil and filter, go to an appropriate place and raise the car enough to get under it, drain the oil pan, remove the old oil filter, replace both of them after the oil is drained (don't forget to use a new crush washer with the oil pan plug), refill the oil with full synthetic oil like Mobil 1 , add only 4 quarts, and top it off after letting the oil settle in the crackcase and you are done.... Of course, now you gotta take the used oil to an auto parts store or oil change place to properly dispose of it...

I don't have the time or place to do all of that, and I don't want to deal with the used oil either. What I've found is a place where they'll change the oil with my Mobil 1 and my filter for $15, this is very well worth it to do away with the hassle. I generally watch the people do it just to make sure they don't do something stupid. I also check the oil immediately afterwards and look to see that there are no leaks (poorly installed plug or filter). That's very simple and easy. I think the hassle involved (for my situation) is not worth the measly $15 bucks they charge. Oh yeah, they usually check and top off all the fluids, the air in the tires and look around under the car with a checklist of stuff. Also, when the 5K miles oil changes come around, the also rotate my tires for an extra $20 or so, again this is extremely well worth it as the tire rotation can be a royal pain using the car's jack and a torque wrench in the parking lot of my office

 

Holy Crap, am I in an EVO forum or somewhere else??? I cannot believe what I am reading in this thread. Syn oil is superiour to Dyno oil but besides that fact it says right in your owners manual that not using Syn oil will void your engine warranty!! Also, there is a difference in oil filters, do a search on google and you will see there have been several write ups about this, one done by a university. Also correct me if I'm wrong but I do believe that turbo motors run at a much higher pressure and hence require a stronger oil filter designed to withstand said pressure. I have a 1999 Isuzu and I used Fram filters and Pennzoil dyno oil for the life of that motor, it blew up at exactly 62K miles. It literaly exploxed in my driveway, aluminum parts and five quarts of oil just dumped right there, it was wild to say the least! I went to the dealer after they had disassembled my motor and was SHOCKED at the sludge in my motor, it was at least 1/2 an inch deep in my oil pan!! Several of the techs there said DO NOT use Penzoil and Fram, they are junk. Their statement, especially on the Fram products, pretty much ran right along side with what the tests I saw on the oil filters did. So from now on I run only Mobil 1 or Royal Purple, I buy only Mits or Isuzu oil filters and I keep track of all my receipts for the oil and filters. At first Isuzu didn't want to help me because I did change my oil myself but I had no records, long story short they finally caved but from now on I keep track of everything. I'm not trying to flame anyone or anything like that but for a minute there I swore I was in a Mustang forum or something!! READ YOUR OWNERS MANUAL!!!
John
ps-As for oil change places such as Jiffy Lube etc, how many times have you seen an oil drain plug over torqued and sometimes the pan threads are stripped? I've seen several. Wally World is notorius for it. Just my two pennies...........

 

I'm the only one that does the oil change in my car.
used castrol, but going with mobil1 from now on, syn's the way i go

it's really easy to use... it's litterally a 1, 2, 3, type of job

 

Actually, the thread author drives a Lancer OZ (at least that's what it says in the signature). I don't think they are required to use Mobil 1 or any other fully synthetic oil. It's a good idea to use synth over standard dyno oil, but not required for all cars.....



That's wild! I've never actually heard from a first person report on something like this.... I'll not use FRAM in my car...


I'm glad the honored your warranty, it was smart to keep the receipts. I always keep the receipts for the oil and filter (I get the filter from the dealer and the oil from wherever they have a decent price). I hope I never have to use those receipts...... As for all the stripped threads and over torqued screws, that's bound to happen from time to time given the huge number of oil changes done.... Actually, there is no guarantee that the DIY owner won't overtighten something or strip some threads.... I remember years ago when I used to do all the maintenance I could in my cars (a young poor guy needs to save money), I had little problems like that happen. The oil filters can be a ***** to get out in some cars and it's not hard to cross-thread something when laying on the driveway under your car with little room to maneuver, poor light and usually missing some special tool.....

I'm not defending all the grease monkeys in the world, I know there are plenty of incompetents out there, but in reality, a guy who does that for a living day in and day out, is probably much more experienced and knowledgeable about these things, plus they have all the right tools and the most adequate place to work. I take my car to a quick lube place nearby and I watch them as closely as I can. I also go back and look for leaks, etc. For me, it's well worth it to pay a few $$ to have someone do the oil changes and tire rotations.

Just my $.02

 

I did not get to read the whole post so if this is information that was posted before, I'm sorry.

The oil filter (at least in the EVO) is placed in a way that you can per-fill it with oil before install. This way it's not a dry start.

I also use the furmoto valve and what a snap it is to change the oil.

I love to wrench on my car and also save cash by doing my owen work.

Eric

 

Oopps, didn't know that he drove an OZ. Sorry about that but still there were other posters claiming to use Dyno oil(in their EVO's), in my eyes that's just plain . On every car that I have changed from Dyno oil to Syn oil I have noticed an almost immediate improvement in gas mileage.
On my Isuzu Trooper I actually didn't have the receipts from all my oil changes and they hit me on that right away! Only thing that saved me was several members of my family are multiple Isuzu owners(so am I)and they all wrote letters to Isuzu complaining about their treatment of me and stating that most of the reason they bought an Isuzu in the first place was because of me. I had to pay the labor, about $2000 but they had to replace the whole motor with the exception of one head!! Cost for the all aluminum motor was $6500 !! Ouch!! It was worth it though because now I have a 1999 Isuzu with a brand new motor in it. So change your own oil, it is sooo simple and then you know it's been done right but DO KEEP THOSE RECEIPTS!!
Actually I took video of the motor at the dealership and the pics of the sludge in the motor are downright scary! I am not exagerating when I say there was a 1/2 inch of thick, nasty sludge in the bottom of the oil pan. Don't let anyone tell you that all motor oils are the same, BS they are. Your car, whatever type it is, is a large investment so buying quality oil and filters is a VERY small investment.
John

 

be a man, change your own oil
it'll make you feel better

 

i will admit i have never changed my oil! i always go somewhere...but one time i might be bold enough...

 

If you value your engine, then spend the money on good oil and a quality filter. If you want to see just how crappy fram filters are go ahead and cut one open. The filter element is held together with glue and chipboard and the bypass valve spring is nothing but a bent piece of shim steel.

JUNK!

Use genuine Mitsu, WIX, or Napa Gold filters. K&N are good too and they have the nut on the end for e-z install and removal. Mobil1 makes filters too. I don't see the point in saving money on the very thing that's keeping your engine from coming apart.

If you're going to have someone else do it remember this handy phrase:

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys!

 

<~~~Changes his own oil

 

<--------Always changed own oil with mobil 1 full synthetic UNTIL i got my lancer.
te mitsubishi dealer that sold me my car gave me free oil changes for as long as i own the car. which i think is cool but they are just lureing me in so the can con me into have more expensive services done there

 

Idon't know if it's ok to post here but given it a shot. Here's this phat phuckin kit that some of us are buying. I'd like to have you guys look at this and tell me whatcha think of the Accolade EVO 7 bodykit, among others. Below are the details of this purchase (and link) : https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...&goto=lastpost

 

Dealer does mine, but I'm on an owner loyalty program, I've owned nothing but Mitsu's since 1987 ...

Synthetic oil changes in DFW run about $60 USD a pop ... if it weren't for the dealer, I'd do my own.

 

thank you so much purecoda for asking this - i'm coming up on my first oil change and was thinking of doing it myself.

i love this board!