Oil filter question...
#16
It is like saying "I can cook any food in 1 min", I do believe it and surely it can be done. There isn't any other tool besides oil cap/socket, extension, and ratcheting wrench.
#17
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I thought so and used K&N before, but it is not worth the price of k&n $12/ea vs $3/ea using socket vs oil cap, no difference. This engine has the worst oil filter location that I'ved ever seen in any car. What a waste of time to remove all the bolts to remove the skidplate cover, and whatever you do, oil spill mess can't be avoided.
Here is a cheap oil filter with high quality for you to consider.
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread...34#post5317734
Here is a cheap oil filter with high quality for you to consider.
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread...34#post5317734
#18
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Have to agree on this one too. I have NO problem changing the filter. ESP. when the engine is cooooold. ;-) ANDDDDDD I do it from the top. WHY take all that crap off the bottom over and over and over EVERY oil change? Whaaaaat a major pain that would be.
#19
Cordless driver removes them in seconds if you go from the bottom.
Agreed you don't have to change your oil when everything is hot. Burning yourself isn't a great experience. I prefer to change oil when it has been sitting minimally an hour after running and the surrounding oil is tolerable to touch. The oil is more fluid when warm, and i just might drain just a little bit more than when cold.
To each their own.
#20
Spinning oil filter in and out from the top is not a problem, but I for once couldn't take the filter out of the car without spilling oil out of the filter. How would you do it without spilling the oil?
#21
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8 or so 10mm bolts? its hardly a major pain to remove that 1 lower access panel.
Cordless driver removes them in seconds if you go from the bottom.
Agreed you don't have to change your oil when everything is hot. Burning yourself isn't a great experience. I prefer to change oil when it has been sitting minimally an hour after running and the surrounding oil is tolerable to touch. The oil is more fluid when warm, and i just might drain just a little bit more than when cold.
To each their own.
Cordless driver removes them in seconds if you go from the bottom.
Agreed you don't have to change your oil when everything is hot. Burning yourself isn't a great experience. I prefer to change oil when it has been sitting minimally an hour after running and the surrounding oil is tolerable to touch. The oil is more fluid when warm, and i just might drain just a little bit more than when cold.
To each their own.
Last edited by BertNelson; 06-27-14 at 10:07 AM.
#22
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When I do it the engine is cold. So ALL the oil has drained out of the filter back into the engine. That is 1 reason why I do it cold. Then, even with EXTREMELY large hands I am able to flip the filter right side up and remove from the right side. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it.
#24
Moderator
But WHY remove and do more work on your back if you don't have to?? If you like taking that panel off just to remove the filter that's your call. I see it as extra work, because it obviously is. As far as the oil being "thinner" it is....but not enough to make any difference. After 3,00 or 4,000 or 5,00 miles (depending when you change it) the oil is as thin as water anyway. Hot OR cold. It's not like we are compairing molasses to oil. It's thinned out, used up cold oil or SLIGHTLY thinner HOT burning oil. Anyway it's you that have to do the extra work and scald yourself. So my hats off to ya. and even after lettering the engine sit an hour or two that filter is STILL ridiculously HOT!!
So the recommendation is to drain with engine still warm. Has any one dropped the oil pan on their well maintained RX?
Yes I agree the exhaust takes lot longer to cool, even after the engine has cooled to touch. I have used shop towel to cover my wrist as I reach for the oil filter when I am in a hurry.
Salim
#25
But WHY remove and do more work on your back if you don't have to?? If you like taking that panel off just to remove the filter that's your call. I see it as extra work, because it obviously is. As far as the oil being "thinner" it is....but not enough to make any difference. After 3,00 or 4,000 or 5,00 miles (depending when you change it) the oil is as thin as water anyway. Hot OR cold. It's not like we are compairing molasses to oil. It's thinned out, used up cold oil or SLIGHTLY thinner HOT burning oil. Anyway it's you that have to do the extra work and scald yourself. So my hats off to ya. and even after lettering the engine sit an hour or two that filter is STILL ridiculously HOT!!
I think it is not the flow capability of oil, it is the flow capability of the suspended particles in the oil. When you let the engine cool, the particles end up at the bottom of the pan and when you open the proverbial spigot, you get the oil + what_ever_oil_drags_from_the_pan.
So the recommendation is to drain with engine still warm. Has any one dropped the oil pan on their well maintained RX?
Salim
So the recommendation is to drain with engine still warm. Has any one dropped the oil pan on their well maintained RX?
Salim
I have seen in person but not yet on a Toyota/Lexus, sludge buildup on oil pans from cars that have had oil changed cold or just from sitting long durations in storage. Anything that contaminated the oil...gels and sits at the bottom of the pan and has the potential to clog various solenoids that activate with oil pressure as well as the oil pickup. In our RX's the variable timing solenoid would be the most susceptible to sludge.
#26
Lexus Test Driver
I think it is not the flow capability of oil, it is the flow capability of the suspended particles in the oil. When you let the engine cool, the particles end up at the bottom of the pan and when you open the proverbial spigot, you get the oil + what_ever_oil_drags_from_the_pan.
So the recommendation is to drain with engine still warm. Has any one dropped the oil pan on their well maintained RX?
Yes I agree the exhaust takes lot longer to cool, even after the engine has cooled to touch. I have used shop towel to cover my wrist as I reach for the oil filter when I am in a hurry.
Salim
So the recommendation is to drain with engine still warm. Has any one dropped the oil pan on their well maintained RX?
Yes I agree the exhaust takes lot longer to cool, even after the engine has cooled to touch. I have used shop towel to cover my wrist as I reach for the oil filter when I am in a hurry.
Salim
#27
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Thank you all for your tips. I sense that the best practice is to drain when the oil is at least warm but to be patient and let things cool down significantly before removing the oil filter. Top or bottom removal of the oil filter clearly seems to be a personal preference issue--I guess I will try it both ways and see which is preferably for me. Thanks again.
#29
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IMHO ... No. There is no room to maneuver.
Buy the one that fits the flutes at the end of the filter, assuming you are going with OEM.
Salim
Buy the one that fits the flutes at the end of the filter, assuming you are going with OEM.
Salim
#30
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