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Most annoying vehicle to change oil?
- Thread starter Elkins45
- Start date
Don't ever use the drain hole -- fixed it for ya!
No idea, to be honest I'd doubt they could even find the filter as it's really hidden.
Of all the cars i've worked on recently: 2018 Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost. Oil filter is located behind the engine and is annoying to get to without a lift.
My 1996 Ford Contour 2L Zetec is the same. Unless you lift the vehicle and the front axle is drooping it's a challenge to get the filter out and a new one in. Makes it difficult to do driveway oil changes if your driveway is a stone 45* hill.
2022 GMC Canyon. Filter cartridge is in the engine compartment. Oh, yay, this should be easy.
- The cap and filter element are just barely visible, and putting the 1 1/8" socket on is a blind endeavor.
- The cap, once loosened, is a little too big to come out without interfering with a delicate wire and connector as well as the stupid engine cover that is integral to the intake tube.
- The filter comes out the top at a slight angle leaving trapped crud in the filter element housing and not draining to the pan. You can't see it, and cleaning it out is a fruitless endeavor.
- The new element and stock cap go back in with the same obstacles, but has to also pass over an integral plastic core that looks fragile and is loosely secured to the housing.
- The cap is impossible to thread in place without using the socket. I used the socket without wrench to start the threads, but imagine how the quickly lube places do it.
The oil filter was really the only thing I hated about that truck. I loved that rig otherwise. Needs changed otherwise I'd still be driving it and looking for a remote oil filter option.
- The cap and filter element are just barely visible, and putting the 1 1/8" socket on is a blind endeavor.
- The cap, once loosened, is a little too big to come out without interfering with a delicate wire and connector as well as the stupid engine cover that is integral to the intake tube.
- The filter comes out the top at a slight angle leaving trapped crud in the filter element housing and not draining to the pan. You can't see it, and cleaning it out is a fruitless endeavor.
- The new element and stock cap go back in with the same obstacles, but has to also pass over an integral plastic core that looks fragile and is loosely secured to the housing.
- The cap is impossible to thread in place without using the socket. I used the socket without wrench to start the threads, but imagine how the quickly lube places do it.
The oil filter was really the only thing I hated about that truck. I loved that rig otherwise. Needs changed otherwise I'd still be driving it and looking for a remote oil filter option.
Did an '11 Outback today (tail end of the EJ25) and thought of this
Fortunately I specifically sourced a KTC cup wrench for these tiny filters
The pipe plug on this commercial Kohler engine was highly annoying. I had to cobble together 3 feet of extensions to thread it back in. There are a few hard lines that block access which I wasn't about to disconnect. I didn't have wobble extensions or angle adapters with me which might have made it easier.
Yes! Always though that was weird. Make sure you're out of gas before flipping it....
This has to be the most difficult oil change I've seen in anything. Yamaha Venture snowmobile.
For me it was my 2020 RAM 1500 4WD 5.7L. It's a truck it should be easy right. Oil filter at front of engine, right above the power steering and 4WD actuator electrical connectors. They shouldn't corrode. You have to tip the filter to get it out of there.
Drain plug is right in line with the sway bar, which the oil hits and follows.
Installed a 90 degree Fumoto valve and a Pacbrake remote oil filter mount and resolved both.
Drain plug is right in line with the sway bar, which the oil hits and follows.
Installed a 90 degree Fumoto valve and a Pacbrake remote oil filter mount and resolved both.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Is that a walk behind?
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Okay - just changed mine with a super syringe …Yes you walk behind it while your pushing it.
Have two sizes - the 500cc will get it all with extended hose …
Pontiac Fiero V6; the filter is on the front bank of the engine which places it right behind the bulkhead behind the car's seats, beneath the exhaust manifold and above the catalytic converter. A long reach from any direction, but probably OK if the car were on a lift. I reach for it from just in front of the RR wheel, but I have to get halfway under the car to reach it. Not necessarily difficult, just annoying.
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2024
- Messages
- 139
Same on my 2014. I found that reaching in from the side with my left hand to loosen the filter then unscrewing it with my right hand through the hole works best. If the filter is too tight then I use a socket-style tool on a long extension through the hole to break it loose. I also flatten the box the new filter came in and stick it up under the otherwise useless little trough, extending it enough to where most of the oil makes it out through the opening in the splash shield.
Hey, at least it doesn't have to go up on jacks!
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Porsche 993:
Run car to warm oil. Remove under engine panel, drain some of the oil and r & r drain plug and new washer, remove oil suction line from block drains some more oil then r & r O ring, r &r small oil filter. Not absolutely necessary to remove the drain line, but easier.
Loosen RR wheel well liner, remove rocker panel cover, r & r large oil filter, remove oil tank drain plug draining the last of the oil, r & r O ring and new washer.
Fill w/ ~11-12 quarts of oil, start car and check the four service items for leaks then drive to full operating temp, park and let car sit and idle for a few seconds and check via oil level gauge or dipstick w/ car running. Top up.
Go for long Fall drive to make it worth it....
Run car to warm oil. Remove under engine panel, drain some of the oil and r & r drain plug and new washer, remove oil suction line from block drains some more oil then r & r O ring, r &r small oil filter. Not absolutely necessary to remove the drain line, but easier.
Loosen RR wheel well liner, remove rocker panel cover, r & r large oil filter, remove oil tank drain plug draining the last of the oil, r & r O ring and new washer.
Fill w/ ~11-12 quarts of oil, start car and check the four service items for leaks then drive to full operating temp, park and let car sit and idle for a few seconds and check via oil level gauge or dipstick w/ car running. Top up.
Go for long Fall drive to make it worth it....
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- Joined
- Aug 3, 2024
- Messages
- 139
For me it's a tie between my son's Mazda 6 and my wife's Miata (NA). The 6 was a PIA because of the ridiculous number of 10mm bolts that had to come off to remove the huge plastic belly shield. That exposed the cartridge filter that had a tendency to crack and leak, which the aforementioned shield did a fine job of hiding until most of a quart had leaked out. The old Miata had the filter up on the right side of the block inches from the exhaust manifold. I broke the rules and let the engine cool down considerably before even thinking about getting my hand up there. Both cars are long gone, but my wife does miss that Miata.
On the flip side, her Saturn Vue (ancient history as well) with the 2.2L Ecotec was by far the easiest. Also a cartridge filter but it was mounted vertically right up front and accessible from under the hood. IIRC it didn't even need to go on jacks. That was her daily driver back when we met, and the first time I changed the oil for her she couldn't believe it only took maybe 15 minutes. That's probably why she married me. The water pump, now that's a different story. All I can say is never do that again GM...ever.
On the flip side, her Saturn Vue (ancient history as well) with the 2.2L Ecotec was by far the easiest. Also a cartridge filter but it was mounted vertically right up front and accessible from under the hood. IIRC it didn't even need to go on jacks. That was her daily driver back when we met, and the first time I changed the oil for her she couldn't believe it only took maybe 15 minutes. That's probably why she married me. The water pump, now that's a different story. All I can say is never do that again GM...ever.
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