My First Oil Change On a Low Slung Car

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I did the oil/filter for my daughter's '15 Impreza over the weekend and it was quite an eye opener for me.

I have only changed my Forester prior to this and it is pretty easy, I get plenty of clearance just by jacking up one side and then putting jack stands on both sides...hadn't touched my ramps in a while. I tried jacking up one side of the Impreza and didn't have nearly enough room to work, plus the other side didn't seem to come up that much and I wasn't very comfortable with how it looked (maybe my Forester is stiffer and the left/right stay more even?). I busted the ramps out and thought I could get it done then, but it was still quite tight and I was not able to operate my torque wrench very effectively as the drain plug sat at a pretty severe angle. I figured that I could get it off with a shorter wrench, but I really like to use a torque wrench for tightening the plug. To top it all off, I had assumed that the Impreza drain plug would be the same as mine and it wasn't, so I didn't have the right size of crush washer ready to go...I punted and decided to think about things before proceeding.

I was skiing the next day when it hit me that I had a darned oil extractor in the garage! I used it for the change later in the day with no issues.

The bad news is that the drain plug on the Impreza looked pretty bad when I checked to see if I had the right size of socket for it, rounded off somewhat and also gouged a bit. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to deal with that myself or let a dealer take care of it next time it's in for a major service.

Really didn't expect the little car to be such a hassle, guess I've been pretty fortunate with how easy it is to drop the plug on my car.
 
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I feel your pain, my Fiat is a challenge to get under too, and there's a belly pan with like 10 bolts that need to come off to access the drain plug. I drove one wheel up on a 2x6 and it gave me enough room to work but it was tight!
 
Considering it was the first go round on a new (to you).car. You handled the situation. Hooray for the oil extractor. Now you have an entire OCI to plan the next move. I'm glad I did a little research prior to changing the Camry's oil+ filter.
 
I will avoid jacking a car up at all costs. I can change both our household cars and my mother's dodge journey just by using my long arms. It certainly isn't the easiest way to do it but I'm paranoid about the jack or jackstands cracking or removing paint and exposing a spot for rust.
 
The most fun I had with a low car was a friend's 1990ish Nissan 300Z. They're already a low car and this one was lowered. Had to pull it on some 2x8s just to get a low profile jack under it.
 
Some of the early FB engines came with very soft oil drain bolts that would round off if you used a box wrench - even expertly. I had a long thread with Al in forester dot org about it a while back. Made in china sub- component pan and bolt garbage IIRC.
I had to buy a new drain plug bolt from the dealer and they wouldn't even give it to me for free. The replacement bolt was fine.

Now: Was the '15 impreza head a 17 or a 14mm? Was ther a platic undertray with a small cutout for the DP?

At least the spin on FILTER was on top of the engine!
 
I think the Impreza has a top-mounted oil filter. Why not combine this with an oil extractor (Mityvac, etc) and do the whole thing "topside"? You may not even have to change clothes!
 
I used to have to jack up the focus and get it on stands to do the oil change.

It's awfully geared transmission meant it couldn't climb ramps.

I am spoiled by the F-350 and cherokee.
 
I hate jacking modern cars, and even my 65 mustang. So I built ramps unlike anything you buy. I made them from 2x12 and 3/4 inch plywood, all screwed together with long screws. It is 8 ft long and 12 inches high. EEEAsy to drive up on, and lots of room even for an old fat guy like me. And yes, it is STRONG. It will easily hold twice the weight of any car. If I could post pix here, I could show the construction. They are heavy, but I can drag them around, and stand them on end for storage.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Some of the early FB engines came with very soft oil drain bolts that would round off if you used a box wrench - even expertly. I had a long thread with Al in forester dot org about it a while back. Made in china sub- component pan and bolt garbage IIRC.
I had to buy a new drain plug bolt from the dealer and they wouldn't even give it to me for free. The replacement bolt was fine.

Now: Was the '15 impreza head a 17 or a 14mm? Was ther a platic undertray with a small cutout for the DP?

At least the spin on FILTER was on top of the engine!


The Impreza had a 17mm head and my Forester is 14mm. I suppose the dimensions of the threaded area might possibly be the same, but I doubt it because I bought a 17mm head plug for my car by accident a few years back and it looked like a totally different deal from my 14mm. There was an undertray with a small port for drain plug access and it was kind of in the way, but I didn't try to take it off because I decided it wasn't the root cause of my problems.

Yep, the filter on top made it such that I didn't really have to get under the car at all. I checked the air filter and I thought it would be a lot easier to crack open the Impreza's air box because there is so much more room around it than in my Forester, but it was still a PITA and a lot of wrestling to get back together. The filter looked nearly pristine.
 
"I did the oil/filter for my daughter's '15 Impreza over the weekend and it was quite an eye opener for me."


If it was tough for you, I'd worry how bad a dealer or lube shop would be! Techs are rushed to max and pushed
hard so they make mistakes at your expense!

As a DYI, you'll do a better job and own the results, dealers don't take responsibility at all!

The 'big-time' GM Chevrolet / Corvette dealer in my area screwed up my last under warranty work,
destroyed the oil plug! then replaced it! I wasn't even in for an oil change! What idiots! SAD!
 
Originally Posted By: fenixguy
The most fun I had with a low car was a friend's 1990ish Nissan 300Z. They're already a low car and this one was lowered. Had to pull it on some 2x8s just to get a low profile jack under it.


Haha yep!! Z32's sit so low they're impossible to get under without ramps. And they sit too low to just drive them up on ramps. I have two pieces of wood,two bricks,and then the ramps. But oil changes are a piece of cake!! Everything is right there in plain sight. I can't do it in about 10 minutes.
 
Wow! You managed to make a simple oil change sound like a complicated engine replacement procedure.
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: JoelB
I will avoid jacking a car up at all costs. I can change both our household cars and my mother's dodge journey just by using my long arms. It certainly isn't the easiest way to do it but I'm paranoid about the jack or jackstands cracking or removing paint and exposing a spot for rust.


You can buy urethane jack stand covers for this purpose. Also rags can help also.
 
All this talk about being super careful with jacks just shows how far we have come in the building of cars. Today’s cars are so much different from yesteryears cars. Special jacking points for example.

I remember when the bumper jack was standard equipment and a bumper was strong enough to hold the car up. Those jacks were not always safe though. There were many stories of the jacks kicking out.

Today’s cars really don’t have bumpers, it’s a fascia covering with a tiny amount of protection.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Wow! You managed to make a simple oil change sound like a complicated engine replacement procedure.
grin.gif



Oh yah, I replaced the engine while I was down there...why not when the car is jacked up!

Wait...I didn't need to replace the oil then! I'm a moron!!

;^)
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I would not be too concerned about using a tq wrench on the bolt. Just snug is fine for this.


I tried to snug the drain plug by feel the first time I did my car and it was still dripping slowly after 2 extra snugs.
Used a torque wrench at ~30lb-ft and it was good...I just don't have the right kind of feel for these things. I backed the torque down to 26 after that and that still has been working fine. I'm sure that guys who have been doing this all their lives can snug it up by feel every time!
 
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