Has anybody changed their oil themselves yet

[billn6]

I'm due on my 2003 VUE and looking at the canister that holds the oil filter, it looks messy. Has anybody found this job messy or clean?

Also, what about a brand of oil filters? I don't love Fram, but that is mostly they sell in the local stores. So that limits my choice to Fram or to go back to Saturn for their unit. What have you guys found?

Bill

[BK63]

It's extremely easy to change your oil. You drain it first and then remove the cap to the filter. Get the right size socket with an extension, half inch socket for a nut that large. Torque on my 4 is 18 foot pounds. You don't want to over tighten the oil pan bolt or the plastic cap for the filter. Walmart has the filters usually cheaper than the dealer. I can't tell the difference looking at the two.

[sladezero]

Hey there,

I have looked at changing the oil myself but, unfortunately with
business travels I do not have the time. The MRS. took it to a
dealership to do the oil change and they stripped out the oil cannister
that covers the filter. It wouldn't hold oil and we had to come back the
next day. Not very fun at all.
BTW- are there any repercussions from switching to synthetics?
Do you have to do a cleansing such as using a cleaning fluid before
making this change ??

Slade

[z28com]

I just purchased a brand new 2004 Saturn Vue today. It had 3 miles on the odometer. I always do my own oil changes. As you can read the threads on here, all you read is horror stories when you let strangers mess with your ride.

I have that new 3.5L 250 HP Honda engine and absolutely love it. I love the accelleration on the highway. When I was doing 60 and I stepped on it, it quickly jumped to over 70. I was a happy camper!

I will be putting nothing but Amsoil synthetic in it. That is the best oil in the world. There's nothing you'll find in any store or any performance shop that's any better. The oil filter you'll need from Amsoil is part # SDF-13. If you have the Ecotec 2.2 then use the Filter Element part # LF548. When I had my Saturn Ion, I had 4 of these on-hand at any given time. I have one of these SDF-13's lying around here some place for another car I was going to put it in. I'm going to wait for the engine to break in for 500 to 1000 miles before I put the Amsoil in. I also want to put in the Amsoil synthetic transmission fluid after reading about some recalls that they were having with the transmissions having lubrication problems. I absolutely hate bringing my cars in for service as I do not trust dealers for anything if I'm not there to personally watch them work on the car. I come from a family of mechanics and just don't trust other people.

If you want your Vue to last, put in Amsoil. It's cheaper and better than Castrol, Mobil, Valvoline or Quaker State as you only need to change it once per year. It may cost more per quart than other oils, but remember, it lasts 10x longer. Keep that in mind when you see the prices. Mobil's oil isn't cheap if you have to keep changing it a bunch of times and get more wear in your engine. I've had bad experiences with Mobil and I've read other people in other countries tearing up cam lobes with Mobil One. I had another guy in Sweden complaining to me that he said Castrol was not running well in his engine.

I plan on having a lot of fun with this Vue. I can't wait until they come out with performance goodies. I want to start upgrading the suspension and put high performance sway bars and other stuff. I'm kicking myself for not getting All Wheel Drive. The tires squeal too much when you take off from a stop, especially when making a right turn from a stop light. I almost got nailed from a cop today for squealing the tires. It wasn't too hard with all of that power.

[patrickT]

Originally Posted by BK63

It's extremely easy to change your oil. You drain it first and then remove the cap to the filter. Get the right size socket with an extension, half inch socket for a nut that large. Torque on my 4 is 18 foot pounds. You don't want to over tighten the oil pan bolt or the plastic cap for the filter. Walmart has the filters usually cheaper than the dealer. I can't tell the difference looking at the two.

What tool did you use to remove the oil cannister? I can't find a socket that size or a oil cape that big. Remember the cannister top which should be removed is mad of plasitic so I can't just use anything. Any thoughts? I think the 'nut' on the top would use a 35mm socket (pretty big) but I can't find one nearly that size. Need some help. Thanks.

patrick

[sierrap615]

for the Ecotec engine, some places actully sell the socket labeled as "Ecotec oil filter cap tool" or something like that. if you can't find it at any local auto store, you might find one on ebay.

[Tom E.]

I have a 2003 VUE with the 3.0L V6 and have changed the oil three times now (I don't always wait for the oil life sensor to remind me). The filter is cheaper at the dealer then at the local auto part stores (Checker etc, hard to believe I know.) and easy to change. The fill plug uses a Torx head plug and the filter housing just unscrews. The filter cartridge should remain clipped to the housing, however if not just pull it out of the engine. The filter will come with a new O-Ring for the housing, just clip the filter to the housing and reinstall. After you refill the vehicle with oil and leak check, don't forget to reset the oil change timing in the computer (Hold red button down for approx 5 seconds-located in the under hood fuse box- this procedure is in your owners manual.) I run Mobil 1 and do not let the quick lube places touch my car. Hope this helps

[Dan81]

Does anyone know what the torx size is?