Hard and easy vehiles to change oil on
- Thread starter pacem
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How 'bout it!! My Wife had a `94 Swift. By far, the easiest OC ever.
Filter access on my Volvo 240 is kind of a pain. I work for an auto shop so I do all of my oil changes on a lift. Even then, its difficult to do without burning your arm on the downpipe. Also the filter is directly over the right side engine mount which is nothing more than a big chunk of rubber. I have to cover it with plastic to keep it from becoming oil soaked. Volvo 240s are known for engine mount problems and an oil impregnated engine mount is bound for premature failure.
The absolute worst car to change the oil filter on would be a 1988-1991 Honda Civic 4 wheel drive wagon. The oil filter is on the backside of the engine that can only be reached from below the car with the car elevated--but the oil filter cant be reached except by reaching around the hot exhaust header pipe and the drive shaft--and can only be reached with one hand.
K&N oil filters are a God sent on this car. Heaven help you if the oil filter is hard to remove--you will have only one hand to remove it in the small space between the exhaust header and the drive shaft.
Who says that Honda designers/engineers dont have a sense of humor?
K&N oil filters are a God sent on this car. Heaven help you if the oil filter is hard to remove--you will have only one hand to remove it in the small space between the exhaust header and the drive shaft.
Who says that Honda designers/engineers dont have a sense of humor?
Kestas
Staff member
Omni/Horizon... piece of cake... no mess... loved those cars.
97 Chevy cavalier, you had to reach your arm through one opening to get to the oil filter, and work the filter in and out through a different opening. the one you reached your arm through wasn't big enough to get the filter through and the one the filter would fit through wasn't at the correct angle to work through. Not terribly tough once you had it figured out. The easiest is the full sized 70 ford car with a 390, just get under the front of the car and the filter is right above you with plenty of working room.
I wonder if that 97 Cavalier was the same as my wife's old '95 Sunfire. I only changed the oil on that car once myself and I said f$@k it and let the dealer do it thereafter (it was a lease anyways). I had to remove the right front wheel if I remember correctly to get access to the oil filter since the GM engineers put it in such a convenient spot.
My wife has a 2000 5.0 Explorer and I have a 97 F150 and both are a piece of cake. The easiest I ever have done is my 65 Mustang 6 cylinder. You can practically stand in the engine bay with that one and the filter is on the side of the engine.The worst I had was a 93 Mark VIII and it was a pain to get the oil filter off and the car sat so low you had to jack it up to do anything at all. Was almost the only thing about that car I did not like though.
[ January 04, 2004, 10:37 PM: Message edited by: seldont ]
[ January 04, 2004, 10:37 PM: Message edited by: seldont ]
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the GM 2.5 4 cylinder Iron Duke. In 83 to 95 GM A-bodies, the Celebrity, Ciera, 6000, Century, as well as the first generation GM front drivers like the Citation. In the engine bay, everything is very accessible, but the canister oil filter is inside the engine behind a 6" diameter drain plug. It ALWAYS splatters everywhere when that canister filter is yanked out of it's hole.
My 78 Bronco is so easy to change, Brett's trained monkey could do it. The Bronc is high enough that no ramps are required. The filter is accessable from the front, and the Fumoto drain valve can be opened in 2 seconds with one hand. I could do it in my sleep....
'92 SAAB 900T-drainplug can be reached without lifting the car, filter gets oil everywhere if not careful
'95 VW Jetta VR6-Horrible. Drain plug was always half gone from road abrasion (Pittsburgh roads + lowered car) Filter canister. Pretty funny to watch someone change it if they didn't know about the drain plug on the filter. They would remove the whole pressurized thing and spray oil everywhere.
'95 VW Jetta VR6-Horrible. Drain plug was always half gone from road abrasion (Pittsburgh roads + lowered car) Filter canister. Pretty funny to watch someone change it if they didn't know about the drain plug on the filter. They would remove the whole pressurized thing and spray oil everywhere.
Anyone else here use diapers when they pull the filter? Works great in those situations where the filter pours oil over crossmembers, engine mounts, etc. Just place the diaper under the filer...
I use one on my Miata at every oil change, otherwise it leaks oil onto the subframe. Never got the cut-down pop bottle to work, though it'd probably work on other cars.
Worse was my '92 Geo Storm GSI. You could only get at the filter from above, but it would dump oil all over the frame and PS rack. I finally got smart and cut one side out of an empty oil bottle. Cut a hole in the other side, just large enough for the filter and screwed a pouring extension onto the bottle.
|-----|
|*****|
|**O**|
|_____|
*\***/
**\*/
***|
***|
[Darn ASCII graphics!]
When I wanted to change the filter, I just weaved my device down so the pouring extension was over the drain pan and hung the bottle over the filter mount. When the filter was loosened, the bottle would cath the oil and funnel it through the extension and into the drain pan.
- Scott
[ January 09, 2004, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: 2windy ]
I use one on my Miata at every oil change, otherwise it leaks oil onto the subframe. Never got the cut-down pop bottle to work, though it'd probably work on other cars.
Worse was my '92 Geo Storm GSI. You could only get at the filter from above, but it would dump oil all over the frame and PS rack. I finally got smart and cut one side out of an empty oil bottle. Cut a hole in the other side, just large enough for the filter and screwed a pouring extension onto the bottle.
|-----|
|*****|
|**O**|
|_____|
*\***/
**\*/
***|
***|
[Darn ASCII graphics!]
When I wanted to change the filter, I just weaved my device down so the pouring extension was over the drain pan and hung the bottle over the filter mount. When the filter was loosened, the bottle would cath the oil and funnel it through the extension and into the drain pan.
- Scott
[ January 09, 2004, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: 2windy ]
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