Have Been Unable To Locate Oil Filter For 500 Mile Change, Is It Under Plastic Shroud??. How Do You Remove Shroud???

I just changed mine over the weekend its on the top of the motor. take off the plastic cover look to the left of the throttle body there will be a black round canister looking thing with a nut on the top of it. i used a pair of channel locks to get i off but if you have a socket big enough that woulb be better. good luck

500 mile change? I thought my first one is due on the 3,000th mile?

3000 is fine if you like all the metal shavings from engine breakin flowing through your system, or clogging your filter.

so i have 2,000 now, maybe i should get the oil changed now. hmm, so when do you have your second oil change due?

im at 1300 i guess i better change mine tomorrow

honestly this whole oil changing after 1000 miles is bullshit, it's all a mith. Same with adding stuff to the engine to help break it in, honestly, does an engine really need it, no, if it did, wouldn't GM put it in themselves because hello, something goes wrong the first while they havta cover it under warranty, so it doesn't make sense why they woudln't make the engine break in properly, you don't need ur first oil change till like 3000 miles

this comes as first hand experience from a 35 year old male, who has purchased 5 brand new vehicles in my lifetime so far. 1988 s-10 blazer 4x4 4.3. 1990 iroc z 5.7tpi. 1995 nissan altima. 1997 dodge stratus. 2000 dodge dakota 3.9. 2003 chevy silverado5.3z71. and now a 05 cobalt. these were bought by both me and my wife. i personally do all general maintenence on my vehicles, and truly believe in a 1000 mile and 2000 mile first 2 oil changes. my father who is a retired delta mechanic suggested this to me some 15 yrs ago, it was suggested to him by a cousin of his who worked for big daddy don garlits as a pit crewsmen back in the 80's. Oil is the lifeblood of your engine, and the second largest purchase you will ever make, why not spend the few extra dollars and pamper your baby.

hey guys, this oil change thing is old news
cars dont necessarily need oil changes every 3k, look at the new oil life monitoring system!!
and the engines already come from the dealer broken in, and they DO change the oil after that
there is no reason to not follow the DIC, afterall, if anything goes wrong, you have a warranty

but obviously they have taken this into account

5K miles now on factory oil and still going! I am going to run it till 1%. Its at like 38% now. :lol:

your probably right, what the hell do i know, except that i have personaly watched my father put 286,000 miles on an 79 olds ninety eight, with no intrnal parts problems, and put 260,000 miles on his 88 s10 blazer, which was mine for a while. if thats not testament, i dont know what is!!

honestly this whole oil changing after 1000 miles is bullshit, it's all a mith. Same with adding stuff to the engine to help break it in, honestly, .............................. :lol: you don't need ur first oil change till like 3000 miles



CAN ANYONE think of a least expen$ive task than removing oil and a new filter on a 20thou$ toy? Please , individuals that stand on this 3000+ mile for service,,for what?..

and u would automatically tip20% for bad service,,if u were w/your date!!!!!!..but spend 35 or 45 bucks for a Premature maintance.(?)! horrors.

5K miles now on factory oil and still going! I am going to run it till 1%. Its at like 38% now. :lol:

..Keep this info handy... :red:

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/store/Ecotec-Crate-Engine-22-Naturally-Aspirated-12499679-P825C57.aspx



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thats great bob, drop us a thread when you hit 80-85 k. then we can discuss valve knock, lifter pings, and blow by. If you dont plan on keeping your ride for at least 80k, then what the hell, just change it once a year!!!. I will only explain this once.
GM doesnt make squat on selling cars, what they do make money in is service,parts,and body work. Dont you think that in the long run it is in their best interest to advise you to do something that a few years down the road, once you are safely out of the factory warranty, will start having adverse affects on with those vehicles. $$$$$$$$$$$. that money in the bank for them. money out of the bank for us!!

Okay this is from my uncle who is a retired GM worker. Used to build cars.

IN the past since Engine parts were all hand made and engines where hand bored the 1000k rule was used because hand machined parts are not always exactly the same so you would get wear and grinding of the parts as the engine broke in. That's what breaking an engine in was all about.

These days many of the parts are computer and robotically machine to exacting standards so one piston is exactly the same as the next and the bore holes in the engine that make the cylinder are exactly the same from one to the next so there's less breaking in that the engine needs to do. YOU will always get metal shave from you parts as you drive the car FOR THE LIFE OF THE CAR. Especailly if you do not change the oil when you should. Plus you'll blow seals and cause warping. I'm going with the DIC myself my uncle said that was fine, but it never hurts to change your oil early. It really up to you.

thats great bob, drop us a thread when you hit 80-85 k. then we can discuss valve knock, lifter pings, and blow by. If you dont plan on keeping your ride for at ........... that money in the bank for them. money out of the bank for us!!

what the hell are writing about??? I wrote exactly opposite to what you post said.!

First off the oil filter catridge is located in its housing which is accessed by removing the engine sight sheild(remove oil cap, and just pull up on cover.) the filter housing is removed with a 32mm socket(or 1 1/4") they are available from Matco tools and many other suppliers for about 10 bucks....worth the investment.

GM recommends changing your oil when the change oil message comes on or every 10 months, whichever comes first. Change every 3000miles if you live/drive in dusty areas.

The oil change interval is increased over the traditional 3k/3months for many reasons...engines are built with better tolerances than before, and oil has improved a lot over time. THe Oil Life Monitor is designed to save you money, save natural resources, reduce waste oil and make knowing when to service your engine easier.
Can you change your oil @ 500 miles...sure..do you have to...no. Will it increase your engines life expectancy probably not.

GM does not makes most of its money from selling services...first of all when you pay to have your car serviced at a dealer GM sees none of that money unless you used GM parts, dealers are private businesses. the Average car dealer makes anywhere from 2500-10,000 dollars in profit from a single new car sale...do you think they'll ever make that from you in service profits?? Nope.

GM actually makes most of its money from its credit business GMAC by the way. Over 70% of GM's corporate profits come from that source.

Socal I would really appreciate you elaborating on exactly what "valve knock" and "lifter ping" are......as for "blowby" the only actual engine issue you mentioned, it is in GMs best interest to avoid blowby, because blowby, or poor piston ring sealing for those who are unfamiliar, is a significant cause of catalytic converter failure.....guess what GM has to warrant cat's for 8years or 80,000 miles.....hmmmm

You have the credentials to warrant some validity to your oil change statements, given your heirarchy in the gm system. However, for a mechanic to try to explain the business structure of gm makes me wanna laugh. Guess you been sitting in on some board meetings uh maven ?. lol

Actually Socal, as a GM stock holder I get the same information as the board of directors regarding profit&loss, and just ask any other dealer technician if his/her paycheck is signed by Rick Wagoner or if its signed by the dealer owner. Trust me when I tell you the hourly service rate you pay your dealer never gets seen by GM.

Here's some pics to go along with this post. (cant' believe no one posted pics of this, lol)

This is on my 2.0 BTW. I don't know if its the same on the 2.2 or not. I would think it is though

http://home.comcast.net/~camaro2002ss/CobaltSS/filter1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~camaro2002ss/CobaltSS/filter2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~camaro2002ss/CobaltSS/filter3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~camaro2002ss/CobaltSS/filter4.jpg

[QUOTE=2K2CamaroSS]Here's some pics to go along with this post. (cant' believe no one posted pics of this, lol)

This is on my 2.0 BTW. I don't know if its the same on the 2.2 or not. I would think it is though [QUOTE=2K2CamaroSS]


They are the same.

your probably right, what the hell do i know, except that i have personaly watched my father put 286,000 miles on an 79 olds ninety eight, with no intrnal parts problems, and put 260,000 miles on his 88 s10 blazer, which was mine for a while. if thats not testament, i dont know what is!!


dear God, this is 2005
technology sure has changed a little bit in these 26 years hasn't it
go ahead and get ur oil changed every 3000 miles, its the ignorant people like you that the companies love

I just actually noticed where this oil filter is located on the SS and OMG! it is in a really tight place! What is the easiest way to change the filter without removing anything in the way?

My dealer gives me free oil changes for life. I just put a 5qt jug of mobil 1 in the trunk ( service dept manager said I should provide my own to save money,Hows that for good service) and they provide the filter and labor for nothing. I used to do my own but why should I now, its free!!! If i did'nt want mobil 1 it would'nt cost me a penny.But i want the added protection Mobil 1 provides. as far as im concerned oil is your engines life blood why take chances. I dont care what the oil life gizmo says, I change it every 3 months or 3000 miles ,mine read 65% last change. I only have a base coupe if i had the ss i might get the mobil one for free too ,now that would be cool.... ;)

Umm... Dumb Question but does the cover just pull/pop off? I found the oil filter location today and was wondering if it just came off. I didnt see any bolts/nuts and wanted to make sure. Thanks

I have a 1994 K1500 Suburban with 206.000 miles with the original 350 engine and 4L60E transmission. I just purchased a 2005 Cobalt for my daughter which is why I am on this forum, we have not received it yet, it should be in today or tomorrow. Anyways, I have owned a number of new GM cars, mostly Chevrolet (I am 41 years old, and the first of these was a 1981 Camaro Z28). I always follow the maintenance schedule to the letter. This schedule is created by the factory who knows the car and engine better than anyone. I change the oil and filter in my Suburban every 7500 miles (like the schedule says) and it still runs like the day it drove out of the dealer and still gets about the same gas mileage (11.7 mpg combinded city/highway). The recommendations of oil changes every 3000 miles usually come from companies that sell oil or oil changing services. The posts that explain the GM/Dealer relationship is correct. I own GM stock (doing awfully at the moment) and know something about their business. A dealer will purchase a car from the factory to resell it and make a profit, much like an auto parts store would purchase an intake manifold from Edelbrock to resell it and make a profit. The dealer also makes money on services (maintenance and repair) in addition to selling cars and selling financing. When a car is brought in for warranty maintenance, the dealer invoices the factory for that work. In my opinion, there is no real benefit to changing you oil sooner, or more often, but it doesn't hurt. If it gives you peace of mind, you should do it. By the way, this is a great forum, I am sure I will be visiting often.

I did my first oil change on my 2.2 base 5speed at 1940miles and it was pretty dark, a lot darker than I had expected for that low of mileage.

There is no way to judge oil condition strictly by color, especially since so many factors dramatically effect its appearance.

The only TRUE way to know whats going on in your crankcase is to have a smaple of your oil analyzed.