Well, if your like me, one dealership oil change at around $80 is enough once, and after that you want to do your own. Well, heres how to do it. First things first, is what you'll need. I'm not completely sure of the prices, since I lost the receit, but I think I remember for the most part.

1 1/4 socket ~$3.99
10 inch extention ~$2.99
1/2" drive ratchet ~$5.99
10 Quart oil pan ~$9.99
Oil Filter about ~$8.79
7 qts Mobil 1 Oil ~$40.00


All together everything cost me around $75, but remember, most of that are tools and equipment that will be reusable/might be things you already have.
Oh yea, and if you don't have one already, pick up a Jack and jack stands if you want. I purchased some for around $50 with some other things a couple months ago, and I've used them about 3 or 4 times already.

1. Jack the car up and insert the Jack Stands

2. Head under the car and find this bolt.



3. Get the oil pan ready, and remove the bolt.



4. Take your 1 1/4 socket, and move it under the supercharger like so and place it on the oil filter cap




5. Now hook in your 10" extension and loosen up the oil filter.



6. Now reach under and remove the cap. The filter will be attached to it.



7. Heres the new and old filter with cap


8. Remove the cap from the old filter, and place it on the new filter




9. Oil the rubber ring on the filter, and move it under the supercharger and into place

 

10. Now with the filter back in place, place the 1 1/4 socket on the filter cap, insert the 10" extension and tighten it back in place. Be careful not to tighten it up too much, as you'll have one hell of a time removing it next time.


11. By now hopefully all the oil has been drained. Head back under and replace the bolt you removed. Make sure to do this before adding any oil!



12. Back on top of the engine, remove the oil cap and add in your 6.5 quarts of oil



13. Check your dipstick to make sure there is enough oil in your engine.



14. Now everything should be back on, and ready to go. Remove the jack stands and jack.

15. Head into your car, and turn it on. Go to your oil life on the DIC, and reset it. Hold down the right button when you get to oil life and it should reset to 100%. Make sure you don't set the car to metric while your doing it like I did , Unless you are using the metric system, in which case don't set it to English units.

16. Head on out to the bank, and send me some money.

Thats all. Congrates on your oil change. Check later on to make sure your not leaking.

This How to has been brought to you by NGalaxyTimmyo of the Southeast Ecotec Enthusiasts!

 

Nice

 

Is it just me or does it seem like the oil life percentage goes down quick after that first oil change

I changed my oil about three weeks ago and now the oil is at 61%

 

nice write up!!

 

I just noticed the same thing..

 

Nice write up.. I know now that I got the right oil filter. This is the first car that I've seen that doesnt have a self contained canister for the oil filter. I bought it awhile ago, and was confused about it. Now that I know its the right one, I'm gonna change the oil this weekend..

 

Awesome write up!! For those who can.. save $$ for those who cant lose a few $$

 

very nice write-up!

 

I didn't know you could get 1-1/4" sockets that will fit a 1/4" drive ratchet - most are 1/2" drive but the one in your pictures looks like it might be a 3/8... Anyway, remember to get the appropriate adapter if your socket doesn't fit the ratchet.

BTW Do you remember the socket size for the oil pan drain bolt? Every GM oil pan I've done has been a 15mm but with this car its possible it could be different. Just thought I'd throw it out there for anyone who's buying new tools just for this project.

 

Ahh, your right. I fixed that there. Thanks for the heads up.

I think it was 15, but I'd have to head under again to see for sure.

 

Thank God...i Thought I Was Gonna Have 2 Pay Another 80 Bones For Something That Simple....thats A Ripoff From The Dealer...when I Went The First Time The Guys Quoted 34 For The Oil Change Then I Ended Up Payin 80 And Waiting There 4 About 3hr Cuz They Didnt Know What The Fucj They Were Doing... They Gave My Car Back With The Cel On ....best Believe I Told Them To Get Right...good Lookin Out On The Oil Change Though...

 

I found this on ebay for the socket.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Oil-F...QQcmdZViewItem

 

did you reset ur monitor?

 

YAY for me and having a hoist that i can use when ever i want. :P

 

Excellent write up - but I think I'll stick with my dealer who charges $25 CAD with customer supplied oil - and this includes the GM filter and chassis lube if necessary

 

dood that filter is filthy,lol

mine comes out looking caramel darkened..lol

 

Thank you! The filter and the computer were the things holding me up. With your direction I swapped filters and reset the computer in less then 10 minutes. You saved me 50 bucks quarterly! BTW, my filter was caramel colored also. Is someone procrastinating?

 

Anyone know if it's safe to run Royal Purple synthetic? I heard that's good stuff.

 

I do in my SRT-4

 

DO you notice longer oil life?

 

I run royal purple in my 2.2

 

The monitor decreases the same amount but the color is good when i check it.

 

Well done

 

Awesome post, but I think your dealer is charging you $10 too much! I had them do my first oil change with customer supplied oil, and they only charged me $15 with lube and filter included. Also, do you all go by a number of miles or by the oil life monitor? Does anyone recommend the Mobil 1 Extended Performance with the extra SuperSyn?