Did the first change this morning. Seriously considered the dealer especially as this is first one but time was tight and I can't put it off as daughter drives the vehicle and is home from college, plus it's a Saturday and probably busy at the dealer....if they are open even? Anyway I took my time and it took me way longer than I thought but here are my notes:
The first surprise,…no let’s say shock, is the plastic underbody cover is retained entirely by the press in style plastic connectors. There is not a retaining screw in sight. There is a small indent in the retainer in which to get a screwdriver blade to prise out the center piece but they are fiddly and there is a lot of them. I hit them with WD-40 to reduce the chances of snapping one. I’m assuming these are easy to get replacements? part number and source would be useful. Note the retainers along the front of the vehicle are a different size than the rest of the retainers. How long these will last is anyone’s guess. They will brittle up and disintegrate after a few years if they are similar to the Mazda style.
Oil Drain
I was able to pull 3.25 qts out using the Big Boy extractor through the dipstick tube. If I could get under the vehicle without using ramps I’m sure I could pull the remaining 0.75 qt using the extractor. There just ain’t enough room. I pulled the sump plug to get the remaining oil out and measured a total of just shy of 4 qts out. I checked the oil level before the job and it was just a tiny smidge short of the full ‘circle’ stamped in the dipstick.
Filter
This was interesting for me as I’ve never had a vehicle with a horizontal orientated filter. Absolutely no oil came out of the filter, none, so that made that part of the job clean. Filter that came with the Conyers oil change kit was xxxxx 65F0E, the one that came out of the vehicle was xxxx 65F0B. Same physical size. There was a plastic film cover over the base of the new filter, just fyi...I'm sure it would dislodge as soon as someone tried to fit the filter but ......you know how sod's law goes?
Oil Fill
I used the Conyers oil refill kit via Amazon. 25 bucks delivered. 5 qts Nissan oil, Oil Filter and a crush washer for the sump plug. The sump plug is quite short, make sure the crush washer is indeed ‘crushed’ and no slack is left in the sump plug. I used a wrench then a few taps on the wrench with a rubber head mallet to make sure there was no slack left. I’m not sure which way around the crush washer goes or if it matters but I guessed looking at the surfaces of the old one that the side with the piece ‘clipped’ out of it faces the pan. I put 4 qts oil in, and that gave me a level right on the dipstick full mark. Checked for leaks. WD40’d the retainers, made sure the centers were all pulled out and refitted the underbody cover and all looks good.
If you are a newbie to car maintenance, keep it safe. Do not crawl under a car unless it’s on ramps or supported with jackstands placed in the correct positions.
The first surprise,…no let’s say shock, is the plastic underbody cover is retained entirely by the press in style plastic connectors. There is not a retaining screw in sight. There is a small indent in the retainer in which to get a screwdriver blade to prise out the center piece but they are fiddly and there is a lot of them. I hit them with WD-40 to reduce the chances of snapping one. I’m assuming these are easy to get replacements? part number and source would be useful. Note the retainers along the front of the vehicle are a different size than the rest of the retainers. How long these will last is anyone’s guess. They will brittle up and disintegrate after a few years if they are similar to the Mazda style.
Oil Drain
I was able to pull 3.25 qts out using the Big Boy extractor through the dipstick tube. If I could get under the vehicle without using ramps I’m sure I could pull the remaining 0.75 qt using the extractor. There just ain’t enough room. I pulled the sump plug to get the remaining oil out and measured a total of just shy of 4 qts out. I checked the oil level before the job and it was just a tiny smidge short of the full ‘circle’ stamped in the dipstick.
Filter
This was interesting for me as I’ve never had a vehicle with a horizontal orientated filter. Absolutely no oil came out of the filter, none, so that made that part of the job clean. Filter that came with the Conyers oil change kit was xxxxx 65F0E, the one that came out of the vehicle was xxxx 65F0B. Same physical size. There was a plastic film cover over the base of the new filter, just fyi...I'm sure it would dislodge as soon as someone tried to fit the filter but ......you know how sod's law goes?
Oil Fill
I used the Conyers oil refill kit via Amazon. 25 bucks delivered. 5 qts Nissan oil, Oil Filter and a crush washer for the sump plug. The sump plug is quite short, make sure the crush washer is indeed ‘crushed’ and no slack is left in the sump plug. I used a wrench then a few taps on the wrench with a rubber head mallet to make sure there was no slack left. I’m not sure which way around the crush washer goes or if it matters but I guessed looking at the surfaces of the old one that the side with the piece ‘clipped’ out of it faces the pan. I put 4 qts oil in, and that gave me a level right on the dipstick full mark. Checked for leaks. WD40’d the retainers, made sure the centers were all pulled out and refitted the underbody cover and all looks good.
If you are a newbie to car maintenance, keep it safe. Do not crawl under a car unless it’s on ramps or supported with jackstands placed in the correct positions.
