Honda Car Forum

I've never done the oil change on it myself as I could not even see from
the top where the drain plug and the filter is. As I had to change the
ATF recently that turned out easier than I originally thought it would
be, I took another look at the oil drain plug and filter from under the
car (without lifting it up) but I still could not find the oil filter
and I only *think* that I discovered the drain plug at the back side of
the oil pan. If that's really it I still think it would be a pretty big
challenge to reach it without lifting the car up. So I wonder if any of
you, '94 Accord owners, figured out a way to do the oil change yourself
without raising the car. If so, I'd like to know how.

Rudy

R. P. wrote:
> I've never done the oil change on it myself as I could not even see from
> the top where the drain plug and the filter is. As I had to change the
> ATF recently that turned out easier than I originally thought it would
> be, I took another look at the oil drain plug and filter from under the
> car (without lifting it up) but I still could not find the oil filter
> and I only *think* that I discovered the drain plug at the back side of
> the oil pan. If that's really it I still think it would be a pretty big
> challenge to reach it without lifting the car up. So I wonder if any of
> you, '94 Accord owners, figured out a way to do the oil change yourself
> without raising the car. If so, I'd like to know how.
>
> Rudy

drive the car so it straddles a ditch but remains level. let it stand
for about 10 minutes for all the oil to drain to the pan, then AFTER YOU
HAVE PERFORMED A THOROUGH SAFETY CHECK TO ENSURE THE CAR WON"T ROLL OR
SLIP IN ANY WAY, crawl underneath to do the change. the filter's
screwed onto the back of the engine block.

you'll need a special wrench to unscrew the filter, so while you're at
the auto parts store, buy a pair of ramps. much safer and you can now
change oil in your driveway.

[most] all honda fastners, includng the oil plug, are metric.

You have to jack her up - I bought a made in china hydraulic floor
jack- set the parking or emergency brake - slip the round cup under the
front tie down hook which is in the center of the car just behind the
bumper - I slip a small piece of wood in the jack cup so the edges of
the cup do not hit the car. You will want to have bought a pair of
jack stands to slip under the car to protect in case the chinaman who
made the jack had a bad day when he made your jack.

Do it on a fairly flat paved surface, slip a piece of card board under
the drain plug - slide a oil catch pan - auto parts stores have these -
use a 17 or 19 mm wrench to unscrew the plug - careful cause you should
drain the oil when the engine is hot - keeps the crud suspended and
after the oil draining out is reduced to a slight drip - replace the
plug carefully and tighten to around 20 foot pounds.

The filter is about 6" behind the drain plug located on the back side
of the engine - what a royal PITA - don't burn your arm on the exhaust
- a filter wrench may not be a bad idea - cheap at auto parts store -
you may want to use some paper towels to hold the filter as you unscrew
it - oil will start to pour out as it gets looses - get the drain pan
under to catch the oil. Wal-mart's house brand filters are pretty good
- avoid Fram - used to be good and are now garbago. Slightly wet the
gasket on the filter - screw it back on carefully - keep turning till
it gets really tight and then back it off a bit until it is moderately
tight - should take some effort to remove. Just do not use that wrench
to tighten the filter.

Now I can change my oil in maybe 15 minutes. I have a several 6 gallon
plastic gas cans which I drain my used tranny and oil into and a local
garage uses it to heat with. Don't mix in any radiator coolant - take
that to a recycling center - never dump it into the sewer or on the
ground - critters like the sweet taste and die an awful death.

It take less time to change oil than to tell how to do it - I have a
quick oil change facility a few miles away - you should avoid those
places because problems with over/under fills and wrong filters and
stripped threads and falling out drain plugs are way too common.

butch burton wrote:
> You have to jack her up - I bought a made in china hydraulic floor
> jack- set the parking or emergency brake - slip the round cup under the
> front tie down hook which is in the center of the car just behind the
> bumper - I slip a small piece of wood in the jack cup so the edges of
> the cup do not hit the car. You will want to have bought a pair of
> jack stands to slip under the car to protect in case the chinaman who
> made the jack had a bad day when he made your jack.

no kidding. my intro to safe working practices was coming home one day
to find my father crushed under a car. he'd been working under it
supported only by a jack, wheels off, no stands and the jack failed. he
got away with broken ribs, but he was lucky i came home when i did.
that's one of the reasons i like ramps - the wheels /have/ to stay on
the car and in the worst of all possible worlds, that limits the extent
to which the vehicle can drop.

>
> Do it on a fairly flat paved surface, slip a piece of card board under
> the drain plug - slide a oil catch pan - auto parts stores have these -
> use a 17 or 19 mm wrench to unscrew the plug - careful cause you should
> drain the oil when the engine is hot - keeps the crud suspended and
> after the oil draining out is reduced to a slight drip - replace the
> plug carefully and tighten to around 20 foot pounds.
>
> The filter is about 6" behind the drain plug located on the back side
> of the engine - what a royal PITA - don't burn your arm on the exhaust
> - a filter wrench may not be a bad idea - cheap at auto parts store -
> you may want to use some paper towels to hold the filter as you unscrew
> it - oil will start to pour out as it gets looses - get the drain pan
> under to catch the oil. Wal-mart's house brand filters are pretty good
> - avoid Fram - used to be good and are now garbago. Slightly wet the
> gasket on the filter - screw it back on carefully - keep turning till
> it gets really tight and then back it off a bit until it is moderately
> tight - should take some effort to remove. Just do not use that wrench
> to tighten the filter.
>
> Now I can change my oil in maybe 15 minutes. I have a several 6 gallon
> plastic gas cans which I drain my used tranny and oil into and a local
> garage uses it to heat with. Don't mix in any radiator coolant - take
> that to a recycling center - never dump it into the sewer or on the
> ground - critters like the sweet taste and die an awful death.
>
> It take less time to change oil than to tell how to do it - I have a
> quick oil change facility a few miles away - you should avoid those
> places because problems with over/under fills and wrong filters and
> stripped threads and falling out drain plugs are way too common.
>

"jim beam" <nospam@example.net> wrote:
> no kidding. my intro to safe working practices was coming home one
> day to find my father crushed under a car. he'd been working under it
> supported only by a jack, wheels off, no stands and the jack failed.
> he got away with broken ribs, but he was lucky i came home when i did.
> that's one of the reasons i like ramps - the wheels /have/ to stay on
> the car and in the worst of all possible worlds, that limits the
> extent to which the vehicle can drop.

Oh man, that story sounds like a nightmare! I wish home garages were
built the way I've seen them in Europe: with a kind of trench you see in
these quick lube shops that are normally covered but come real handy to
work under the car without all the extra hardware and extra time one
needs here in a typical garage to create the necessary clearance under
the car. Now that you guys confirmed my suspicion about the difficulty
of changing oil myself, I think I'll stick to having it done at my
dealer as before. But my next car will have to have an easier way to do
the oil change.

Rudy

R. P. wrote:
> "jim beam" <nospam@example.net> wrote:
>
>> no kidding. my intro to safe working practices was coming home one
>> day to find my father crushed under a car. he'd been working under it
>> supported only by a jack, wheels off, no stands and the jack failed.
>> he got away with broken ribs, but he was lucky i came home when i did.
>> that's one of the reasons i like ramps - the wheels /have/ to stay on
>> the car and in the worst of all possible worlds, that limits the
>> extent to which the vehicle can drop.
>
>
> Oh man, that story sounds like a nightmare! I wish home garages were
> built the way I've seen them in Europe: with a kind of trench you see in
> these quick lube shops that are normally covered but come real handy to
> work under the car without all the extra hardware and extra time one
> needs here in a typical garage to create the necessary clearance under
> the car. Now that you guys confirmed my suspicion about the difficulty
> of changing oil myself, I think I'll stick to having it done at my
> dealer as before. But my next car will have to have an easier way to do
> the oil change.
>
> Rudy

didn't mean to frighten you! if you take the right precautions, there
are many advantages to doing the oil yourself, the main one being that
you make sure it's done right. last time a had my oil changed by the
honda dealer, they had their most junior tech do it. he didn't do the
filter right, oil sprayed all over the inside of the engine bay,
contaminated the belts, caused all kinds of problems.

it's your call, but doing work yourself can be a good thing.

R. P. wrote:
> dealer as before. But my next car will have to have an easier way to do
> the oil change.

the scion xA is easy! i imagine the xB and toyota echo are the same. oil
filter is up behind the front bumper, and the drain plug is witin reach,
too. to change the oil on my moms xA, i lie on my back and stick my arm
under the car.

jim beam wrote:
> didn't mean to frighten you! if you take the right precautions, there
> are many advantages to doing the oil yourself, the main one being that
> you make sure it's done right.

not only that, it gives you a chance to inspect the CV boots, oil pan
gasket, oil pan, tranny pan, exhaust, check for leaks, etc...

The wife has a 2000 accord V6 and I recently changed the oil. Previously,
It was always done at the shop. The drain plug was very hard to loosen and
it did not have a plastic washer on it. All the other vehicles I have owned
had some sort of washer on the drain plug. Now, I've noticed a slight drip
from the drain plug even though it's tight. Soo....I'm wandering if there's
supposed to be a washer on the drain plug that was lost on a previous oil
change. Can anybody advise? TIA.
TomC

SoCalMike <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote in article
<w8adnQI5MfMb_yLfRVn-rA@comcast.com>...
> jim beam wrote:
> > didn't mean to frighten you! if you take the right precautions, there
> > are many advantages to doing the oil yourself, the main one being that
> > you make sure it's done right.
>
> not only that, it gives you a chance to inspect the CV boots, oil pan
> gasket, oil pan, tranny pan, exhaust, check for leaks, etc...
>

TomC wrote:
> The wife has a 2000 accord V6 and I recently changed the oil. Previously,
> It was always done at the shop. The drain plug was very hard to loosen and
> it did not have a plastic washer on it. All the other vehicles I have owned
> had some sort of washer on the drain plug. Now, I've noticed a slight drip
> from the drain plug even though it's tight. Soo....I'm wandering if there's
> supposed to be a washer on the drain plug that was lost on a previous oil
> change. Can anybody advise? TIA.
> TomC

You need a 14mm aluminum seal from the Honda dealer. Just tell them
it's for the oil plug. It should be replaced at least every 3rd or 4th
change. Around 50 cents or so. The shop was trying to compensate by
severely over-tightening your drain plug.