I do my own work...my Magnum goes to the dealer for now (going this weekend, in fact), but I'll probably start doing my own changes as soon as I run out of oil-chgange coupons.
John
1984 Ford B-700 school bus conversion, Thomas body
A bunch of other vehicles
3 nutty cats (Maya, Vierna, Briza)
One lazy dog (Marmaduke)
One wife (Liz)
"A wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age"
-Jim Steinman
Quote: I haven't used Quicky oil change places, but will tell you how to beat the stripped oil pan bolt. Fumoto oil valve. Thread one into your pan & oil changes become a little easier. IMHO
I wouldn't put it past the 20-somethings at a JL to unscrew and remove the Fumoto valve to let the oil out.
Heres another story...friend of mine (female) drives her Izusu Rodeo in to JL toget an oil change. They told her she needed to get her transfer case serviced. Playing along She said go ahead. Billed her $75 for the service....it's a two wheel drive....no transfer case..
Some newer vehicles with aluminum oil pans are very prone to drain plug problems.
With an aluminum oil pan the "softer" aluminum drain plug gasket should be replaced every time the oil plug is removed.
When tightening the drain plug you can "feal" the new gasket compress and then the drain plug tight up, that's where you stop.
I doubt many folks who change their own oil are any more qualified than the folks in the quick lubes. I'll bet they do more oil changes in a month than you will your entire life.
I have personally removed drain plugs that were cross threaded from the factory, they aren't all 100%.
TV: Mint 1972 Ford F-250 XLT
TT: 1969 19' Excel; entertains 6, feeds 4, sleeps 2 You don't shoot to kill, you shoot to stay alive.
I don't carry because I have to, I carry because I get to. I like new things-
- when they're 40 years old! My pictures
If it has pimples and is under 21 it doesn't touch my car. That pretty much rules out any Jiffy Lube. Also, I don't do business with any company with the word "Jiffy" in it. I don't want it done quickly I want it done right
jiffy
n. 1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on your computer. Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in the U.S. and Canada, 1/50 most other places), but more recently 1/100 sec has become common. "The swapper runs every 6 jiffies" means that the virtual memory management routine is executed once for every 6 ticks of the clock, or about ten times a second.
Wow, that's fast. No wonder they screwed up the plug.
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
In my area, most of the time the Jiffy Lube employees are standing out by the street holding up signs about discount pricing. While the bays are MT. I guess people are getting the message, and just drive on by.
2008 Itasca Sunrise 35A
2006 44ft Breckenridge
2008 Honda CRV Toad
2007 ZR1 Colorado Toad
2008 Pontiac Solistice GXP "Brazen Orange"
2008 26ft Car Mate-Car "We Traveled To Alot Of Different Places While On Vacation, Until The wife Asked Directions"
Hi: Yep, a few years back they dead centered my rear bumper on a steel pole and had to replace it. After that I gave my truck a perk and stayed away from the jiffy lube jerks. When I need something, I now go to the dealership. Bill
I guess I'm in the minority, but I use JL for my cars and they've never pulled the BS so many of my fellow posters have had to put up with. I live in a condo so can't really do my own work, besides I'm scary with tools. I do bring them a filter and drain plug for my Beetle and watch them open the bottles of oil they put in.
As for the RV, I use a shop that hasn't steered me wrong yet. They charge top dollar but treat me right. Can't beat that.
For those that live in apartments, or don't have driveways. Here's your solution. Walmart sells a self contained oil pain that you can slide under your vehicle when cold, pull the drain plug, run it off into the pan, then swap your filter. On my truck, the filter doesn't make a big mess when the engines been siting overnight, as the excess oil will gradually all drain down into the pan (Other reason I change it cold, the vast majority of the oil has run back down into the pan, leaving as little as possible old oil in the system.) Anyway, once you're done with the draining part, you can then take the pan to your local autoparts store (Schucks, Kragen, Checker, Murphys does used oil collection) and empty out the used oil, wipe it down with paper towels and store it for the next time round.
I drain it, lube the gasket on the new filter, install it (After filling it 3/4 of the way full of oil to help reduce strain on the engine when it comes time to start it afterwards), then put in my 5 quarts of 10w-30 Penzoil. I think crank the engine on and off allowing the pump to draw up the new oil, but keeping the engine from turning over about 10-15 times, then start her up and let her idle for about 10 minutes.
I use Purolators top end filters (They're gold colored now...) and my 5 quarts of oil. I think a full oil change runs me around $17.
CBChannel 17Space Ghost '1991.5Dodge W-250 Power Wagon - Club Cab Long Bed V8 5.9L 4spd H.D Auto 4x4 4.10 Gears '1974KIT Kamper 1106 - 11' Slide-in '1987Pullman Mini Camper '2004Bi-Mart 4x8 Cargo Trailer
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