Changed my oil today, Just want to share my thoughts

JakeZ34

Cool thanks, but when you take the oil filter off sometimes it goes crazy so I think I'll be unbolting those other 14 bolts, shouldn't take long if you have the right tools, I had one of those cordless super mini hand drills, All I do is just use the correct bolt size attachment on them and it took about literally 5 to 10 min to take the whole undertray off. But thanks for the advice though! If I had to do an oil change in 30 min I"ll consider it!

Trips

Nice write up Jake
same here at 5k changed over to redline and the idle ticking was all but gone...

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JakeZ34

Thanks Trips. Sorry I've been MIA for all those meets, you gotta keep me on my toes by PMing me. I don't usually check the So-Cal threads.

trent1331

I just ordered my 6 quarts, oil change this weekend if weather allows..

gumpy

man i wish i had the skill to do this...

my baby needs an oil change but waiting for the service to come around.

JakeZ34

Don't be discouraged! Like I said in my post, THIS IS MY FIRST FIRST TIME changing oil by myself on any car. VERY FIRST! And it took me little less then an hour, You just gotta follow AK's thread in DIY, very very informational.

spearfish25

Couple things.

First, have you ever tried to pull off a filter mag? No F'ing way that can fall off with anything short of a driving off a cliff and hitting the rocks below.

Second, be careful when changing your oil if you're only lifting on two jack stands. The first time I did that, I overfilled because I didn't drain the oil completely. I just did an oil change yesterday and put the car on four jack stands to level it out. Took 5 quarts exactly since the K&N oil filter is smaller than the stocker.

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2013 Cadillac V-Wagon, RIP Z

LunaZ

I was going to make a similar comment.
My driveway has a slight downhill slope to it, so pointing the car down the driveway and jacking the front up results in a nearly level car.
Don't forget the wheel chocks!

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Zigen5

I did my oil change too at 4k and the job was simple... I used Mobile 1 with Mobile 1 filter. The Mobile 1 filter looks identical to the stock, the Pure One looks a little bigger then stock.

There is no way the filter mag will come off! You would have to slide it off for it to come off. As for tools, I used the Race Ramp and I love it!!!! Did you not use a washer on your drain plug?

As for the cover, I just unscrewed the for screws and used a bungee cord to hold the flap back. I connected the hole in the flap to the hole near the wheel well. There is no need to take the whole cover off...

There is a big difference with new oil in my Z... I think the Z loves to be driven now..

JakeZ34

Yes I did use drain plug washer. Copper crush ones. Dealer gave me 2 for free

JakeZ34

good to know! I was having a bit of problem figuring out where to put the jackstands since this was my very first time changing the oil. Or let alone jacking the car up. So spear can you take maybe a picture of where I should put the jackstands front and back for the next change??

spearfish25

I won't be able to get pics until the car is up again, and that could be a while. Let me try to describe where I put all four jack stands...

Front:
Just under the rocker panel (where a running board would go), you'll see a flange running the length of the car. In the front, there are two divets in the flange which is the recommended front jack point. I jack the car up on each side at this point and place a jack stand on the same flange just forward of the jack point.

Rear:
On that same flange, there is another pair of divets toward the rear. I jack the car at one of these points. Usually if the front is already up, both rear tires can be lifted off the ground by jacking at just one of these rear points. Once the rear is up, I place the jack stands under the silver aluminum suspension struts. You'll see where the rear springs seat into the round portion of the aluminum struts. If you put the jack stands under the round part of the strut, you'll get a lot of 'sag' as the spring compresses. Instead, I place the jack stands further toward the inside, close to where the silver struts meet the hinge joint. It will make sense when you look under the car after having read this.

One word of advice. As you lower the car each time on the jack stands, do it slowly, check, and double check how the car is being held. I've found that once the front is on jack stands, dropping the rear onto them is more challenging as the car moves sideways a bit as the floor jack comes down. Just make sure all your jack stands are touching the desired points on the bottom of the car AND the jack stand 'feet' are all flat on the ground.

Also, use chocks as previously mentioned. If you don't use chocks, you have to jack the front up first. If you jack the rear off the ground first, neither the transmission or the parking brake will hold the car. It may very well roll off your jack stands, or even roll away as you're jacking it up.

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2013 Cadillac V-Wagon, RIP Z

IDZRVIT

I only put oil back in when the car is off the two stands. It's a lot easier than adding two more and there isn't that much oil left in the pan.

And for those who are OCD about getting all the oil out, consider this. It takes 5.8 L of oil to fill a dry engine. So, where is that other 0.6 L hiding that just won't come out?

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"America.... still builds rockets!"
Vette: 355 cid, 400 rwhp
'13 CTS-V Coupe: 6.2L LSA, 556HP

gumpy

ME I have OCD!!!

I thought our car takes 4.9L of oil so i got 5L's of the stuff for my next change... I'm f'd in the a if I need to buy another 5L bottle for the extra part...

the manual states 4.9L =(

IDZRVIT

I was off by a few tenths of a litre. Anyway, from the service manual:

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"America.... still builds rockets!"
Vette: 355 cid, 400 rwhp
'13 CTS-V Coupe: 6.2L LSA, 556HP