Oil Change process

[Mike E]

Going to change my oil myself this weekend. I know you have to remove the steel plate underneath but is there anything esle thats special? Whats the drain plug size? Is the filter easy to get to? Can I just use my regular pennzoil 5W30 or do i really need to go fully synthetic? Comments, suggestions are appreciated! I can look in the owners manual for capacities. I'm assuming 6 qts total?

[Mike E]

Going to change my oil myself this weekend. I know you have to remove the steel plate underneath but is there anything esle thats special? Whats the drain plug size? Is the filter easy to get to? Can I just use my regular pennzoil 5W30 or do i really need to go fully synthetic? Comments, suggestions are appreciated! I can look in the owners manual for capacities. I'm assuming 6 qts total?

[fourfourto]

I read here that taking out the filter could be messy. first loosen then put ziplock bag around it , remove, zip up no mess.

[HumbleAg]

Unfortunately, it seems a mess from removing the filter is a given. There is a small molded piece below it that is supposed to catch the oil and funnel it down, but mine still made a mess. Best advice I have is to put a bucket below before you remove the filter, at least the drips will avoid the garage floor.

6 quarts is correct. Synthetic isn't required, but I'm sure you can find numerous debates about it. If you are going to use the oil life monitor (7-10k miles between changes), I'd go synthetic. And use a good filter regardless.

Be sure and dispose of the oil properly. We wouldn't want a bunch of oil in the ground. Oh, wait, isn't that where it came from originally?

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[f5fstop]

Take a gallon milk jug (plastic), cut out one side and make it into a shovel. Hold it under the oil filter with the opening aimed toward the oil drain pan. Hard to explain, but it sure does work to prevent too big of a mess.
I use the Mobil MI-206 oil filter.