at the risk of coming off as a complete moron, i'm going to ask some questions about changing the oil in my car. i've recently decided to start changing the oil myself after hearing bad things about places like jiffy lube and grease monkey. so first off, any recommendations on filters and oil? i've read some old posts and i think i'll stick with regular oil and not use synthetic. also, what type of oil....like 10w30, 5w30...it all confuses me. [sm=helpout.gif]

and lastly....is there any simple way to remove the oil filter (2001 civic ex)? i don't know much about engine design, but the location of the oil filter is annoying.

ok....i think that's about it. any suggestions are welcomed and wanted!!

 

If you wan to wait till tomorrow or the next day I will post a DIY with pics and stuff. I need to change the oil in my woman's '01. We might as well have a DIY for oil changes anyway.

 

My recomendation is stick with what Honda recommends. 5-30 for colder weather and 10-30 for warmer weather. As far as filters are concerned, stay away from fram. I would suggest OEM honda filters since you will not be going synthetic. As far as removing the filter,... wait for the pictures street strip is willing to provide. I don't know how the 01 is, but I find it easiet to use those ratcher style oil filter removers taht grip the end of the filter. However, I don't know how the 01 is laid out. Good luck

 

thanks guys. i'm bound and determined to be one of the few women who can change the oil in her own car...and a DIY would help a ton. is there any reason 97civic, that you don't recommend fram filters?

i have a feeling i'll be wearing more oil than what gets into the drain pan. but, i guess black is always in fashion. [8D]

 

Well it is personal preference. I have read a lot of bad stuff about Fram filters. I explain it all here:

https://www.hondacivicforum.com/m_50..._/tm.htm#64365

I want to applaud you for even considering doing your own maintenence. good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask, and yes black is always in fashion lol

 

What the? That guy's entire premise is that the lower the flow the better the filtration. That doesn't make any sense to me as a quality filter should have the best of both, flow and filtration. If you were to use that logic with air filters then K&N would be the worst filter on the market.

 

You have to read it all to understand it. Also there were some initial mistakes so if you just read the first few post you will not get the entire study. This is a valid type of test you can do on new filters. Not the only test, but a valid one. Filter design and material play a major role in fluid flow so yes you are partially right. Here is another study:

http://www.ntpog.org/reviews/filters/old_filters.shtml

This is why I recommend Mobil 1 filters for those that want to keep thier cars a long time, but standard OEM filters for those that just want normal filtration:

Nontheless fram comes out at the bottom of almost every study I have read.

 

welp, i did it...sort of. my bf helped me loosen bolt in the oil pan and the filter, but for the most part, i changed the oil. i gotta say, i'm a big wuss tho...i had issues removing the filter b/c i didn't feel like burning the skin off my arm from the exhaust and oil pan. oh, and i managed to stay relatively clean! thanks, 97civic and street sniper for your input. [sm=thanx.gif]

 

Oh don't mention it. I am glad I can help. Here is a little tip for the next time you do the oil change. Place an old t-shirt or large rag on the exhaust so you wont burn yourself,… or just wait about 1-2 hours after you turn off the car so it could cool off. For the filter, once you get it loose, you could wrap a plastic bag around it and hold the edge against the engine. One of those news paper plastic bags works great. That way it holds most of the oil that may drip out when removing it and you don’t make such a big mess. You could just let the filter drop into the bag after you remove it completely and tie up the bag. Now you’re ready to take it and the oil to the recycling center.
Congrats on your first oil change. Next challenge will be a minor tune up. Just chime in when it is time for that and I'm sure someone will be happy to help out.