cpl_allen

I had the past 2 days off and decided to change my engine oil, tranny fluid, and diff fluid. Here are my notes.

Put the front end on ramps, and jack stands in the rear. I made sure the car was level for proper drainage. After I collected all the old stuff in the pan, I poured in some new 10w-30 amsoil, and poured what was in my old WIX filter back into the pan. I then poured what was in the pan into my empty amsoil bottles.

Just under 4 quarts came out, 6 quarts went in. Last time I changed my oil only 2.5 quarts came out. I have no idea how the hell my car is burning off that much oil, or how it ran before with only 2.5 without a CEL.

Tranny fluid was easy and I used prestone synchromesh stuff in it. Just about 2 quarts came out, put 2 quarts in.

Diff was a biatch. 23mm bolt? really? and not enough room for any socket or ratchet?
To get the pesky fill bolt off I had to call several hardware stores to see if they had a wrench that size. Luckily sears had one, and dropped 16 bucks on a wrench I'll only use once in a blue moon. After that, everything was a breeze! (aside from the messy fluid pump.. I'd recommend putting your fluid in a container where the bottom touches the bottom of the fluid pump, otherwise it sucks.) I used Royal Purple 75w-90 for diff.

So I torqued everything back to spec (aside from the fill bolt, just had to guess) and started her up. Everything sounded good, so I started backing out of the driveway when I caught a funny smell and saw some white smoke. I knew that I had gotten some fluid on my exhaust during the change, but I thought I cleaned it all up.

I back out of the driveway, and slowly drive away looking at a trail of liquid following my car.

Holy crap! not a drip, its a leak!

I do a quick u turn and pull back into the garage and kill the car, pop the hood, and immediately see that there was a very visible leak (only with the engine running) coming from the oil filter. I inspect the filter and see that the rubber gasket is all blown out around the sides.. The gasket shouldnt even be visible!

I run and grab the old filter to take a look at it only to notice that the gasket is missing from the filter. It was still stuck to the engine and I put the new filter on right on top of it causing an improper seal.

I remove it and quickly plug the hole with my finger (i had mechanic gloves with rubber fingers, but it was still hot as hell) and sure enough 2 gaskets come off. I have my buddy re-seat the new gasket, and I pop the new filter back on, properly this time, and take it for a test drive.

Engine runs smoother with this batch of amsoil (bottle looked different from the last, but couldnt tell any difference by the description) and gear shifting seemed less notchy.

I didnt loose enough oil to matter since it takes 5.7 and I put in 6.

Hope this helps someone someday. Check your oil filters when you change them!

R3DS2K

you dont get a cel when you have low oil. you get a oil light for having low pressure and usually will come on when you have less than 1.5 qts in some cars. dont wait for the light to come on cuz running on less than half of what is suppose to be in the car is just asking for a new engine. check your oil regularly as you have ap1 which burns oil. well known on this forum

i use oem filter and i have yet seen one oem filter honda or toyota leave a gasket behind.

also you should check the diy for tips hehe saves some time and trouble

gCHOW

nice! good looking out. im gonna be doin all three fluids soon so i'll be sure to keep an eye on the oil filter too.

cpl_allen

I check my oil regularly.. and maybe I'm just dumb, but it is either really hard to read, or it always looks full. Regardless of how I pull the stick out. I'm thinking about etching some hash marks in the stick so I can see it better.

JDMQuip

I check my oil every time I fill up and every few days to make sure it's adequate. May seem a bit excessive but 3-4 minutes could save your ass.

zeroptzero

running on low oil will kill these engines as they are sensitive to oil starvation situations. I try to keep my oil at the full mark at all times, even one quart low can be risky on these engines. Don't wait for a CEL or even a low oil pressure light on this car, the engine will be dead by the time that happens.

Golden rule of all oil changes is to inspect the oil filter upon removal and make sure the gasket is with the filter, just so you don't put a new filter on top of an oil stuck gasket.

Good thing you caught the leak quick enough.

davidc1

Ahh...the S2000 oil eater....

Yes, S2000 will burn/blow oil, especially AP1's, especially if you get into VTEC range a lot. I'll burn a quart on a track day, or a 1/4 quart on an autocross day.

And the oil stick on the S2000 sucks! I've always found it hard to read. I've got no idea about why they put those hash marks on there. I just look at both sides, and then usually check it twice.

R3DS2K

i check like a billion dip sticks a day and i havent had any problems checking anyone of them. you guys are just noobs and i never understand how you cant read them. i heard so many people say that as an excuses. its too funny

essi1553

the s2k dipstick is total shit, as well as the oil fill placement.

One side completely empty and the other spattered with oil in random places. I have never had trouble reading dipsticks except on this car at certain times, its not always bad but when it is you can't tell the proper level.

R3DS2K

maybe because you have an ap1 that burns on and requires constant checking. i guess i only check mine before and after every oil change. never need to do any in between has it never burned enough oil to notice