did my first oil change (and what i learned in the process)

[joemama]

So I did my oil change and rotated the tires.... one week later because life always throws curve balls.

Everything went super smoothly, the clips and bolts holding the shield are a breeze to work with (i.e. none of those stupid center push lock tabs that break when you so much as look at them funny).

Only thing, and I now believe the threads on this topic, is that the dip stick is impossible to read, at least to my eye. I must have pulled it out, wiped and checked about 10 times and I never seem to be able to know if it's good. I put in 5.4L per the manual and sometimes I get oil spots above the orange plastic, other times I get what looks to be closer to the minimum line.
Decided to let it sit over night and I'll check tomorrow but any tricks to know exactly?

My wife's Mazda 3 can be read by someone on the cusp of legal blindness, I wish it was that easy on the ITS.

I gave up trying to tell my oil reading lol. Just bought chasing J's titanium dipstick to get accurate reads. When I did the first change I put in 5 qts and eye balled less than half of a qt - called it a day lol.

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[StingertimeNC]

Our dipstick is lame. Same deal here. I put in 5.5 qts and it seems good. what happened to the good old fashioned dipstick!

 

[Ktrw]

So I did my oil change and rotated the tires.... one week later because life always throws curve balls.

Everything went super smoothly, the clips and bolts holding the shield are a breeze to work with (i.e. none of those stupid center push lock tabs that break when you so much as look at them funny).

Only thing, and I now believe the threads on this topic, is that the dip stick is impossible to read, at least to my eye. I must have pulled it out, wiped and checked about 10 times and I never seem to be able to know if it's good. I put in 5.4L per the manual and sometimes I get oil spots above the orange plastic, other times I get what looks to be closer to the minimum line.
Decided to let it sit over night and I'll check tomorrow but any tricks to know exactly?

My wife's Mazda 3 can be read by someone on the cusp of legal blindness, I wish it was that easy on the ITS.

Just did my first oil change on my car last Friday and put roughly 5.6qts in, but the dipstick is completely useless so all I know is that there is definitely enough oil . I have a Chasing Js dipstick on the way that will hopefully show me the proper level, otherwise I'm breaking the orange plastic off the OEM one.

 

[SilverRocket]

Just did my first oil change on my car last Friday and put roughly 5.6qts in, but the dipstick is completely useless so all I know is that there is definitely enough oil . I have a Chasing Js dipstick on the way that will hopefully show me the proper level, otherwise I'm breaking the orange plastic off the OEM one.

Thanks for the affirmation. Let me know if you think the J dipstick is worth it. With two recommendations it'll definitely be a buy, I just hope it's easily available in Canuckistan. My Carbag was an absolute nightmare thanks to UPS and customs clearance.

 

[Ktrw]

Thanks for the affirmation. Let me know if you think the J dipstick is worth it. With two recommendations it'll definitely be a buy, I just hope it's easily available in Canuckistan. My Carbag was an absolute nightmare thanks to UPS and customs clearance.

Recently sold off some parts from my last car to a Canadian forum member and couldn't believe the process to sell/ship internationally along with the dues . I will make a post or reply here when I get it along with some pics since it's been difficult to find info on it's improved usability.

 

[joemama]

I gave up trying to tell my oil reading lol. Just bought chasing J's titanium dipstick to get accurate reads. When I did the first change I put in 5 qts and eye balled less than half of a qt - called it a day lol.

Just came in - 100000% better.

 

[SilverRocket]

Recently sold off some parts from my last car to a Canadian forum member and couldn't believe the process to sell/ship internationally along with the dues . I will make a post or reply here when I get it along with some pics since it's been difficult to find info on it's improved usability.

We have some benefits but too few and far between when compared with our American friends.

On that topic, looks like Canadian Tire will be having their annual Pennzoil Ultra Platinum sale soon. 5L jug will have a $15 MiR and if combined with other CT rewards deals, you should be able to get 2 jugs for $50CAD but YMMV.

Thanks @joemama for the pic, that is amazing clear an what I wish the factory one read like.

 

[Ktrw]

Just came in - 100000% better.

Lets go! That is way better, can't wait for mine to come in.

 

[StingertimeNC]

Lets go! That is way better, can't wait for mine to come in.

Chasing J’s? How much and where did you buy?

 

[joemama]

Chasing J’s? How much and where did you buy?

https://www.chasingjs.com/product/titanium-oil-dip-stick-honda-k20-k24-and-s2000

 

[Ktrw]

^ Yeah, I bought the Chasing J's one because I thought it was the only seemingly good option, but I didn't see that K-Tuned had one for the K20CX. I think I prefer the simplicity of the J's one, but the top of the K-Tuned unit looks good.

 

[Ktrw]

Got my dipstick last Friday and I can confirm you can actually see the level. My phone wouldn't focus no matter what but I can see that it appears a bit overfilled, though it is sitting nose down on a somewhat steep driveway so I need to check it on flat ground. It took a lot of effort to push it all the way down initially, even putting some oil on the o-rings, but after going and driving the car to heat cycle it, it feels much better.

Edit: Checked the level again and it's good to go on flat ground.

 

[CTR]

Great thread. You might want to update your original post to be 5.7 QUARTS and not liters. 5.7 liters is about 6 quarts which is too much.

For anyone else curious I found some ramps that lifted the front of my car 6 inches and was able to change the oil without a jack/jack stands. Just enough height to get the job done.

Like the OP I made a mess with the oil flying out since it's 0W-20. Definitely move the oil pan back about 1 foot from where you think you need it to be...

 

[Ktrw]

Great threat You might want to update your original post to be 5.7 QUARTS and not liters. 5.7 liters is about 6 quarts which is too much.

For anyone else curious I found some ramps that lifted the front of my car 6 inches and was able to change the oil without a jack/jack stands. Just enough height to get the job done.

Like the OP I made a mess with the oil flying out since it's 0W-20. Definitely move the oil pan back about 1 foot from where you think you need it to be...

Listen to this guy ^^^

Man I'm so mad... Just realized after reading your reply that I read this thread close to when it was posted IIRC but forgot about the part where he mentioned the oil flying out of there before doing mine a few weeks ago. For anyone reading this before doing their first oil change, the oil can absolutely JET backward toward the rear of the car. I put the pan back pretty far to catch it and it flew out even further than I thought it would. Had to readjust it a few times too as it was draining.

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