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Why I change my own oil, well, one of many reasons...

10K views 49 replies 36 participants last post by  HemiSummit2017 
#1 · (Edited)
A few days ago I did my first at home oil change on our '14 Overland Hemi. Althhough I have always done my own oil changes, we got some oil changes included on the purchase and my wife wanted to make sure to take full advantage of them, even though in my opinion it is a huge waste of time to schedule, drive to the dealer and wait for them. She sees it as doing me a favor to not have to work on it.

Anyway, I did the usual half hour wait after a drive to have the oil warm, but not hot and then went to change it. What an easy job it should be with the drain plug and filter easily accessible through the access hole in the belly pan (that SHOULD have a cover, but doesn't - pet peeve). Well, it seems that the guy that did the job last time decided that the plug should be REALLY tight so it didn't leak. I shattered a 6 point 3/8" drive 13mm Craftsman socket on the end of a long Snap On ratchet on the DRAIN PLUG with a rubber O ring! What the %@#$! Considering it has a plastic pan, I was really afraid the pan was going to break, but then pulled out a 1/2" drive impact socket on the end of a 2' breaker bar. My guess is that it took 250+ ft-lbs to break it loose. Like axle bolt tight. That deformed the head of the plug, so now I need a new plug as well, but at least the pan didn't break.

To balance out the tight plug they left the filter barely finger tight and dripping. We are very lucky that it didn't blow out the seal. Stupid stuff like that can end with blown engines.

I guess my wife was right, it IS a big hassle for me to change oil on the Jeep. In this case because I have to go to Sears to get a replacement socket and to get a new drain plug. Needless to say, our Jeep won't be getting oil changes at the dealer ever again...

PS, for the record, it got a factory filter and Mobil 1 5W-20.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Glad to see you changing your own oil I feel the same way about turning my vehicle over to the least skilled people in the whole dealership to work on it. Always amazes me how they can mess up things as simple as an oil change.

I agree with the above on the fumoto valve, quicker and takes the mess out of it. also you can hook a tube to it and drain it right into your jug if you want to.
http://www.jeepgarage.org/f156/wk2-hemi-oil-change-56828-8.html#post1210367

I share your pet peeve on the belly pan door missing this is what I did to fix. just seems strange for them to leave a big hole there to fill with crap when you are using your jeep as a jeep.
http://www.jeepgarage.org/f73/belly-pan-cover-v8-63004.html
 
#6 ·
Which one did you get? I'd like to order one but don't know if a normal one works, right angle, etc... I'd probably prefer one with a nipple on it for a hose to attach and drain straight into a catch can for easy disposal.
 
#5 ·
I do my own oil for the same reason. When I had my "Free" oil changes on new VW they stripped the plug.


I do my own tire rotation, switch tires in the winter etc.
I've had to use 4 ft pipes to break lugs loose after having any service done by Jeep or VW that involves removing a wheel. This is immediately after getting home. So no rust or seizing is at play.


Plain fact is, anyone that uses impact wrenches for work are friggin lazy to use them properly.


I have a pet peeve with screw guns too. I just had new AC installed and EVERY friggin screw they touched on any part of the system is stripped.


I won't even let the sales person screw the license plate on. I Guarantee he'd strip the thread or the head.


There torque "clutch" is the threads stripping.
 
#11 ·
I have had them on two Ford Superduty's F-250/F-350, two Ford F-150's, two Jeep Grand Cherokee's, one Jeep Liberty, and one Ford Focus. That has been over a 15 year period with alot of mild off road use in the Jeep's and Ford trucks and I have never had one fail or get damaged. Very solid item in my opinion.
 
#16 ·
The dealer stripped the head of my drain plug. Had to get a new one in the middle of changing the oil myself when I discovered this. It's a little hard to drive when I had already removed the oil filter. Had to ask my dad to come over and stop by Autozone to get a new one. Never again will a dealer or any other oil change place change my oil. I have lots of other experiences with incompetent dealers and Jensen tire breaking parts when changing oil.
 
#17 ·
I cringe a little every time I do the first oil change after we purchase a new (to us) car. I am not anxious to do the first one in the 2013 Ram we just bought. Every time, the dealer has tightened the oil plug down far too much. I have had to replace several of them.
 
#18 ·
It just blows my mind how stupid some people can be. People that literally only have one job....to change oil, and they still can't get it right.
I'm another person who would normally do all his own maintenance, but I had a complimentary first oil change which I had done a couple weeks ago. So I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed when it comes time to do the second one myself that they didn't royally F it up. If they did I will absolutely bring it to their attention. Why do people continually think it's necessary to torque the shit out of things like drain plugs and lug nuts???
 
#19 ·
Or sometimes they dont bother tightening it at all. There was some guy on here that the dealership didnt bother to tighten the drainplug. His wife was driving it and plug fell out and dumped the oil pan contents on the street. The wife kept driving until a safe parking lot to pull over. I cant imagine the engine liked that. If i remember correctly the dealer filled it back up and sent them on their way. Who knows the long term damage that may have been done.
 
#20 ·
ive changed my oil twice now on my v6 overland and have never went underneath the truck. i bought an oil extractor that i insert into the dipstick tube until it hits the bottom of the oil pan and 20 minutes later i have sucked out all the oil. no muss no fuss. replace the filter put in the 6 qts of oil and i am done in less than 30 minutes.
 
#21 ·
I always change my own oil! I had an SRT which required 0w-40 synthetic, I got 3 free oil changes with purchase. tech put regular oil in but I was able to see what was happening before the started the car, and made them drain it out and put in the mobil 1 as required.
as far as the fumoto valve, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!!! here is why: years ago I was in the petroleum transportation business, and installed a fumoto valve on a 2 mack tractors. 2:00 am one January morning it was 6 degrees after a snowstorm the previous day. 60 mph up the highway and some unknown object, a piece of ice probably, broke that thing clean off causing the loss of all 58 qts. of oil. the shutdown system did its job and saved the engine and I was able to get off the roadway. I had to wait for a friend to retrieve the original plug, tools, and oil from my shop, get it out to me, and then try to remove the broken piece from the pan- it warmed up by then to 9 degrees. thanks to the highway patrol for the hot coffee and letting me warm up in their cars, AND NO THANKS TO A FUMOTO VALVE!!
 
#22 · (Edited)
Not to mention the additional metal shavings left inside the pan due to a smaller diameter drain. I used one of those magnetic plugs before, it was excellent. After the first oil change after installation there was plenty of stuff stuck to it. The second change after that was much cleaner and so on.
 
#25 ·
Takes me less overall time to do my own.

I return it, where I bought and just put it in the container the new oil came in.

I use better quality oil so I don't have to do it often. Twice a year.

V6 has to be the easiest car to change oil on ever.

If you are paying $31.00 I can only imagine the quality oil and filter you are getting. I pay more for the parts than that.

If you put cheap oil you can do it more often. But then it's more money and more time.

Doing it myself with top oil and OEM filter is the cheapest and least time and I know it's done right.
 
#27 ·
For me its not about the money the dealer could give me every oil change for free and i still would not go there. Its about the time, i can do my own in less than 20 minutes, and knowing it was done correctly most of all and not botched by the dealers lowest skilled part time high school student. This board is a very small cross section of the jeeps out there but reading about all the different ways on here a dealer can botch something as simple as an oil change is sad
 
#29 ·
For me its not about the money the dealer could give me every oil change for free and i still would not go there. Its about the time, i can do my own in less than 20 minutes, and knowing it was done correctly most of all and not botched by the dealers lowest skilled part time high school student. This board is a very small cross section of the jeeps out there but reading about all the different ways on here a dealer can botch something as simple as an oil change is sad
Right I had free oil changes with my VW and it's very expensive (I pay $9 /quart and like $18 for the filter). I did ONE freebie at the dealer. Never again.

I think my Jeep included some free oil changes. I passed.

It's such a critical thing for a vehicle. It only takes one botched oil change to ruin things. Wrong oil, not enough oil, too much oil, wrong filter, strip threads, loose plugs. It's so simple to do. I actually enjoy doing it. It's like mowing the lawn, which I also enjoy.
 
#30 ·
Been changing my own oil for 30 years. Not once have I had anyone else do it. Not because I didn't trust anyone else to do it (that has changed. now I trust no one) but because it was always less expensive to do it myself. I also enjoyed taking care of my own vehicles. Nobody takes care of your own stuff, quite like you do.
 
#31 ·
I usually only do the first change at the dealer because it gives me the chance to address any odd noises, defects or other issues I find in the first 4-6 months of owning a new vehicle.

After that, I'll bring it back for some of the bigger maintenance milestones since those cover things I can't always do myself - or would rather not do myself.
 
#34 ·
#33 ·
Like others have said, I prefer to change my own oil. It gives me something to do. I can't stand sitting around. Call me odd but I don't like the feeling that my Jeep is just another vehicle in an oil lube center.
 
#35 ·
For me it's about time saving and peace of mind. The fact is that no one will care for your property the way you can and the dealer's first priority is always money. That means the techs have to work fast and a higher probability of errors. I only save about $10 changing it myself but each time I do, I watch myself tighten the plug to the proper torque, and that the filter is on securely. To me effort is worth peace of mind.
 
#37 ·
Had my oil changed in my Sequoia while on vacation out in Arizona. When I returned home and changed the oil at the next interval I found that half of the skid plate hardware was missing. It cost me around $75 dollars to replace the hardware that was lost at the "complimentary" Toyota oil change. Such a deal.


Sent from my iPad using JeepGarage
 
#38 ·
I'm with you guys 100%. When I bought my first GC back in 2001 I gave the dealer several attempts at service. They made a mess every time, oil on the steering wheel, oil on the door, oil spilled on the valve cover, trail of oil across the rad. Big mess on my garage floor because they didn't wipe anything down afterwords. Nope never again, I do my own and have a Fumoto as well on my Hemi GC to take care of things myself. Even had a Fumoto on my SRT-10 that I recently sold. Makes things so easy and clean.
 
#39 ·
ive done every one of my own oil changes since i bought my first car in 1967. i still do it myself because as said above many times i know i do it right. its my car so im going to care much more than the oil change person at the dealership. probably cost the ame or more than having it done but its worth it. sad it has to be this way.
 
#40 ·
I took my new JGC in for a warranty tailgate strut replacement last week. Beautiful new rebuilt Jeep building and waiting room with goodies and Lattes. Great service writers all nice. After an hour I was fed and happy and given my car back. Also they asked me for a 10 on the coming survey yada yada. All good. Not. I opened the hatch and it went up good but the panel was not popped in in one corner and the panel was just put on over the weatherstrip all the way from top to bottom. The tech didn't take the time to peal the strip out over the panel like the other side that was not touched. I didn't say anything just went home and finished the job. Not like I was surprised by this I kind of expected it. That's scary.
 
#41 ·
First time changing the oil in the new to me Jeep. The BS I found. I also had to use a 1/2 breaker bar in addition to the Bolt extractor socket and put so much torque on it I really thought it was going to break the bolt. This is why I have never paid anyone to change my oil in 22 years of driving.




Had a NAPA filter on it so pretty sure this wasn't the dealers doing that had most records of service for the vehicles life.
 
#42 · (Edited)
All of this just confirms that if you are physically able and reasonably knowledgeable, you should do yourself. To dealers and oil change places, your vehicle is just another car that needs to get done as quickly as possible.
Usually oil change technicians are the least experienced and lowest paid people at any such business, and their work shows it. Just good enough to get by but not good enough for the owner to say "I'll be back". Not all of them are like this....but the evidence shows that enough are. Done my own since 1979 and will continue until I'm just too dang old to get under there....
 
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