1st time OilChange in one whole clean process...

[dhong089]

Hey guys, me again with another beginner question.

I was really debating whether to post another question online.. but my worries are just overwhelming me! I need personal insight!

Anyways, firstly, I just wanted to say, sometimes, it really sucks trying to learn everything by reading. Sometimes, it’s absolutely necessary to get your hands dirty and experience it for yourself. Yet I don’t’ live in the circumstances where I really can do much… Anyways,

My oil change has been much delayed, and I’m planning to change the oil myself this week. However, because I have no tools whatsoever, my friend is letting me do it at his garage. However, I wish to do the job in one whole clean process. Reason being is that my 318ti is my daily-driver! If something unexpected occurs, I can’t have the car staying overnight. I need the oil change done and the car operating ASAP as it is my daily.

I’ve read countless articles and watched plenty of videos.. yet I still have many worries and concerns that bother me about my upcoming oil change. Because I’ve never actually done it with my own hands, who knows what I could expect? Anyways, I’ll tell you what I know so far, and you guys can correct me.

I just bought Mobil Clean 5000, 10W-40 oil. I live in Pennsylvania, and the weather is warming up a bit, so I judged that this would be the best viscosity according to my conditions. I bought 6 quarts (because I’ve read that the 318ti takes 4.5-5.5 quarts). Now 1 quart of this stuff cost about 3ish dollars. I’ve read many articles, stating that synthetic oil can actually cause leaks to an older engine (because the hardened sludge deposits wash away), thus older engines recommend non-synthetic. I also read in the manual stating the 318ti recommends “oils WITHOUT additives.” So I believe I made the right choice. But I’ve also read some who only use synthetic.. Gahh!!!

I haven’t bought an oil filter yet. I just don’t know where to look! According to my research, the 318ti may take two different filters depending on the oil-housing you have. There is a filter for the plastic housing whereas there is also a filter for the metal housing. I have a metal-silver housing, yet I don’t know what to exactly look for. I guess I should just look for a “1995 BMW 318ti Oil Filter” ? Can I get this at Pep-boys or something? I’ve read previous threads where people stated that they got the right filter, yet it still didn’t fit. I’m very worried about buying my first oil filter! Also, I really can’t tell if I have an M42 or an M44…. Sad, pathetic, I know…. I saw the images of an M42 vs an M44, and I ruled out that it must be an M44… So I’m sticking to that guess..

I believe the O-ring for the filter comes with the new filter, so I don’t have to worry about that. But the drain plug… Let’s say I’m doing the oil change and I find that the drain plug is stripped. Just to be safe, I should buy an extra drain plug right? And during every oil change, I should change the oil-drain plug washer, correct?

Now for the process of the actual oil change. I know to have the engine warmed up. Then lift the car up, unscrew the drain plug, and let everything drain out. Leaving the drain pan under the car, I should then remove the oil filter. I’m confused with this bit hwoever. I’ve been reading that you need some specific tool to remove the oil filter case, whereas in some videos I’ve watched, I saw that some people just used an adjustable wrench. Maybe I should just go out and see what works for my car, but I don’t know what to do here. It confused me so much!

So once the oils all drained out, then I should reinstall the drain plug with a new washer (btw, where can I get this washer?), but I should also torque the drain plug to proper specs, correct? And what is the exact torque I should apply to this drain plug? Anyways, then I should bring the car back down, install the new oil filter and torque the oil filter cap to specs, and then start filling her up with oil. Is this process correct? Am I missing anything?

Now perhaps the most important part.. checking the dipstick. I know that you should “top-off” the oil level. By that, I assume I’m supposed to add a bit of oil, check the dipstick, add a bit more, re-check the dipstick, etc. ? But.. how the heck do I exactly read this dipstick? When checking my dipstick, it looks like this:

http://data.bmrparts.com/QImages/p/7335614446135U_2.jpg

Um what the heck? Just a bunch of numbers? Yeah.. I’m going to need explanation for that one.

Oh boy, look how much I typed up already… if anyone reads this entire thing, they should receive a medal… I feel like I listed everything, yet I still feel like I’m missing something major. I just feel like somethings going to go horribly wrong during the process of the oil change… Gah! Anyways, thanks guys.

[hotmilk400]

trust me when i say, in your case it is alot better to just pay $38ish to get an insured shop to change your oil.

doing it yourself, you only save alittle money, and you spend alot of time doing it. you also risk wrecking/damaging your car.

i parted out a BMW because the last owner forgot an o-ring while doing an oil change (it lost oil and overheated). people picking up parts from me all had stories too about oil change problems from people they knew. trust me, its alot better to pay the extra few $$'s and get a professional to do it.


since you probably already did some of the work, i will help you out.

the best way is just to drain all the oil. once drained, remove the oil filter housing. use either your hand or if it is to tight, an oil wrench ($16.99 at sears, make sure you get the one that looks like 3 fingers) and remove the filter hosing. the filter is kind of in front of the motor, next to the air filter. the filter is under it.

replace the filter, and make sure you replace the seals (or atleast have seals on it)

make sure you tighten the filter housing all the way down, or you will leak oil.

make sure the drain plug is all the way in. use your hand to start it, then make sure it is tight when it is all the way in.


when you add oil, just add 5qts (5 bottles) and it will be filled up. you should check the stick just to make sure it is in the middle of the low/high rating. you do not want to go to high, or you will cause serious problems to your car. to low, and your car will overheat and wear out very fast.

..

as for the drain plug, if it were to be stripped, you have very serious problems. you will need a new plug, and you should replace the oil pan on the motor. you could probably take a tap and re-tap the hole, but i never did it, and i would be very scared to do this myself.

this is why, personally, i just take it to my shop. a full oil change is $38, and he gets it done pretty fast. i also do them myself pretty often if i do not have time, but to be honest, it cost me about $20 - $25 to do it myself, and you need to buy a few tools to do it. it also makes a mess and if you wreck a pair of pants or a shirt with oil, it could have been cheaper to just take it to a shop. you also run a HUGE risk of damaging your car forever, just to save $10 - $20... where a shop would have insurance to replace the car or whatever.

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if you have a 1995, you have the metal housing and the M42 motor. i am not sure what filter you need, as i use the M44 filter. you should be able to goto pepboys and get them for around $7 - 9, i have not priced them there yet.
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the numbers on the dipstick are the Part numbers of the item. ie, what u need to know if you need to replace the dipstick later. it has nothing to do with the oil level.

anyway.. hope that helps.

[ChItalian1027]

Since you live in Pennsylvania, and the weather is getting hotter I would recommend using 5w-30, but 10w-40 won't hurt the engine. As far as the filter goes, just go to any auto parts store and tell them your year, make, model and they will have the filter in stock. I made the mistake of not changing my drain plug washer and had to redo my oil change because of that, but still used the same oil since I had just changed during my autos class at school. To read your dipstick there are two markings on it, the lower one is when your oil is low and the upper one is when its filled. The filter does come with a gasket and you should change that. When you pull out the old filter the gasket should come out with it but if not just go in the housing just grab it, then put the new one in before you put the filter in.

You should always have your engine warmed up when doing an oil change. You don't need a special tool for the oil filter housing I think I used either a 10 or 11mm socket but I'm not sure, will check that out tomorrow since I have to change the oil on my car again. The reason there is two different types of filters is because in the first year (1995) the 318ti came out it had the m42 motor then in '96-98 those cars had the m44.

You should always torque the drain plug and filter housing also. The engine takes 5qts of oil. When I first did my oil change I didn't know what oil to use so I asked the BMW dealer and they said use synthetic even though its more expensive, so I've started using Amsoil 5w-30 full synthetic and really like it over Castrol, but its totally up to you.

When you do the oil change make sure your friend has all the right sockets and wrenches other wise you may have to go out and buy some to do the oil change. Does your friend have drive on ramps, I like them because you can get good clearance under the car if need be.

Well good luck on your first oil change, if you don't want to get too messy with your oil change I would use gloves.

[hotmilk400]

while we are talking about lifting your car.

please make sure that if you use a floor rack, that you also use a Jack stand.

floor jacks only LIFT your car, they are not made to support the car while it is in the air. many people are either to lazy, or do not know this (even though it is on the box). you MUST use a jack stand. if the floor jack gives out, the car WILL drop on you. pretty many people die from motors and tires smashing their faces to pieces.

make sure your car is always supported with something solid.

just wanted to add that. have fun!

[trikzta]

as scary as the idea of changing your cars oil may be.. is as easy as changing a babies diaper even tho a little more involved. the oil filter should bring 3 O-rings and the drain plug washer.. oil, many use full synthetic i do too but reg oil wont hurt the engine even tho full synthetic lasts a little longer and does not need to be changed at 3k miles, your drain plug wont be stripped unless the last person that changed your oil forced it in there and make sure you dont do that either it should just screw as easily as a brand new bolt/screw.. the numbers on the dip stick i believe are pretty much kinda useless they are meant just to be there.. the marks you are looking for are the 2 little gaps on each side of the numbers the low one means low oil the top one is full oil you don't wanna pass the top one.. is bad.. and you'll have to redo your oil change.. yeah 5-5.5 quarts should do it not more than that.. AS stated by hotmilk SAFETY comes before your car and don't be lazy a few steps to grab the jack STAND and placing it under your car wont hurt you.. or if those aren't available a FULL size spare tire would do.. just slide it under the car in case it falls it will save your LIFE and when i say a full size spare i DONT MEAN THE THIN DONUTS the car comes with. well good luck im sure nothing will go wrong and well have fun learning a bit about the car.

-Dany

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by hotmilk400

the best way is just to drain all the oil. once drained, remove the oil filter housing. use either your hand or if it is to tight, an oil wrench ($16.99 at sears, make sure you get the one that looks like 3 fingers) and remove the filter hosing. the filter is kind of in front of the motor, next to the air filter. the filter is under it.

you have an M42 engine so this doesn't apply to you, use a socket or wrench to remove the bolt on top of the housing and then the top just comes straight off

it's intimidating for a first timer so just take your time and make sure everything's right, oil changes are one of the easier DIY tasks you can do on a car so it's a good place to start learning

[pdxmotorhead]

1995 M42's come with both versions of the oil filter housing... Just reminding...
The plastic oil filter cap is not supposed to be tight enough to need a wrench to remove it.
Its finger tight till it resists and then another 1/2 turn to seat it.

Dave

[chudzikb]

Where are you in PA, there are a lot of us around to help...

[dhong089]

Wow guys, thanks for all the responses and help! All the info. really helped me to make the whole process super smooth.

So I did my first oil-change on my 318ti and it went swell! A lot easier than I thought it was, plus I now feel so much more bonded to my car. The journey only starts now!

However, I didn't torque the oil-filter cover properly. I just did it about half-past snug. It didn't spew oil anywhere so that was good. And no leaking of the oil around the drain plug, so taht was good as well. Overall, smooth procedure! Thanks once again!

[pdxmotorhead]

Cool! Yea, folks get way too aggressive on oil filters on everything.

I bout got in a fight at a quick change place when the guy went to tighten my filter on my toyota with a wrench... I was on a trip or I'd have done it myself....

Dave