</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Yosho @ June 06 2002,12:50)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Kaede @ June 06 2002,9<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I guess I'll write. Nothing to do right now anyway. This is for a KA24DE engine.
Step 1: warm up the car. You can get rid of more contaminants from the engine when the oil is hot.
Step 2: jack up the front of the car with a jack and then support the car with jackstands. Or you can drive the car on to a car ramp. Either way. There is a bar between the front wheels where you can jack the entire front of the car, but I doubt a 2.5 ton jack can jack the front of the car up... nor can the jack fit underneath the car if your car is lowered.
Step 3: shake the car a bit to make sure its sturdy.
Step 4: pop open the hood and twist open the oil filler cap on the top of the engine.
Step 5: go underneath the car and find the oil drain bolt. It's the bolt on the bottom of the oil pan. Use a socket wrench and loosen it. Make sure you have the right socket size to remove the bolt otherwise this will waste a lot of your time!
Step 6: remove the bolt with your hand. push on the bolt while removing it so that the hot oil won't come out till you have completely remove the bolt (hot oil can cause burns on your skin). Have some pan, container or something to catch the oil.
Step 7: once the oil is completely drained, it's time to remove the oil filter. It's easiest to remove the oil filter from the top of the engine bay than from the bottom. The oil filter is located on the left side (passenger side) of the engine. Try to twist off the filter with your hand. If it's too tight, you may need to use a oil filter wrench to remove it. This can be purchased from an auto store.
Step 8: once you have removed the oil filter, clean the area where the oil filter was with a rag. Now take a new oil filter, coat the gasket on the filter with some fresh motor oil, then twist the filter on to the engine. Once the gasket touches the engine, give the filter another 2/3 (240 degrees) twist to tighten it.
Step 9: put back the oil drain bolt on the oil pan and tighten it.
Step 10: fill the engine with fresh motor oil to the specified amount (for the KA24DE, just a little less than 4 quarts) and then twist back on the oil filler cap.
Step 11: drop your car back down (make sure nothing is underneath the car before dropping your car back down or you may do damage to your car). Start up your car and check for leaks. That is all.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
This is an excellent step by step walk through of how to change your own oil on 240sx. I used to work as a technician at a Nissan dealership and I'd just like to add a few things that might help...
The socket you'll need on the drain bolt is a 14mm. I like to use a 1/2in drive wratchet. Others prefer 3/8... but I like the extra leverage of the 1/2in. If the bolt is stuborn... simply hammer the wratchet lightly with the bottom of your fist (or with a soft mallet).
After the oil change is done, I always put the drain bolt back on with a 14mm wrench. Why not the wratchet? 2 reasons... 1) less of a chance of over torqueing the bolt if you use the wrench... and 2) If you use a second tool... your FAR less likly to "forget" to tighten down the drain bolt. The last thing you should do before you leave the underside of the car is to check that the bolt is tight. It's all too easy to get distracted worrying or dreaming about this or that. Sounds crazy... but it happens (there are plenty of do-it-yourselfers with stained garage floors/drive ways who'd agree) <!--emo&<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'> Just make it a habit to check before you leave the underside of the car.
I highly recommend some hand protection when changing your oil... as mentioned... you want to change your oil when it's pretty warm. If it's too hot... it WILL burn you. Oil also has costic chemicals which are known to cause cancer. If you wear gloves your protected from both of those... and it makes it a LOT easier to pick that drain bolt out after it's fallen into the drain pan. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'> You can buy a box of disposable gloves at most auto parts stores... or what I really recommend is buying a pair of $3 kitchen sink dish washing gloves. They're a little thicker for added heat protection and have little grippy ridges on the finger tips... and if you clean them, there's reusable! Trust me... buy these and it'll be a lot easier when you've got to put that new filter on a hot engine.
I recommend the adustable "3 prong claw" style (or whatever you want to call it) adjustable filter socket. Just attach it to a 3/8 drive wratchet and you're set. I got mine for around $3 at one of the auto parts stores... it works MUCH better than those pre-fit cup style ones.
One of the advantages of changing your own oil is it get's you under the car every 2-3k. You'll know when something is wrong... there shouldn't be any leaks or oil under there. If you find any, clean them off and check back after a few hundred miles. You can use brake cleaner to clean off any oil stains... just make sure you wait until the engine has cooled down.
The most common things to leak on a higher millage 240sx is oil dripping down from the valve cover gasket... oil leaking around the front crank seal... Oil leaking from the Oil Pressure Switch/Sensor (OPS).. and oil leaking around the rear main seal.
Changing your oil every 2k-3k is the best thing you can do for your car. Not only does it help the life of your engine but it get's you under the car frequently enough that you'll spot problems early. If you are able to stick to 2k-3k oil changes then I recommend a good quality dyno oil such as Castrol GTX (10w-30 here in Florida as it never gets very cold.). If you can't change your oil that often, you may want to consider Synthetic such as Mobil 1.... however, the cost over the life of your engine is significant. Do the math before you decide to go that route. It's not a wise move imho for the average bolt on daily driven performance car. Change your oil every 3k and use the hundreed or so dollars per year you save to buy upgrades.
Hope that helps...</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
wow...that should go under the FAQ/archive section <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':thumbsup:'>