Hey guys!

I just bought a 04 Crossfire and the previous owner had just done an oil change so I should be good for about 7500 miles (or more maybe??) -- Anyways, just for the future, I know oil changes are quite prices for these cars. Is there a place which does it for less than over 100 dollars??
Thanks for letting me know!

Nick

 

Not to be funny but your garage or driveway! Changing oil on these cars is a breeze. DYI for about $60

 

Depends on where you live.
There might be a thirsty forum member that lives near you, that would be willing to do it if you buy the parts, and a bunch of thirst quenching refreshments.

BC.

 

Buy your self a big drain pan or a top sider pump and DIY. save 40-50%, only takes a few minutes. Just use a Mercedes spec oil, like Mobil 1 (0W40). Check the internet for bargins on the oil. I bought it for $4.99/qt., you will need to buy at least 8 qts., don't over fill. Look on the forum for how to do it, getting the top "O" ring in the correct place is critical. If you pay attention, you will be able to see exactly how to do it. Take a pic of each step, so you can see where each "O" ring goes, make sure filter element is seated down all the way. Tighten filter cap carefully, donot over tighten. Easy to do. I'm sure if a member lives close to you they would help you do it the first time like they did for me.

 

If one is using a TopSider, over time, how effective is this method in getting rid of physical "elements" (crud) in the oil. Gravity and draining would go a long way to clearing that problem compared to sucking it up through the tube.

Too, I wonder if there is a magnetic drain plug from the factory that would capture filings ad the like. The topsider would not get any of that.

I have a new topsider and I've been wondering just how effective it will be and how often I really need to get the car up and drain it. I'll probably only change the oil annually based on anticipated use.

Any thoughts?

 

If there is no magnet on the drain plug and the drain plug is made of steel, I think one of those rare earth magnets stuck to the inside of the plug would do the trick.
Those suckers are so strong it will not go anywhere.

 

The mag drain plug is always a good idea, but remember disimilar metals cause corrosion for the drain plug. Just make sure you get something compatible. I think the top sider appeared to pull a lot of material out. We moved the tube around alot, but I'm sure it would not be as good as draining. I will tell you this, my oil ,while darker looked very clean. It had about 6,000 miles on it. At the rate my LTD gets driven, I may be too old to do it my self the next time. Oil does not wear out, it gets water, dirt, may develope acidity in it as well. If you worry about these I would just change it more often. Buying Mobil 1 at $4.99/qt, buy the filters for about $10.00/ea ,your talking $70/change at say 4,000 miles, car should last forever.

 

You have to get this dissimilar metal thing out of your head, the sump is steel, the plug is steel and the magnet is ....... iron alloy. You need a electrolyte to get corrosion and oil is not one.
Your maths sucks as well, how many quarts are you putting in?

 

Having not been into the pan as yet, the upper flange looks like aluminum. If it is steel I'm sorry. I purposely left the math loose because he may not be able to find filters as low a priced as I did and his Mobil1 may be more. In any case, if he works at it just a little he can cut $100 - $120 or so down to $60 or $70.
I had my valve covers off a few weeks ago and the interior of the engine looked like you could eat off of it, very clean. I'm not too worried if the"Top Sider" gets everything out. That was before I changed the oil, which I have to get it in the proper light to even see the level mark after changing it.

 

Hey guys!

Thanks for the infos! I'm not sure if I can do that myself, never done it before and don't want to break anything Does anybody have step by step instructions?

Anyways, I live in Treasure Island, Florida if anybody wants to assist me with this

Have a nice sunday everybody!

 

it is easy if you understand how the filter is seated. It might be fine if you have a member nearby to help the first time, but after that, you would be fine doing it yourself. If you get the filter wrong, it can be a real mess....but, there have been some place that do MB cars, that only charge in the $75 range, but dealers are going to hover around the the century mark....

 

If you can turn a wrench, and have an 8 mm socket, a 3 inch extension, and a 13 mm socket, plus a strap type oil filter tool, you can change your own oil. Oh, and an oil pan capable of holding 2.5 gallons of oil (10 quarts).

Get under the car.
Remove the 4 8 mm bolts that hold the plastic tray in place.
Pop the plastic tray off the holders on each side of the car, and set it out of the way.

Unscrew the oil filler cap.

Place oil pan under oil drain bolt, and then remove the oil drain bolt.

Use oil filter strap tool and loosen the oil filter cap.
Listen to hear the oil draining out, and slowly unscrew the oil filter assembly.

Remove filter from filter cap assembly.
Remove three o-rings from filter cap assembly.
Lubricate new o-rings with fresh engine oil and install onto oil filter cap assembly.
Install new filter onto oil filter cap assembly (takes quite a bit of effort, don't be alarmed).
Screw oil filter assembly back onto the engine, using the strap wrench to tighten the filter all the way.

After all old oil is drained out, replace drain plug, making sure crush washer is properly in place.
Refill engine with new oil.
Replace and tighten oil filler cap.
Start engine, and look for leaks around the drain plug, and oil filter assembly.

Reinstall undertray, and tighten 4 bolts.

Drive car for 7k miles, and repeat as necessary.

BC.

 

Hello from North Carolina.

I'm looking forward to a road test comparison of the Chimaera and srt-6. I don't see may TVRs in my neck of the woods.

 

I for one would love know where in the hell yall are finding mobile 1 0w 40 for 4.99 a quart i have never ever paid anything less than 8.99 my oil change cost at least 81 bucks and that depends on the filter I get.... On another note out of the 5 cars i have owned this is by far the easiest of them to change!

 

I can't really say that the Crossfire is any easier or harder to change than any other cars. The o-rings on the oil filter cap are a bigger pain in the but than the o-ring on the Porsche Boxster's oil cap. More of them, and smaller.

The Altima was pretty easy, but required a bit of aluminum foil around the right frame rail to prevent the oil from getting on it when removing the oil filter, but you didn't have to remove a huge splash shield to get to the oil drain bolt right from the beginning.

My old Supercharged '92 Buick Park Avenue was easier than the Altima, as the oil filter was out in space, and didn't require wrapping the frame rail with aluminum foil. But, sucking the supercharger oil out and then refilling was a pain in the butt.

My '81 Pontiac Grand Prix with the Buick V-6 was probably the easiest of all my cars. Didn't even need to lift the car to slide a drain pan under it, and drain it down.
Changing the #6 spark plug, on the other hand, always left a mark.

I'm a couple hundred miles away from the first oil change on my '11 RX-8, so I don't have an idea about that one yet, but I do know that there's a cover for the area that contains the spin on oil filter. Its open in the area to get the drain plug, but you have to pull the cover to get the oil filter. That doesn't really make sense to me...

Toyota improved the oil filter location on the '97 Corolla in comparison to the previous generation engine in the '96 Prism. No longer a side mount oil filter in a location that's a potential burn hazard.

An oil and filter change on an '01 PT Cruiser is a pain in the butt, however.
Of course, that's probably partially because of the front license plate frame with sharp pointy spike on it that ALWAYS get me every time I walk by the car, or do anything to it.

BC.

 

I was going thru the same here, but back about 3 or 4o months ago, I was in AutoZone here in Georiga to pick up some Detail Spray. They had Mobile 1 for $4.99 a quart - I was a LONG way from needing oil, but I bought 16 quarts anyway.

Ya gotta keep your eyes open and buy it when it's advertised, not necessarily when you need it.

 

pizzaguy: That avatar you have is something else, just wish her pic was larger.

jmk41: Just about every auto supply place will put Mobil1 on sale from time to time. AutoZone, O'Reilly, and Pep Boys have had it recently. The sales usually only last for a few days. Watch those sale flyers!

 

I bought oil and filter today
8 quarts of valvoline synpower 5w-40 and a kn filter came out to $89
at oreillys

 

How much is the average charge at the dealership? I decided to do it myself, but if you can't save much it's not worth it I guess?