Change your own oil?
 

My Hybrid Camry runs about $39 at Jiffy Lube and just found out the MINI's going to run close to $90. (!!!)

Was thinking about buying a couple of drive-up ramps and start doing it myself. (I've changed my own oil on every car I've ever owned up until maybe 10 years ago.)

Anyone have any thoughts and/or suggestions?

Thanks for your input!

If you've been paying someone else to change your oil for the past 10 years, perhaps you will want to continue that. Certainly you can DIY if you choose to.

For the last 60 years I have always changed oil in my cars. I prefer having the knowledge that it was done correctly and there's the satisfaction of DIY. Many of us have heard the horror stories of the "quick change" places. The probable reason is that they don't necessarily hire the brightest.

I still have the memory of being with my dad when he drove our '39 Plymouth away from the garage after an oil change. He hadn't cleared their driveway when he noticed the oil pressure gauge hadn't moved. That's right - they drained but forgot to put in the fresh oil. Those were the days before warning lights or alarms. Our country was at war (WWII) and new engines were nonexistent. Fortunately, no damage was done.

Read the DIY and change it yourself. It will only cost you about $32. I buy the five quart container of Mobile 1 5w - 30 full synthetic for about $24 at Wal-mart. The filter element will cost you around $7.00 at most parts stores. I buy mine from Autozone. It helps to have the filter socket for removal but not absolutely necessary.

Very easy. I go with Mobil 1 0W-40 and the OEM filter from BMW/MINI.

Getting a 36mm socket helps in removing the filter.

Thanks guys!

I still have the tool for removing the filter. Should work? Or is the MINI's filter an odd size?

You guys buy the ramps and drive it up?

The ramps my brother has didn't work because my car was too low, but, we just jacked it up and used jack stands. :)

My brother's BMW needs a 36mm socket too. Therefore, I doubt that's an odd size. Good luck.

If your drain pan is low enough you can change it easily without ramps or even jacking it up. The filter's right up on top and easy to get to as long as the engines cooled off a bit, the drain plug is easy to reach on the bottom of the oil pan - it's a 13mm and I'd recommend using a 6 point socket, just FYI...

When you change the filter it's easy to cross thread it, so be careful. I'd also recommend buying the factory filter from your dealer, it's only a little more $$ and you'll never have any questions should you have an engine problem some day. You can buy MINI oil at the same time, it's not much more than Mobil 1 at WalMart - unless they're having a sale.

I change mine about twice as often as the factory - they do it once a year or about 15K, I do it at about 7500, works out well....

Hi,

Our forum has a pretty good search function. I found this in 3 mins of searching. http://www.geekshocker.com/Claire/maint/oilChange.php

Thanks.

I grabbed up a set of Rhino Ramps from Walmart for 40 bucks.....With about 2 inches ground clearnace up front I have no issues.

The filter on a mini is NOT a Canister!! :nod:
It is a bare element....you remove the old one, toss it, insert a new one, replace an o-ring, and screw it on!! Oil..synthetic only!! BMW long life approved if you want to use the oil counter...I recommend doing it 2x more often than recommended...about every 7500 miles, than you can IMO use any quality full synthetic!!

It is a re-usable housing......you need a socket...very shallow in depth one is the best, simplest way....most regular sockets are too tall to get the ratchet on top....some MINI places sell a socket that will fit a ratchet for a few $$.
A ramp, bought or a home made one from 2x6 from the scrap shelf at home depot will work fine...you only need about 2 inches of lift to get at the oil drain....try both a 1/2 and the mm size...many find the non metric on fit tighter.....
The canister can get stuck...you might need a breaker bar to get it unstuck, same for the oil plug....use the size socket that fits BEST, 6 point a strong recommendation (for the drain plug), and IMO get a Fumoto drain plug if you want to make it super easy!!

Welcome to the world of MINI ownership!!:thumbsup:

One tip....to get to your drain plug...on a cabrio, if you have the S, it is behind the PS fan duct, just disconnect one end, and bend it out of the way (non S, which is what I think you have, no worries!!)!!

My neighbor has an old gas station lift in his shop and is generous about sharing it.

Dave

Rhino ramps :thumbsup: . If you are super low place a short 2x6 in front of them.
Royal Purple Synthetic and OEM MINI filter. You need a short 36mm socket like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Range...mZ400139953154 and a 6 point socket for the drain plug.

Follow the thread in the DIY section.

Oil the new O-ring .... Lots of oil.

Bob

RE Oil Change-Topsider
 

Some people might find this helpful. Here is a YouTube video demonstrating how to change the oil in a Cooper S with a topsider oil change machine.



Whoever uploaded the video is obviously trying to sell their product, but some of the information may still be useful.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TCUdiHDnUg&NR=1


I already have a topsider oil changer, and I plan on using it to change the oil in my Cooper S shortly. I will let you know how it goes.

Agree with all the above but wanted to emphasize that a 1/2 inch 6 point socket will fit tighter
and is less likely to strip the bolt than a 13 mm socket or a 12 point 1/2 inch socket.

now where did I hear that b4?

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...i/100_0010.jpg

That's a 1/2 inch on a GEN1 MINI oil bung

and a 1/2 inch is a bit smaller than the recommended MM . . .

I changed the oil in my 06 Cooper S convertible today using the topsider oil changer. I wanted to see if the topsider would pull all of the oil out of oil pan, so I jacked the car up and pulled the drain plug. After I pulled the drain plug, about a quart of oil drained out of the oil pan.


I think I gave the topsider the best chance to work that I could. I pumped it up three or four times, draining the oil into a bucket between sessions, and I also messed around with the suction hose a few times trying to reposition the hose in the oil pan and so forth.


Somebody mentioned in another post that there might be a baffle in the oil pan that might interfere with getting all of the oil out using the topsider. I don’t know for sure if there is a baffle or something else in the oil pan that interferes with the function of the topsider’s suction tube, but I did feel some resistance near the bottom of the dipstick.


Whatever the problem with the topsider is, it does not appear to be a lack of suction. It just seems that something prevents the suction tube from being in the correct place to pull all of the oil out of the oil pan, at least with my particular car.


Overall, I would not recommend using the topsider to change oil in our cars. If you decide to give the topsider a try (it’s not expensive and it is good for some things such as lawn mowers etc), I would recommend pulling the drain plug the first time that you use the topsider to make sure that you have gotten all of the oil out of the oil pan.

pstur1 "I changed the oil in my 06 Cooper S convertible today using the topsider oil changer. I wanted to see if the topsider would pull all of the oil out of oil pan, so I jacked the car up and pulled the drain plug. After I pulled the drain plug, about a quart of oil drained out of the oil pan."

Being the skeptic that I am, that's exactly what I would have done. Seeing the video previously, this looked like a pretty useful tool and I had found it locally. I think that's totally unsatisfactory if it leaves a quart of old oil in the sump. Perhaps better that nothing, but not my choice for an oil change.

The only true way to change oil is from the drain plug.

Maybe I am a little too picky, but I pour about a half a quart of valvoline 5/30 weight through the engine while the drain plug is still out just to flush out the bottom layer of gunk. Of course I use synthetic for the refill!

Rocketman, I do the same thing. I changed mine the other day outside using special snow ramps Meaning there was 4 inches of hard packed snow on the driveway, I had been out of town and the kids didn't shovel(another story). Anyway I dug out and made a nice spot to drive the car over and changed the oil. Temp. was about 12 degrees and the wind was blowing not to pleasant but got the job done. I have always wondered about those topsiders and ya'll helped me with that decision, thanks.

Yeah Tator,

There is something peaceful about crawling around under a car! And you know that the job is done right, and you got the chance to look at the underside. I have spotted a lot of things gone wrong underneath my vehicles while changing the oil!:nod:

I don't know how peaceful it was, it was dame cold, I wasn't having peaceful thoughts I just wanted to get it done. I will look at it again in the spring (May)up here and then maybe!!!!

You're a better man than I. Under those conditions I would opt for the Topsider and not another thought about getting every bit of the oil out. It's winter and I won't be comfortable until Spring gets here.

I still shiver when thinking of living in a tent in Korea, Winter 1953.

Well I absolutely agree that it wouldn't be peaceful at 12 degrees! But I have a heated garage and seperate shop which is heated also, so I can lay there and peacefully look around while I'm changing oil and not freeze my AZZZ off:grin:
I love my heated shop and man cave:nod:

I wonder just how many of those horror stories are fabrications, exaggerations, or just simply urban legion?

The "quick change" place I use, has a guy (20 +/- 2 years?) who is clearly mechanically inclined. He might not know how to calculate the surface area of a sphere using polar coordinates, or even have a HS diploma, but he is knowledgeable about cars. When I bring my Mustang in, he likes to compare his Mustang's "upgrades" against mine.