AUTOMOTIVE TRANSFUSION

My cousin Vince showed me today how to change the engine oil and transmission fluid in my car. How cool is that? Up to this point, I've been reluctantly allowing myself to go to Mr. Lube every 5,000 km's to get ripped off royally. Plus, they're very aggressive in trying to sell you "other services". Now I feel like I don't have to do that. For future reference:

Patient Preparation (oil change):
- purchase 4L of 5W30 oil (roughly $12 for the non-synthetic type at Wally's or Crappy Tire's)
- purchase a Fram 3593 oil filter (roughly $5 for the base model, also at the above mentioned suppliers)
- have an oil pan ready
- have a 2 ton jack ready (2 are preferable)
- have 2 wheel stops ready (can use bricks)
- have 2 safety props in case jack fails (can use tires)
- have safety glasses because you are working underneath where the oil spills out
- have a ball cap on because it's very tiring cranking your head up to keep it from resting on the ground
- have Queen's coveralls on (aside from Frosh week activities, what else are you going to wear it for? Oh yeah, paintballing)
- have a 17mm socket and ratchet ready

Procedure (oil change):
- jack up car using the jacks; there is a metal plate located just behind the front wheels that will support the weight of the car while it's up; once jacked up, put in place the wheel stops and the props; get underneath the car
- use the 17mm socket to release the drain plug
- have pan ready, because once the plug is pulled, the oil shoots out, kind of like a slashed artery that you see on TV
- let the oil drain
- inspect plug to make sure threads are still good; replace plug with 17mm socket
- remove the old oil filter, which is located directly above the drain plug; have pan ready because oil spews out of here as well
- prime the new filter by putting oil on the outer gasket, as well as the inner threads (will make future replacement easier)
- install the new oil filter; hand tighten until there is no movement
- unjack the car so that it is back on the ground
- pour in the new oil into the engine; more than capacity is okay as the engine will burn some oil off

Post Operation Routines (oil change):
- turn on engine and let run for two minutes
- inspect dip stick to make sure level is okay; check underneath for any leaks
- properly dispose of old oil and filter to a hazardous waste disposal centre
- check oil level every two weeks and top off as required

The procedure for transmission fluid change is similar to the oil change procedure. Of course you will require synthetic transmission fluid (roughly $8 per litre from the Honda dealership service department) instead of engine oil. You will also need a special tube for feeding the fluid to the fill hole (a homemade contraption can be fashioned: a heater hose connected to a copper piping joint with a funnel on it). The fill hole is unplugged by using the 17mm socket, from underneath the car. The excess fluid is allowed to drain. The drain plug is loosened by using the racket without any heads (the plug is a square shaped bolt). This bolt is located beneath the fill plug, one of the bolts closest to the ground. Again, catch the fluid (which has the appearance of clean oil) into the pan. Once completely drained, replace the drain plug. Then, dump about 1.8 litres of fluid using the contraption. The idea is that the hole represents the top of the fill line, so excess fluid will leak out once you've hit the top of the hole. Replace the fill plug. Vince told me to do this with the car jacked up on one side, so that you can pour more fluid in without having it spew out once it hits the fill hole line.

Today, it took us 3 hours to do this, mainly because we didn't have the right tools. But a friendly neighbor let us borrow the right sized socket. Hopefully, future operations won't take as long!