Hey I got an '87 Accord with 124,000 miles on it (not a whole lot knowing it is 18 years old right?) and I checked the engine oil and it's a little on the dirty side. I want to change it but the owners manual says that only a honda perfessional should change it. I check under the engine and it looks like a normal plug and I don't need some type of special wrench.

Should I try to change it or have some fancy honda pro do it? I know the basics on cars.

 

i dont see why you cant do it yourself.. all honda wants is your money... it would help to have a repair manual for you car....

 

... hahahahaha, why wouldnt it say that? That's honda's way of telling idiots they need to take it to the dealership to make some money.

 

i agree...i changed my 86 accords oil and my wifes 88 when we had those and it was a snap, just don't over fill it or you will be replacing the valve cover gaskets early, if I remember right, it takes just over 4 quarts, but not 5 or even 4.5. The darn quick lubes would always shove 5 quarts in mine and it ran like crap, hence the reason why I started doing it myself and still do today on my current cars.

 

i've been doing it in my 88 for a while

 

joshua ask yourself a simple question is 20-25 dollars worth for you to do your own oil change??? if so do it yourself and save about 15 dollars you still have to buy oil + filter it is real easy but you have to get underneath car to replace filter .and drain oil ....if not than have a shop do it

 

Ok well it is possible for normal people to change oil, just like I thought before what the stupid owners manual said otherwise. I tried to do it a few minutes ago and the screw under the engine would not budge, the engine was cold too. Do you think that it might be a reverse threaded screw that goes the other way? Lefty loosey righty righty, am I correct?

It's driving me KaArAaZaY.

 

the only reason why it would say that is if the drain plug needs a crush gasket which i used to work a jiffy lube and i dont recall ever putting one on a honda subaru yes but not a honda and i change mine myself on my 90 every oil change

 

oil is to easy, i learned by watching wen i was a kid.

 

If u get the parts the longest part of the job is just waitin for the oil to drain, other than that its a snap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by joshuaaaronalpert &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok well it is possible for normal people to change oil, just like I thought before what the stupid owners manual said otherwise. I tried to do it a few minutes ago and the screw under the engine would not budge, the engine was cold too. Do you think that it might be a reverse threaded screw that goes the other way? Lefty loosey righty righty, am I correct?

It's driving me KaArAaZaY.</TD></TR></TABLE>The drain bolt has a normal (right-hand) thread. The filter is on the back side of the engine block, so you have to crawl underneath to get it off. Then the oil drips down onto your face. Oh yeah, the HOT oil, because you should drive around & drain it when it's hot.

Since you have to get underneath, DO NOT do that unless you have a good way to support the car. The tire-changing jack from the trunk IS NOT a good way.

Don't overtighten the drain bolt when you put it back on. For probably less than a dollar you can get a new crush washer for that bolt, so you don't have to overtighten it to stop it leaking.

If you don't enjoy doing that stuff you can take it to almost any competant mechanic for oil changes, there's nothing really special compared to other cars.

 

mayyyybe you shoudl have someone else change your oil for you..and you atch them and learn. since youve never done it b4.. it be a terrible thing for you to change the filter but leave the o-ring on the block then put your new filter on it..possibly not noticing you have a leak untill its too late.

changin g oil is a very simpel thing to do, but like anything, if you dont knwo hwo to do it, better off learning from someone else... then do it yourself after that forever!

 

hondas will run forever with daily oil changes every 3000

 

I do all my oil changes myself every 3000 miles.