How to Change Oil 2001-05 Honda Civic
Created on: 2016-06-01
How to drain and refill old, dirty, or sludgy oil, and change the oil filter on 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 Honda Civic
-
step 1 :Draining the Oil
- Turn the engine on and let it warm up
- Turn the engine off
- Remove the oil cap
- Raise and support the vehicle on jack stands
- Have a drain pan ready
- Remove the 16mm drain plug
- Let the oil drain
- Tighten the drain plug
- Carefully torque it to 29 foot-pounds
-
step 2 :Removing the Oil Filter
- Set the strap wrench to the size of the filter
- Break the filter loose
- Have a drain pan ready
- Spin the filter out by hand slowly
- Let the filter drain
-
step 3 :Installing the Oil Filter
- Lubricate the oil filter gasket with oil
- Inspect the oil gasket surface for debris
- Give the spindle a twist
- Hand tighten the oil filter
-
step 4 :Refilling the Engine
- Insert a funnel into the engine
- Pour 3.7 quarts of 5w-20 oil into the engine
- Reinstall the oil cap
- Start the vehicle
- Let the oil pressure build up until the oil light turns off
- Turn the vehicle off
- Check the oil level
Tools needed
-
Funnel
Oil Filter Wrench
Torque Wrench
16mm Socket
Jack Stands
Drain Pan
Ratchet
Cloth Rags
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you an oil change. This is a 2003 Honda Civic with the 1.7-liter VTEC 4-cylinder. This procedure is the same for most Honda vehicles with this motor. Items you'll need include 16mm socket and ratchet, or a wrench, strap wrench to get the oil filter off, a new oil filter, four quarts of 5w-20 oil, a drain pan to drain your oil into, torque wrench, gloves, a rag, and a funnel.
Make sure the engine's warmed up a little bit. You don't have to get it fully to operating temperature or you can risk burning yourself when draining the pan and filter. With the engine warmed up, remove the oil cap. Raise and support your vehicle and locate your oil pan drain plug on the driver side of the vehicle.
Remove the plug with a 16mm socket and ratchet. Make sure you have a drain bucket under the vehicle. Remove the drain plug and place it somewhere safe and clean. Reinstall your drain plug.
With a 16mm socket, torque your drain plug to 29 foot-pounds. It's very important that you don't overtighten these, especially when it's an aluminum pan. It's very easy to strip the threads, so you could crack the pan if you go too tight, causing all kinds of leaks and other problems.
Your oil filter's located directly above your CV axle right above your drain plug. Using your strap wrench or a pair of filter pliers, they're all a little bit different but this one we'll set for the size of our filter and engage the hook so we can spin it off. Here we are working in behind the driver's front wheel.
You do not have to remove the tire; we just have it off for filming purposes.
Once you've broken the filter loose with the strap wrench, you should be able to spin it out the rest of the way by hand. There's usually about a half a quart of oil in these, so we'll spin it out slow, allow it to drain if it has any fluid in it. Otherwise, bring the oil filter out upright and place it in your drain bucket. Allow it to drain fully before disposing of it properly.
This is a very important step that a lot of people miss. You want to put some clean oil on the tip of your finger and lubricate the gasket that seals the oil filter to the housing. This will keep it from baking on there and seizing so you don't have to fight it off next time.
Inspect the oil filter gasket surface. Make sure that it's clear of debris, the old gasket or any other kind of material or burr that's going to damage it. Give the spindle a little twist to make sure it's in there nice and tight.
Reinstall your oil filter. If you don't check for the oil old filter gasket before installing your new one, it's called a double gasket, and the filter will leak a lot of oil very quickly. Get it in there hand tight. Make sure it's on there good and snug. You don't have to really force it on there.
Install a funnel into your oil fill hole. For our motor, you're going to add 3.7 quarts of 5-20 oil. We're using conventional in this motor. If you use synthetic, synthetic blend, what have you, you're still going to want a 5-20. After you've put 3.7 quarts of oil into the motor, wipe off your funnel, reinstall your oil cap, start the car, and let the oil pressure build up.
This light here on the bottom left of our dashboard is your oil pressure light. You'll want to start the car. When that light goes off, you've built up oil pressure. Shut the vehicle off and recheck your fluid level. After you've let the engine sit for a few seconds to let the oil run back down, wipe off your dip stick, put it back in all the way, check the fluid level.
Between the two dots is one quart. We're right on the edge of our full line, so we're all set. Halfway between these two dots, you'd be down half a quart. At the dot, you'd be down a full quart. We check our fluid level even after we've filled to manufacturer's specifications because every motor tends to be a little bit different; some may drain slightly more, some may drain slightly less. You want to make sure that fluid level is right where it's supposed to be.
Thanks for tuning in. We hope this video helped you out. Next time you need parts for your car, please visit 1AAuto.com. Also check out our other helpful how-to and diagnosis videos.
