JoeFromPA Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hey all, Just changed my oil this morning. 27 degrees out according to the LGT dash (the car hadn't been started yet). I still have to complement the LGT on it's ease of oil changes. I jack up on the huge bolt behind the pass. side wheel, throw a jack stand under the frame rails for good measure, pop off the oil bolt, put a big plastic cup on the oil filter and remove it (that was a great tip)... Fill the sump with 4.5 quarts of Pennzoil Platinum. Take off the engine cover now that I notice 2 of it's set-screws are missing. Clean up. 30 minutes from going outside to coming back inside, including 2 minutes of driving around to mix the oil. I actually didn't even mind that it was 27 degrees out. It just felt brisk. Then I showered, and I noticed that after 10 minutes in very hot water my hamstrings still felt like chunks of meat taken out of a freezer. What's your coldest exterior oil change? Joe P.s. I'm taking a trip to New Hampshire this week, 1200 miles round trip, and decided I NEEDED to change the oil to fit in with Subaru's 3750 mile oil change requirement. I've realized that I have no way to prove I'm doing this, so I started writing the change date/mileage on the oil filter with a sharpie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 You should change oil when the engine is hot. Changing cold oil means all the crap sticks to surfaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGV101 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 You should change oil when the engine is hot. Changing cold oil means all the crap sticks to surfaces. When you leave the car to cool down, most of the oil would have drained down to the oil pan anyways so it shouldn't make a difference at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 There are particles that get suspended in hot oil, but settle down on the bottom of the pan in the cold oil. It's probably not a huge deal if oil is changed cold, but I think it's not a good practice. When you start engine after oil change there is a delay before pressure is built, even if you prefill the filter (which I do, btw). If the engine was hot, there will be still plenty of old oil on the internal parts to protect them during the startup. After a cold change there won't be much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFromPA Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 It's moot. The car was driven before I changed the oil. I don't do it hot, but I do do it "warmed" to ensure the oil is mixed up. Thanks for preaching to the choir though. j/k Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenchan Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 i think 33F was the coldest ive done... but it's really not that cold because im wearing winter work gear and gloves, under a hot engine so it's plenty warm. the only thing that really sucked was snow getting caught behind my neck when i was scooching myself under the car. waaaaaa~ bonk! kenchan hits head under car. jk it was actually kinda nice doing the work in the cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilh Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Whenever I change with cold oil after sitting overnight I get more oil out than if I warmed it up and let it sit half an hour or so. Synthetic 5W-30 flows pretty well cold. I'm not sure I've tried this cold drain <30F thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhig Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 You should alway's change it when it's hot! Might as well not change it at all if the oil is cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 You should alway's change it when it's hot! Might as well not change it at all if the oil is cold. Thats such a crummy way of thinking. I agree its best to change the oil with the vehicle at operating temperature, but theres nothing wrong with changing the oil when the car is cold. Even if there are impurities which settle at the bottom of the oil pan, when you drain the oil, i think its safe to assume that the force of the oil draining out will carry out a fair amount of it. Its not like you get out 100% of the old oil when you change your oil anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboi85 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 hmm.... coldest i think i did it was 77 degrees hawaii doesnt get too cold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbc84 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Ill find out soon, im due for a oil change on my 08' but Imma hold of for a bit since its going to be snowing and i dont wanna lie under a dripping car. And I do my oil changes HOT. (I have a fumoto quick drain valve, so i dont get burned ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhig Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Oil flows much better when it's hot, and it's much more likely to take harmful deposits and sludge with it when it's warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFromPA Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 The most important thing is to "stir" the oil through some modest driving, to help homogenize and suspend the particles in it. Synthetic 5w30 flows just fine when cool, for the purposes of an oil change. Now if we were talking about 75w140 gear oil... Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyShackleford Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Thats such a crummy way of thinking. I agree its best to change the oil with the vehicle at operating temperature, but theres nothing wrong with changing the oil when the car is cold. Even if there are impurities which settle at the bottom of the oil pan, when you drain the oil, i think its safe to assume that the force of the oil draining out will carry out a fair amount of it. Its not like you get out 100% of the old oil when you change your oil anyways. "Crummy way of thinking" ? That's pretty harsh. I think not doing most anything, certainly vehicle maintenance, in the best fashion you can, is crummy - period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbc84 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 almost time for me, its in the low 20s, i just tossed the car on ramps, and about to change into soem dirty clothes to lay under the dripping slush from the car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFromPA Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 whoa man, I draw the line with dripping slush. Are we talking a few drips, or significant wetness? Our bodies can withstand 20 degrees, but the moisture will transfer the cold instantly. You'll actually risk hypothermia, among other things. You better be wearing a wet suit if we're talking puddles here. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbc84 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 it was puddles, since i went out to buy oil while it was snowing. but because of the car was on ramps it dripped away from me. and I layed some cardboard on the ground and did in in ~30 min since i had fumoto valve. I think it was 24* on the dash when I did it. Also went from Mobil 1 to Penzoil Platinum. and the car idles so much smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyT Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I changed my oil this weekend also....22 degrees. I'm in an unheated garage and I wear a thermal quilt-lined jumpsuit. After warming the care, I place my heavy rubber gloves on top of the radiator. By the time I get the drop cloth and drip pan under the car my gloves are toastie warm. The jumpsuit is great for working on the car in cold weather. Heck, I even washed in 32 degrees and I was sweating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodstock Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 hmm.. should I change my oil at 1500? I bought the car last month 08 LGT with 160 miles on it. It might have been sitting in the dealer lot for 365+ days. If i should, can I go with synthetic right away? I was reading the other thread about synthetic oil and dino oils. I just want to ask. LOL! I cant resist it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbc84 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 on my 08' when I bought new I did I think: 500mi 1000mi 1500mi 3000mi I know I changed i @ 500 right away, not sure if i skipped to 1500 or did another change at 1000mi again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodstock Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 what did you use? synthetic or regular oil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbc84 Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 i switched to synthetic around 6k miles. Engine break in should be done with regular oil according to the threads and articles i read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodstock Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 i have 1400 miles right now. will do oil change this coming saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preachers Sheets Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 The most important thing is to "stir" the oil through some modest driving, to help homogenize and suspend the particles in it. Synthetic 5w30 flows just fine when cool, for the purposes of an oil change. Now if we were talking about 75w140 gear oil... Joe Oh my goodness, why do some people overthink simple things so much Starting the car for a little while is fine, the oil is being sucked up, dumped and swirled. How does driving it around help more, is your car being put into a blender? Homogenize, I mean come on...are we making milk or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilh Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Changed the oil in the LGT and OB this morning in 26F in my driveway. (No garage on our 1844 house: the automobile hadn't been invented yet, nor lightbulb, telephone, Civil War, etc... ) Pennzoil Platinum 5W30 with Tokyo Roki filters on both. I bought a dozen of the filters online from subaruparts.com when news of the SOA switch to inferior filters became known a month or so ago. Can I just say what a pain the butt it is to get to the oil filter in our 08 OB 2.5i with ULEV? There is far more exhaust piping in the oil filter area, and it stays hot quite a while. Ouch. The LGT is wide open by comparison. I also rotated the OB tires. The LGT has had Nokian RSi on for almost a month. --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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