thanks for the write up. looks super easy.

 

I like the input that a couple of mechanics have put in along the way and you cannot stress on safety enough. Take the time to elevate and secure the vehicle the right way. For both safety and the vehicles sake.

I have always used factory filters on my cars and only one other filter I favor when in a pinch.
Pick a damn oil and stick with it!
Honda recommends 5w20 for many reasons. Reasons I do not know because I am not an engineer or mechanic. I am a hobbyist. I've been told a lot of things too.
Is it that difficult to use a Honda filter?

A Fram/Penzoil filter is not a Honda filter.
Bob is biased. I have seen Fram filters taken apart not just from the internet either.
I have also read an interesting article on them Engine Oil Filter Study

You cannot go wrong with using a Honda filter and they do not cost and arm and a leg.
Your motor will live long and healthy if you just follow recommendations.

 

You car does NOT run on a motor unless it is all electric or a hybrid. Engine and Motor are two entirely different things. I agree with the rest of your info.

 

Motor
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This mo·tor (mō'tər) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. Something, such as a machine or an engine, that produces or imparts motion.
2. A device that converts any form of energy into mechanical energy, especially an internal-combustion engine or an arrangement of coils and magnets that converts electric current into mechanical power.
3. A motor vehicle, especially an automobile: "It was a night of lovers. All along the highway ... motors were parked and dim figures were clasped in revery" (Sinclair Lewis).

Electric Motor

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This Electric motor
Electric \E*lec"tric\, Electrical \E*lec"tric*al\, a. [L. electrum amber, a mixed metal, Gr. ?; akin to ? the beaming sun, cf. Skr. arc to beam, shine: cf. F. ['e]lectrique. The name came from the production of electricity by the friction of amber.] 1. Pertaining to electricity; consisting of, containing, derived from, or produced by, electricity; as, electric power or virtue; an electric jar; electric effects; an electric spark.

2. Capable of occasioning the phenomena of electricity; as, an electric or electrical machine or substance.

 

Good- at least someone on the forums owns and uses a dictionary. In the automotive repair industry, talking about "the car's motor" is as ignorant as saying things like "I ain't got none o'them thangs! And woulden' have none neither!".

Simply because there is an engine, and there are motors. Saying to the mechanic "My motor won't run" brings the question "which one? Starter? Windows?" Next time you talk to a mechanic, ask him what he calls the thing that makes the car move.

A motor converts manufactured energy- electricity or compressed air, into rotary motion. An engine manufactures energy through the combustion of fuel, and converts that energy into rotary motion. Then of course there are rocket engines that burn fuel, create thrust, and move things without rotary motion.

I will concede that the emergence of the multitude of technologies both in research and development, and on the street, will tend to blend older definitions of what creates power, and how various forms of power give motion to mass.

I will bet that, as when I was trained, in current automotive mechanic training schools or on any race track, if you use "motor" in reference to an internal combustion engine, you are inviting a verbal ass-kicking.

 

guys sorry for the dumb question, but I wanted to know where to put jack stands after you used the tire jack on oneside to raise the car. In this post I can't view the pictures, so can someone post pics if they can please. I found jackstands for really cheap, but I just can't seem to see where you would put the stands in the front of the car. Thanks

 

Jack stands are normally used when you lift the car with a hydraulic floor jack centered under the car. The jack stands are used at the points behind the front wheels or in front of the rear wheels where you would normally place the screw jack that is stored with your spare tire.

 

I just changed the oil/filter in our Fit and I did not need to jack up the car. I was able to get a 19mm (IIRC) socket wrench on the drain plug by lying on the ground right in front of the front/left tire and reaching under/across (you can see the plug by looking through the front wheel well). The oil filter was just as easy to access underneath from the front/center with a oil filter cap/wrench of appropriate size (a strap wrench would work here too since the filter is installed at an angle almost horizontal). Unless you have really short arms, you should be able to do it too. Prove it - get a flashlight, get on the ground and look. See if you can access the parts with your tools. Oil/filter change is really easy.

 

This guy has a point. Ramps or floor jack/jack stands make it easier, but it is possible without the extra hardware for raising the car.

 

So, I shouldn't refer to my Evinrude-powered watercraft as a "motorboat"?
<ducks>

 

Good point- "automotive internal combustion engine", OK? You must be really bored. The ACTUAL answer to your question is no, you should know better than to call it a "motor boat". It is a "power boat". vs. a sail boat or a row boat. You boat runs on an engine. If it were a bass boat with a trolling motor running on a battery, it would be a "motor boat". Only then. Agree or not, I don't care.
And I am just pulling your femur-- do firemen ride to a fire on a "fire motor"? Do Cummins, Dodge, Ford and Caterpillar make "diesel motors"? Does the throbbing exhaust note from the thing at the head of a train come from a "diesel motor"?
Your friend, manxman.

 

I'll be doing my first oil change on monday most likely. Honda filter with royal purple, I was running it in my cb7 for a while til I started leaking too much to keep up the maintenance cost

 

Where do you guys get the crush washers? Manual says they should be replaced each time, but I can't find any place that has them for purchase.

 

Local Honda dealer should have them or most auto parts stores have them. Hassle is getting the correct size. After you start draining your oil, take the drain plug to the parts store and find the correct size crush washer. Buy a bunch of them so you have them on hand for future changes.

 

You should go to good synthetic like Mobil 1 anytime after 1500 miles. Ring break-in is much quicker than it used to be because the rings are more precisely made.
Filters like FRAM7311 or whatever are plentiful at WallyWorld for around $4.
Heed the advice about using jackstands in addition to 'pump' jacks. I went to the funeral of a guy who didn't.

 

have you tried a hardware store like home depot for example? i know you can get it from the honda dealer's parts department, but it's probably more expensive there.

the manual says to replace the washer each time, but i don't think you really need to unless you're really crushing it to death each time you tighten it. i have changed my oil many times already, using the same washer and there have not been any leaks. it's up to you though, i just followed the advice of someone who told me it's a waste of money to keep buying new washers.

 

they're usually about 35 cents a piece, and if you get the right parts guy he'll just give them to you.

from working at a dealership, i happened to have about 60 of them just chilling in my toolbox, but I gave most of them away

 

DocB04: Can you reup the pics you posted in post #37?

 

What is the correct torque for the oil drain plug? I've read 38 ft-lbs and 29 ft-lbs in this thread. What's the service manual say? Help. Need to change my oil and waiting for an answer. Thanks. Mobil 1 5w20, Mobil M1-110 filter.

 

I'm unsure where to place this but this might be a good place to post this. It about what the head of Spoon think about oil changes, although he referring to a Type R motor, but I believe his information is still valid for us. This also contain some of his opinion of flushing oil. YouTube - VTEC Club Oil Change Enjoys -Jimmy