[XtremeRevolution]

How To Change Engine Oil & Filter​

Overview:
This tutorial will walk you through the process of changing the engine oil on the Fiat 124 Spider. I had initially intended to supplement stevet's tutorial on changing the engine oil, but ultimately decided there were some pictures missing that I wanted included, some unnecessary steps, and that it would be easier to create my own tutorial than to rewrite his. Since writing this tutorial, I've moved to a top-down oil change method using one of the options available on Amazon. I find it far easier on this car and quicker as well.

Tools Required:
- Ft-lb torque wrench (Available on Amazon)
- 27mm socket socket (1-1/8" also works)
- 12mm & 13mm sockets & Ratchet
- A few shop towels or rags
- A drain pan
- A socket extension (I used a 10")

Part Required:
- Your favorite oil filter (I prefer Wix, and used the Wix 57341 filter)
- 4 quarts of a 5W-40 synthetic oil meeting MS-12991 specifications. I chose AMSOIL 5W-40 Classic ESP. Whatever you use, I recommend ordering an extra quart to top off with, since these engines tend to consume a bit of oil.

Procedure:
1. Position the car so that you can get under it, but also so that it is level. In my case, I have an inclined driveway, so I simply drove it up on ramps. Once underneath, remove the 12mm bolts marked in red below (8). Loosen the bolt marked in blue about halfway; this will make it easier to line up the pan when you pit it back on.

2. Positioning the drain pan appropriately, use at 13mm socket to remove the drain plug. Drain plug is shown below, facing the passenger (in the USA) side of the car, toward the front of the car.

3. Moving into the engine bay, you'll be removing the purge valve solenoid wiring connector. Simply slide the yellow tab down with your fingernail or a flathead screwdriver, and push the tab in the middle. Move the wire out of the way.

4. Use a 27mm or 1-1/8" socket on a 10" extension to loosen the oil cap.

5. Allow the cap to rest on its edge for a few minutes to allow any oil to drip out of the filter.

Tutorial will be continued in the next post.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

6. Wiggle the oil cap out. You don't need to remove the intake tube in order to get it clear; simply slide it toward the right near the coolant surge tank and press down on the coolant hose marked below, and it will clear. If you have an aftermarket intake, you'll probably need to take the intake tube off.

7. Got your oil and filter ready? Obligatory AMSOIL promo shot.

8. Hopefully, the filter you ordered came with a replacement seal. I've found the easiest way to replace them is to grab the seal and push the sides in with two fingers, causing the seal to buckle, at which point it's easy to grab and slide off.

9. Place the new seal on the ridge marked below. This is important!

10. Install the end of the new filter with the tabs into the filter cap.

11. Reinstall the oil filter and torque to 25 Nm.

12. Reinstall the purge valve solenoid wiring connector.

13. Reinstall the drain plug and torque to 26-27 Nm.

14. Reinstall the engine shield/pan and torque to 29.8 Nm. Set your torque wrench to zero for storage once you're done.

15. Fill the engine with 4 quarts (~3.8 liters) of oil.

16. Start engine, run for a few minutes, shut off, and check oil level.

17. To reset oil life monitor, place the car in "on" mode (without starting the engine). Within 10 seconds of starting the car, press the gas pedal three times, then turn the car off again.

 

[JFernald]

Great job, clear and concise. Thank you. This is not as difficult as it may have seemed. Once it is done, it is easy to see why you would want to do it yourself. A rookie service tech could easily put the oil filter seal in the wrong place, strip the threads on the aluminium oil pan in 10 different places, forget to plug in the connector to the bypass valve, or even forget to replace the lower engine cover.

You are correct about the aftermarket intake, at least for the EuroCompulsion V4 intake. Since the V4 intake crosses over the corner of the battery, it is in the way of the filter.

One extra tip: If you use the sloped driveway & ramps method of raising the front of the car to a level position, you may want to put some subtle marks on the drive showing the position of the ramps so you don't have to spend time adjusting their position for the next oil change, or other under-the-front work. By the way, my ramps only work on the slope, since the underneath of the car engages the ramps before the tires do, and will shove the ramps forward. If you have lowered your car, this may present a problem even on a sloped driveway.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

Great job, clear and concise. Thank you. This is not as difficult as it may have seemed. Once it is done, it is easy to see why you would want to do it yourself. A rookie service tech could easily put the oil filter seal in the wrong place, strip the threads on the aluminium oil pan in 10 different places, forget to plug in the connector to the bypass valve, or even forget to replace the lower engine cover.

You are correct about the aftermarket intake, at least for the EuroCompulsion V4 intake. Since the V4 intake crosses over the corner of the battery, it is in the way of the filter.

One extra tip: If you use the sloped driveway & ramps method of raising the front of the car to a level position, you may want to put some subtle marks on the drive showing the position of the ramps so you don't have to spend time adjusting their position for the next oil change, or other under-the-front work. By the way, my ramps only work on the slope, since the underneath of the car engages the ramps before the tires do, and will shove the ramps forward. If you have lowered your car, this may present a problem even on a sloped driveway.

It really isn't that bad, at least with the stock intake on there. I agree, there are many reasons you'd want to do it yourself. In the Cruze world, we have the same filter-cap setup, and I've seen the following issues come up:

- Cap cross-threaded, causing massive oil leak
- Cap overtightened and cracked, causing massive oil leak.
- O-ring on cap not replaced after several changes, causing deterioration and leak
- O-ring removed but tech forgot to put a new one on, causing massive oil leak
- O-ring not removed, but extra one added, causing various issues
- Drain plug overtightened (it's aluminum on the Cruze and uses a 10mm socket), causing drain plug to strip
- Oil filter not allowed to drain before removal, causing drips of oil all over the engine bay

In this case, I can guarantee that eventually, a tech will lose one of the lower pan/shield bolts, might cross-thread one of the bolts, might cross-thread the drain plug (as you noted).

There's just so much that can go wrong. The fact that it's usually entry level techs that change your oil just makes me extremely hesitant to recommend anyone not do this job themselves.

Fortunately, I'm at the stock ride height (and have no intention to lower it), and the ramps I have, designed for trucks, clear the front fascia on my Abarth cleanly. Interestingly enough, they just barely rub on my Cruze. If you do have a lowered car, or don't have a sloped driveway, you'll have to manage other ways to raise the car and keep it level. A few extra jackstands may be necessary.

 

[Stewie]

Quick question... is there a crush washer that should be replaced or is it okay to put it back in the way it is because it's a regular washer?

 

[XtremeRevolution]

Quick question... is there a crush washer that should be replaced or is it okay to put it back in the way it is because it's a regular washer?

Oil drain plug uses an o-ring, not a crush washer, so you can just put it back easily.

 

[sharkcohen]

Is there no way to flex the EC V4 intake to the side to pull the filter through? Ugh.

 

[JFernald]

Quick question... is there a crush washer that should be replaced or is it okay to put it back in the way it is because it's a regular washer?

No crush washer to replace. Put it back they way you found it. The only things that get replaced with new are: 1) Oil filter, 2) oil filter O-ring, and 3) 4 quarts of oil.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

Is there no way to flex the EC V4 intake to the side to pull the filter through? Ugh.

Hopefully someone with one of those intakes will chime in, but in the meantime, it may be worth investigating the possibility of using some quick-release hose/duct clamps in lieu of the clamps currently used on the intake for quick and easy removal. Something like this:

https://www.zoro.com/nordfab-duct-c...xg-uPZyel2ZMWpDS2gRZhxoCHx_w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-qu...VcCuqIp1ufGSLiCHKynlSBoCvm_w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[sharkcohen]

Hopefully someone with one of those intakes will chime in, but in the meantime, it may be worth investigating the possibility of using some quick-release hose/duct clamps in lieu of the clamps currently used on the intake for quick and easy removal. Something like this:

https://www.zoro.com/nordfab-duct-c...xg-uPZyel2ZMWpDS2gRZhxoCHx_w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-qu...VcCuqIp1ufGSLiCHKynlSBoCvm_w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Great idea, I'll look into that.

 

[JFernald]

Is there no way to flex the EC V4 intake to the side to pull the filter through? Ugh.

I tried it, but ended up disconnecting the V4 intake. I loosened the clamp and unbolted the evap tube. I did not have to disconnect the tube from the filter canister.

Re: Extreme's question, The clamp that connects the V4 to the turbo, could probably be left off without issue. The fitment is snug and the rest of the intake system holds it in place. I don't see any way that this could become disconnected. Since this is one the inlet side of the turbo, it is also being held on by suction. There may be a possibility of the turbo sucking air in around the junction, but that is even unlikely.

 

[JFernald]

Hopefully someone with one of those intakes will chime in, but in the meantime, it may be worth investigating the possibility of using some quick-release hose/duct clamps in lieu of the clamps currently used on the intake for quick and easy removal. Something like this:

https://www.zoro.com/nordfab-duct-c...xg-uPZyel2ZMWpDS2gRZhxoCHx_w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-qu...VcCuqIp1ufGSLiCHKynlSBoCvm_w_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Id rather make a few turns with the screwdriver than have one of those things in my engine bay. Just saying.

 

[sharkcohen]

I tried it, but ended up disconnecting the V4 intake. I loosened the clamp and unbolted the evap tube. I did not have to disconnect the tube from the filter canister.

Re: Extreme's question, The clamp that connects the V4 to the turbo, could probably be left off without issue. The fitment is snug and the rest of the intake system holds it in place. I don't see any way that this could become disconnected. Since this is one the inlet side of the turbo, it is also being held on by suction. There may be a possibility of the turbo sucking air in around the junction, but that is even unlikely.

This is a good point, maybe i'll just remove the clamp entirely.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

Id rather make a few turns with the screwdriver than have one of those things in my engine bay. Just saying.

Only reason I mentioned those is because someone in the other thread mentioned that with the GFB diverter valve, that removing the intake was not a simple matter of simply turning a few screws, but required the removal of other surrounding components. If that's not the case for others, those clamps really wouldn't provide a benefit.

 

[stevet]

See? I knew there would clarity, brevity, and an answer to the drain plug question! Well done, and great photos. Nice to see that the stock air tube does not need to be removed.

Photo 9, the cap O-ring, should it be said that it fits in the groove rather than on the ridge? Mine is in the same place as you show.

Miles of smiles!

Steve.

 

[SJWhiteley]

Great post. Just wanted to add, since I decided to do the oil change today (2500 miles) instead of waiting, while adding a V4 intake (thanks PureAdrenaline!) also.

1. I jacked the front of the car up and put it on jack stands. To drain the oil completely, I jacked up the rear of the car, so the rear is level or slightly higher than the front to drain all oil out of the sump. It's much easier to jack up the rear as a jack can easily reach the rear sub frame crossmember.

2. There is about 80cc of oil left in the oil filter housing that the cap screws into. I used a large syringe to take it out (it was an 80cc syringe). Blotting it out will make a mess and take a long time with that quantity of oil.

3. Replacing the aluminum cover over the sump, place the slotted bolt first, then the one directly across from it as these holes are the same size as the bolts, so place the cover in the correct location.

Pro tip: use a power drill to screw bolts off and on, and finish off with the torque wrench. It may only save you 20-30 seconds or so, but it adds up and it's a lot less work!

 

[JFernald]

Great post. Just wanted to add, since I decided to do the oil change today (2500 miles) instead of waiting, while adding a V4 intake (thanks PureAdrenaline!) also.

1. I jacked the front of the car up and put it on jack stands. To drain the oil completely, I jacked up the rear of the car, so the rear is level or slightly higher than the front to drain all oil out of the sump. It's much easier to jack up the rear as a jack can easily reach the rear sub frame crossmember.

2. There is about 80cc of oil left in the oil filter housing that the cap screws into. I used a large syringe to take it out (it was an 80cc syringe). Blotting it out will make a mess and take a long time with that quantity of oil.

3. Replacing the aluminum cover over the sump, place the slotted bolt first, then the one directly across from it as these holes are the same size as the bolts, so place the cover in the correct location.

Pro tip: use a power drill to screw bolts off and on, and finish off with the torque wrench. It may only save you 20-30 seconds or so, but it adds up and it's a lot less work!

I would recommend against using a power drill to screw bolts into any aluminum part on your car, unless the tool has a reliably adjustable torque setting that is at or lower than the recommendation for those bolts. The bolts in question are easily screwed in and out by hand once they are freed. I typically unscrew two at a time, one by each hand.

 

[SJWhiteley]

I would recommend against using a power drill to screw bolts into any aluminum part on your car, unless the tool has a reliably adjustable torque setting that is at or lower than the recommendation for those bolts. The bolts in question are easily screwed in and out by hand once they are freed. I typically unscrew two at a time, one by each hand.

You won't be able to generate enough torque with a drill, unless you are using a hydraulic or hammer drill. Just set the clutch on a battery drill and you'll save a lot of time.

 

[JFernald]

You won't be able to generate enough torque with a drill, unless you are using a hydraulic or hammer drill. Just set the clutch on a battery drill and you'll save a lot of time.

I guess your tools are "power" in name only.

 

[Stelvio]

Did my first oil change at 5000 mi today. The instructions are good and I have a natural incline on the side of the driveway, so I just backed it up there. Put in Shell 0W-40 Ultra Euro Blend. This is the super clean oil made from natural gas. Has all the Euro makers approvals including FIAT. Got 5 quarts on Rollback at Wal-mart for 22.37, regularly $25. The extra quart will come in handy since my car seems to use a quart about every 3000 miles.