Changing oil for 1993 Honda Civic ESi?

As a complete newbie in car maintenance, I'm wondering whether someone out
there advise me with a step-by-step guideline to change the engine oil? I
also need to know what type of oil best suits this car (and which one I
should go for in terms of value for money)! Thank you!

 

Oh, to clarify, it is a 1.6 ESi !

 

Do you have the owner's manual for it? The recommended weight oil (e.g.
5W30) and the amount you need will be stated in the manual. The information
might also be on a sticker on the underside of the hood (bonnet?) Any brand
name oil will suffice. You will need to get either ramps or jack stands to
raise the front of the car. The drain plug is on the bottom of the oil pan.
The oil filter is usually on the back side of the engine on Hondas - look up
from underneath to find it.

Drive around before you drain the oil to get more of the gunk suspended in
it so it will drain out.

 

Why not find a friendly mechanic who would be willing to give you a
lesson? bob

 

Thanks for this! I will check the owners manual to determine what type of
oil.

As for instructions on how to change the oil, is there any
illustrations/photos together with more detail explanation about which bit
to unsrew and what to/not to do?

 

finding a friendly mechanic is probably a bigger problem!

 

I don¹t know of any. The oil pan is the lowest part of the engine. The
drain plug is on the side of it, at the bottom. When you buy the new oil
filter, you will know what to look for with that. You will probably also
need an oil filter wrench to get the old one off. Follow the instructions
on the new filter for tightening.

 

www.autozone.com has directions as good as any. Click on the link for free
"vehicle specific repair guides" on the right. Put in your car's information,
then click on "General Information and Maintenance," "Fluids and Lubricants,"
"Engine," then "Oil and Filter Change." Autozone has some pretty good photos of
the steps, too. (I love that shot of the generic engine oil container at the
bottom.)

If you have an owner's manual, it will have directions, too.

Read through the directions, and make a list of tools and parts you'll need. A
lot of folks say to buy an OEM filter, or at least not a cheap filter. (Lately I
use a high end Fram filter.) I recommend a cap-style filter wrench, so when you
buy the filter, also match up the correct cap wrench to fit it.

Auto manual instructions are never precise. Use good judgment at each step.
Improvise as needed, being always vigilant for what could go wrong, your safety,
and your car's safety.

Best ramps: Rhino ramps at Autozone (or Pep Boys? one of these) for $20. Double
check the weight capacity of these. Wal-mart says higher capacity ones for $30.
"Rhino" ramps are hard plastic and much easier to lug around than the metal
ones. Or, if you're on a tight budget, then buy a set of jackstands for $10 at
Wal-Mart. These will be useful in other auto maintenance jobs.

I have only used Pennzoil in my 1991 Civic for all its life (13 years and 154k
miles). No particular reason other than group think, at this point. Some folks
say I could switch to synthetic oil (e.g. Mobil 1). They may be right, but I
don't want to roll the dice until more data on this is available.

Do not overtighten the oil pan drain plug. It's supposed to be 33 ft-lbs. for
your Civic. I now have a torque wrench and wish I'd always had one for jobs like
this. But you can get away with doing this without a torque wrench. OTOH, if
you're feeling rich, go to your nearest Harbor Freight and buy a cheap one
that's "good enough."

Do not overtighten the oil filter. It's also easy to get carried away with this.

 

Buy Honda filters only, they are good price and good quality. You can find
them at your Honda dealer for about $4 or you can buy several online and
save money, keep them in the garage. I buy 5 or so at the time.

: finding a friendly mechanic is probably a bigger problem!
:
: : > Why not find a friendly mechanic who would be willing to give you a
: > lesson? bob
: >
: > Alex wrote:
: > >
: > > Thanks for this! I will check the owners manual to determine what type
: of
: > > oil.
: > >
: > > As for instructions on how to change the oil, is there any
: > > illustrations/photos together with more detail explanation about which
: bit
: > > to unsrew and what to/not to do?
: > >
: > > : > > > On 7/22/04 7:47 PM, in article cdpn6h$gpe$,
: "Alex"
: > > >
: > > > > Oh, to clarify, it is a 1.6 ESi !
: > > > >
: > > > > : > > > >> As a complete newbie in car maintenance, I'm wondering whether
: someone
: > > out
: > > > >> there advise me with a step-by-step guideline to change the
engine
: oil?
: > > I
: > > > >> also need to know what type of oil best suits this car (and which
: one I
: > > > >> should go for in terms of value for money)! Thank you!
: > > > >>
: > > > >>
: > > > >>
: > > > >
: > > > >
: > > >
: > > > Do you have the owner's manual for it? The recommended weight oil
: (e.g.
: > > > 5W30) and the amount you need will be stated in the manual. The
: > > information
: > > > might also be on a sticker on the underside of the hood (bonnet?)
Any
: > > brand
: > > > name oil will suffice. You will need to get either ramps or jack
: stands
: > > to
: > > > raise the front of the car. The drain plug is on the bottom of the
: oil
: > > pan.
: > > > The oil filter is usually on the back side of the engine on Hondas -
: look
: > > up
: > > > from underneath to find it.
: > > >
: > > > Drive around before you drain the oil to get more of the gunk
: suspended in
: > > > it so it will drain out.
: > > >
:
:

 

Hmm...hang on - not only I have to change the oil, I need to change the
filter?

 

yes, and rule of thumb for tighting the filter is hand tight

 

To reinforce M.C. Tee's statement:

Pretty much everyone changes the oil filter the same time they change the oil.

It is *not* a big deal. Ten minutes more, tops.

I have girlie hands, so I tighten the filter the 3/4 or 2/3 turn after the
gasket contacts the filter seat, per the filter directions. I've never had a
problem from this in some 20 years of DIY oil changes.

 

also, dont forget to put some oil on the gasket before you install it, and
have a look at the old filter when you take it off to make sure the gasket
came off with it.