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I didn't complain too much when I learned I'd have to buy a long reach floor jack and a bunch of jacking pucks and a cross brace with pads to just lift the car off the ground. I didn't even whine a whole lot when I had to buy a red plastic set of pads for the jack platform and the tops of my car stands. But I think I'm reaching the snivel point.
Two days ago I decided to change the oil on both of my cars. The first was my '69 Mustang 302. That was to be followed by the '09 C6. I've done the Mustang a million times, so it took me about 15 minutes, including coaxing the oil filter out from under the power steering pump. I didn't have to even jack the Mustang up. The drain plug is at the front of the oil pan and it sits high enough to slide under up to my big belly.
I just went out to do the C6 today. I went on line to see if there was any "course knowledge" that I should know. I had an LS1 Camaro for about 15 years and did all my own oil changes on that car with a couple of small car stands and a floor jack. It looked a lot like this LS3 from underneath. The step by step I saw said I would need a 13mm wrench for the drain plug. I could have sworn the Camaro had a 15mm plug, but, hey, this is an LS3. I spent the better part of a half hour putting down a blue tarp, parking the Vette on top of it, jacking the car up from the rear pucks and placing my big 6 ton jack stands under each side on the front pucks. I slid under the car with my small strap filter wrench and a 13mm box end. Guess what. The LS3 also has a 15mm plug. So I decide to remove the filter and let it drain while I go back into the garage and get a 15mm. I can't get the "spin on" filter to move. The strap wrench just doesn't have enough traction. I go back for the 15mm and I grab a plastic universal filter wrench that works with a breaker bar. I get under the car and the universal wrench slips on the filter body. It has a shoulder on the body of the wrench that prevents it from getting up past the bottom of the oil pan and seating on the filter. I didn't know this because I used to run a taller filter on my LS1 (PF61) and it protruded below the oil pan. I drive into town and visit my local NAPA guys. He has steel wrenches that fit onto a breaker bar. He grabs a new filter and finds that none of his wrenches fit the bottom of the PF48 filter. I have my universal wrench with me and, when slid far enough up on the filter, it grabs like a pit bull. I come home and try both of my wrenches one more time. It appears that the Chevy dealer must have put the filter on with an impact wrench. Normally this is when I would resort to sticking a screw drive through the filter and getting it out that way, but I don't want to leave the car in non-running condition if that didn't work. It won't move and the afternoon is dying, so I have to drag all my crap out from under the Vette, remove the jack stands and the wheel chock and put it back in the garage. I invested most of an afternoon in screwing around with what should be a 15 minute job. We are not amused. Why is everything so difficult with these cars?
Sounds like the car had nothing to do with any of your problems. You had the wrong tools for the job and a previous mechanic put the filter on too tight. I change my C6 oil in about 15 minutes. Simple job. Your car is fine.
Well it's not the cars fault someone screwed up installing the filter. If you Jack your car carefully you don't need pucks or rubber covers for the Jack stands etc. I have jacked my 08 dozen of times without any of that stuff. As far as oil change just get a set of race ramps drive up on them change the oil and drive off, works on any car no floor jacks required.
Last edited by okie08vette; 12-04-2015 at 07:08 PM.
I had to get jacking pucks but my old floor jack and regular jack stands work fine. Haven't used and pads for them or a brace like you mentioned.
As far as changing the oil I do that with out even jacking the car up. Socket, ratchet, filter wrench and a drain pan. Easiest car I have had to change the oil in.
Sounds like the car had nothing to do with any of your problems. You had the wrong tools for the job and a previous mechanic put the filter on too tight. I change my C6 oil in about 15 minutes. Simple job. Your car is fine.
OR ....he didn't put a bead of new oil around the filter gasket and it baked itself on....
Sounds like the car had nothing to do with any of your problems. You had the wrong tools for the job and a previous mechanic put the filter on too tight. I change my C6 oil in about 15 minutes. Simple job. Your car is fine.
I must say that I agree. Also, I never had to buy anything special to lift my "07 except for two used hockey pucks for $1.00 each. An 18 inch long 2x4 works great for lifting the back end of the car on the jack.
I agree. Oil filters are not head bolts. They can be gently tightened and it's SOP to dip your finger in the used oil and run a nice, even coating on the new filter's gasket.
I've run into stuck filters, bolts, screws, lug nuts and whatever else hundreds of times in nearly 40 years of working on cars and never once blamed the car.
I ran into the stuck filter last year. Sure it was a PITA, but a cold chisel and 5 lb sledge hammer did the job in removing it. BTW, the dealer had did the previous oil change prior to this issue. That will be the last oil change the dealer ever does on my c6.
the oil filter on the car when I got it was massively overtorqued as well. I just battled it with my universal oil filter wrench and eventually got it loose. had to really exhaust every ounce of grunt I could. nearly **** myself.
the only problems I've really seen here are that you were angry that an online tutorial listed the wrong size on something, you didn't realize how low your car was, and you didn't have the arm strength to get an oil filter off. is it really a bad car because of that? /kidding, sort of.
I didn't buy jacking pucks, I used some old hockey pucks. I use my standard floor jack too. I also didn't buy the cross beam lift bar. I jack up the car at the frame jacking points and put the jackstands under the car. I have a GS with the dry sump, so draining my oil is a little bit more involved, but under an hour, start to finish. Oh, and I use the oil filter pliers too. Good advice there.
Probably just venting. I hate cleaning the inside the inside of the windshield without having to go in through both doors a few times and contorting my back and wrist in unnatural ways. I enjoy the final result instead of hating my Vette but I understand the frustration of the moment.
A couple of ramps, a correct wrench and a correctly (previously) installed oil filter would have pretty much eliminated all that frustration. Of course, so too would have been driving down to the local oil change pit and paying someone else to be frustrated.
There comes a point in life when it's cheaper to pay someone else to handle the misery. Of course, I could do this myself even now just like I could easily mow my yard but it's somewhat comforting knowing I paid a little to avoid all the time, dirt and frustration.
As I decided to change my oil last time I ran into the same problem, drained the oil and then tried the filter, 3 trips to auto parts store later I put dirty oil back in car and drove to the dealer that changed it last time, they did it for free but still frustrated.
I watched as the tech (??) took the filter off and it was way too tight, he admitted it, but he used one of those over the end of the filter can types which did work, from AutoZone he said. So next time I will add to my collection of oil filter wrenches with one of those, maybe it will go better, but I will do the filter FIRST
Not my cars fault though and I didn't want to wind up with LV2Tour's fiasco
NSF
And AGAIN, this all goes back to what I've said before and I'll say it again. Whether it is a dealership, a jiffy lube, firestone, or sears.....the types of individuals that work in these places that change oil are literal screwups of society. It's typically some dope kid that had behavioral problems in high school, barely graduated, smokes weed, has an IQ of about 75, and is hyperactive ADD. THEY WILL OVER-TIGHTEN EVERYTHING!! This is why I do not take my cars in for any maintenance, I do it myself. Every time I've taken my car in, some degenerate has managed to screw something up.
I've had all of these events occur with simple oil and tire changes: (I've NEVER taken my corvette in for this type of service. This has happened with other vehicles)
1. An air filter was removed and checked from within glove compartment of a vehicle I owned, they left the glove compartment arm un-attached.
2. They removed and lost the coolant recovery tank cap and didn't say anything. I didn't notice until later on when I popped the hood.
3. Massively over-tightened oil plug and filter that I could not remove when I decided to change it myself. Had to take it back and ask for them to loosen it.
4. Literally snapped in half and broke off an underside plate that needed to be removed before draining oil from plug on another vehicle I have.
5. Scraped up rims from driving car onto their lift.
6. Broken TPMS sensor dismounting tires. Tried to blame it on me saying it was already like that. Got them to replace it. They they replaced tires and told me that they didn't have the right tool to re-program the TPMS. I had to take it to the dealership for programming.
7. Overfilling oil.
8. Claimed tires were filled with air when I had an oil change, TPMS comes on while driving home indicating no air was ever filled.
9. Got a simple oil change on a car, was charged $79. They claimed they vacuumed my car and that cost extra. I raised hell and got the bill reduced to $54
Last edited by sunburstLS3; 12-04-2015 at 11:16 PM.
12-04-2015, 06:58 PM
So, I'm really starting to dislike this C6
We are not amused. Why is everything so difficult with these cars?
I must say that I agree. Also, I never had to buy anything special to lift my "07 except for two used hockey pucks for $1.00 each. An 18 inch long 2x4 works great for lifting the back end of the car on the jack.
