Y
y_p_w
OK - after all the discussion of early oil changes and break-in
oil, I finally performed the first oil change for my 2004 WRX.
It was at exactly 3000 miles on the odometer. I even drove a
a block to get it up to that magic 3000 number.
I took off the undercover, and managed to break one of the
plastic clips when I yanked it out (I think I pulled out the
center pin too far - it's supposedly to be out just a little
bit). It went back in OK, but I'm going to buy a few extra.
I used a 14" T-bar with a 17mm socket to get the bolt off - it
seems to be really tight from the factory. I saved about a
quarter quart in an empty bottle for analysis. The bolt seems
to have been painted on. The crush washer was firmly stuck to
the bolt, and I needed a knife to get it off. I set my torque
wrench to 33 ft-lbs and tightened it until it clicked.
The oil filter was a big fat pain to get off. I tried a claw
wrench, but the 68mm filter was just too small for the wrench
to grip. I drove out in another car (with a replacement
filter) to find one. I couldn't find a cap wrench that fit -
I would have gone to a Subaru dealer, but it's a Sunday. One
wrench actually fits a **smaller** filter. Eventually - I got
the smallest band wrench (with a swiveling handle) that Lisle
makes. It worked - not particularly well though. The filter
is surrounded on three sides by exhaust components and the
pan on the other. There's virtually no room to work with a
filter wrench, and a cap wrench would be perfect. The other
thing was that I could only tighten the new filter maybe 3/4
rotation after the gasket made contact. The instructions say
a full turn, but I couldn't get it any tighter.
So - now the oil sample it in a cup ready to go to Blackstone
Labs. I'll post the results of the oil analysis report when
it comes back.
oil, I finally performed the first oil change for my 2004 WRX.
It was at exactly 3000 miles on the odometer. I even drove a
a block to get it up to that magic 3000 number.
I took off the undercover, and managed to break one of the
plastic clips when I yanked it out (I think I pulled out the
center pin too far - it's supposedly to be out just a little
bit). It went back in OK, but I'm going to buy a few extra.
I used a 14" T-bar with a 17mm socket to get the bolt off - it
seems to be really tight from the factory. I saved about a
quarter quart in an empty bottle for analysis. The bolt seems
to have been painted on. The crush washer was firmly stuck to
the bolt, and I needed a knife to get it off. I set my torque
wrench to 33 ft-lbs and tightened it until it clicked.
The oil filter was a big fat pain to get off. I tried a claw
wrench, but the 68mm filter was just too small for the wrench
to grip. I drove out in another car (with a replacement
filter) to find one. I couldn't find a cap wrench that fit -
I would have gone to a Subaru dealer, but it's a Sunday. One
wrench actually fits a **smaller** filter. Eventually - I got
the smallest band wrench (with a swiveling handle) that Lisle
makes. It worked - not particularly well though. The filter
is surrounded on three sides by exhaust components and the
pan on the other. There's virtually no room to work with a
filter wrench, and a cap wrench would be perfect. The other
thing was that I could only tighten the new filter maybe 3/4
rotation after the gasket made contact. The instructions say
a full turn, but I couldn't get it any tighter.
So - now the oil sample it in a cup ready to go to Blackstone
Labs. I'll post the results of the oil analysis report when
it comes back.