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1,028 Posts
Greetings!
Well, today, I decided I should learn how to change the oil in the Elise. Read the aricles you all have posted, and decided that using ramps would be the easiest and safest way to work on the car. One of my car enthusiast friends came over, and with a few beers (in him, I don't drink beer) we set about unbolting the engine access panel. It wasn't that bad! We had the thing off in less than ten minutes with both of us using rachet wrenches. The small hex-head bolts were 8mm, fyi. I got five quarts plus a bit extra of Castrol Syntec 5w40 oil, and after stopping by the Toyota dealer, decided the K&N oil filter was better made than the new Toyota filter, (K&N was also three times the price, $15.99) The filter on the car was a grey, Lotus OEM filter, different than the black Toyota version. The oil was black, definitely needed to be changed! Anyway, we hung out, waited for it to drain. Used a new gasket on the drain plug, pre-oiled the new filter and reassembled everything. Wow, what a huge difference! Did a sixteen mile run down to MT Vernon and back, the engine sounds and runs much nicer. (partly due to new plugs installled last night as well) Anyway, now almost ready for summer! And I have to say, this was the easiest oil change I have ever done, much easier than either MINI (R50 and new R56) and even easier than some BMWs I've owned. I can't see ever paying someone to do this.
Thanks for all the fantastic info here, you all are really helping me learn about the Elise! Anyone in the DC area who wants help changing their oil, feel free to ping me, I have ramps, a catch pan, tools, etc.
Well, today, I decided I should learn how to change the oil in the Elise. Read the aricles you all have posted, and decided that using ramps would be the easiest and safest way to work on the car. One of my car enthusiast friends came over, and with a few beers (in him, I don't drink beer) we set about unbolting the engine access panel. It wasn't that bad! We had the thing off in less than ten minutes with both of us using rachet wrenches. The small hex-head bolts were 8mm, fyi. I got five quarts plus a bit extra of Castrol Syntec 5w40 oil, and after stopping by the Toyota dealer, decided the K&N oil filter was better made than the new Toyota filter, (K&N was also three times the price, $15.99) The filter on the car was a grey, Lotus OEM filter, different than the black Toyota version. The oil was black, definitely needed to be changed! Anyway, we hung out, waited for it to drain. Used a new gasket on the drain plug, pre-oiled the new filter and reassembled everything. Wow, what a huge difference! Did a sixteen mile run down to MT Vernon and back, the engine sounds and runs much nicer. (partly due to new plugs installled last night as well) Anyway, now almost ready for summer! And I have to say, this was the easiest oil change I have ever done, much easier than either MINI (R50 and new R56) and even easier than some BMWs I've owned. I can't see ever paying someone to do this.
Thanks for all the fantastic info here, you all are really helping me learn about the Elise! Anyone in the DC area who wants help changing their oil, feel free to ping me, I have ramps, a catch pan, tools, etc.
