[wdonovan]

Oil quantity from dry requires 3.4 extra quarts. Putting the rear wheels on ramps or jacking the back of the car tilts the oil drain upward (drain is at rear of pan) and maybe keeps and extra quart (or half) in pan. So a normal oil change is possible to only remove 50% of the dirty oil. Anyone ever disconnect the oil cooler lines to empty all the old dirty oil? Especially the first change to synthetic.

 

[toedrag]

This has been asked a few times here, but here's a short answer:

After the break-in period, the dealer should have already changed out the oil to a fully synthetic. This is covered in the Owner's Manual.

Most of the time draining the oil cooler lines is not worth the hassle. The Service Manual lists some details here.

The slope of the car when draining the oil is only an issue if it bothers you. In principle, the car should be as level as possible, but the slight angle of ramps or JS will not leave much residual oil. As long as you're changing warm oil, particles are properly suspended, and a small upward angle of the back end shouldn't be a problem. But, if it really bothers you, jack up the entire car.

 

[Valenz]

... disconnect the oil cooler lines to empty all the old dirty oil? ...

Unless you're really up to the possibility of a lot of grief, don't do it. The flare seals for the hoses to & from the oil cooler(s) are aluminum and they are difficult to get to completely re-seal once they are disconnected. Additionally, refilling those hoses & coolers is not for the faint of heart. That cooling loop is only open when the engine oil temperature is above about 195 ºF. That means unless you refill the cooling loop manually by disconnecting more lines (at the tops of the coolers) or using the PITA bleeder at the filter sandwich, you'll have a few quarts of air run into the engine oil lines when the engine is hot and you'll need to immediately add more oil to the pan when that happens (which doesn't occur at a cold idle).

If you're changing your own oil at that first change to remove the light mineral oil, then you could opt for two or three successive changes within 100 miles of each other, taking care that the engine oil gets hot between changes. You can even add a little STP oil treatment at the first oil change to stabilize the viscosity of any remaining mineral oil at the first change. Otherwise, the oil remaining in the cooling loop is not a big deal.

 

[wdonovan]

Wow I need a nap after just reading about it. I bought the car with 1600 miles. When it reached the dealer it barely had 1000. Doubtful the orig owner had it serviced just to trade it. I won't be cracking the lines after reading this. I'm not a masochist. Maybe I'll change the oil in a few hundred more. Thx all.

 

[RoadDad]

So, did the dealer do the 1000 mile service before you bought it? Did you get any service records with the car? If it wasn't done, you need to have it done (to validate the warranty if it hasn't been too many miles already) or change the oil now.

 

[wdonovan]

So, did the dealer do the 1000 mile service before you bought it? Did you get any service records with the car? If it wasn't done, you need to have it done (to validate the warranty if it hasn't been too many miles already) or change the oil now.

"When it reached the dealer it barely had 1000. Doubtful the orig owner had it serviced just to trade it."

No service records came with car. Like I said I don't think the car was ever serviced which would lead to that condition.

Did the oil change myself. 2 2x6's under each wheel was high enough to do it plus car was flat. Got an filter (per recs on this board) for a "late model Celica GT-S" and although it would fit it was considerably shorter than the filter that came off. Since I am going to change the oil again in a month or 2 (to further reduce the percentage of remaining mineral oil) I replaced the orig filter after dumping its contents. I'll order a couple correct filters (and drain plug washers) in the mean time.

 

[xtn]

My driveway is sloped up. When I back the rear of the car up onto the ramps it becomes nearly level.

xtn

 

[Tracktimeplz]

I always would just jack the front end up, with a couple pucks on the jack to get it higher than the front.....

Why try and open the oil lines, you are asking for a leak

 

[wdonovan]

....Why try and open the oil lines, you are asking for a leak

Well the obvious answer is that it seemed lame to purge only 50% of old dirty, wrong type (mineral) oil and finish up with a cocktail not much better than what you were dumping out. I have since (by this board) been scared off such behavior. I still don't endorse running mixed oil. Neither do many others. Ask around for opinions on mixing different brands of oil. The practical solution is to do another one (or two) changes in a short time. After 3 more changes I should have less than 6% old worn out crap oil in the engine.

 

[RoadDad]

I bought the car with 1600 miles. When it reached the dealer it barely had 1000. Doubtful the orig owner had it serviced just to trade it.

"When it reached the dealer it barely had 1000. Doubtful the orig owner had it serviced just to trade it."

Yes, I read that. However you purchased the car with 1600 miles. That means that someone put 600+ more miles on it before you purchased it. If it was a Lotus dealer they may have, knowing the car required the 1000 mile service, done the ECU dump and service prior to driving those other miles or selling the car. That is why I asked.

So the dealer, test drivers or a second owner flogged the car for another 600 miles and the Lotus required 1st service was never done. I assume then that you did not purchase this from a Lotus dealer's used inventory?

No service records came with car. Like I said I don't think the car was ever serviced which would lead to that condition.

I assume that "No service records" also means that an ECU dump was never done and sent to Lotus? And what you said was "Doubtful the orig owner had it serviced..." not that it was never serviced.

I believe you now have a car without a warranty.

Good luck to you.

 

[RWLott]

oil change

Oil quantity from dry requires 3.4 extra quarts. Putting the rear wheels on ramps or jacking the back of the car tilts the oil drain upward (drain is at rear of pan) and maybe keeps and extra quart (or half) in pan. So a normal oil change is possible to only remove 50% of the dirty oil. Anyone ever disconnect the oil cooler lines to empty all the old dirty oil? Especially the first change to synthetic.

All I know is when I back the car onto the ramps I made, drain the oil, and replace with 4.7 quarts, the dip stick shows full. I do this every 3000 miles whether it needs it or not. 24,000 trouble free miles and counting.

 

[wdonovan]

Yes roaddad. Car came from a used exotics dealer, not Lotus. Sorry for miscommunicating. The dealer put a few hundred on it himself. I'm sure they did not service it and if there was a Lotus service (not likely cuz of the distance) it was not mentioned. No dump, no oil change, no nothing. I have over 2200 mi now.

Your take is that Lotus will tear up the warranty on the car?

 

[andykeck]

Your take is that Lotus will tear up the warranty on the car?

One of the warranty requirements is an ECU dump indicating proper break-in. This is to be done at the 1K service. The dealer sends the data to LCU and that's it. If this didn't happen, maybe your warranty is invalidated or maybe you'll have a battle on your hands or maybe you just need to take care of the dump now and they'll let it slide. Hard to say without making a few phone calls with the specifics.

 

[David Craig]

My driveway is sloped up. When I back the rear of the car up onto the ramps it becomes nearly level.

xtn

Hey, nice trick. That should work on my driveway too.