Well I used to, but then I got lazy and started taking my cars to Jiffy Lube. But recently I thought I would go back to changing my own oil starting with the 240Z. So I went and bought a hydraulic jack and a pair of jackstands. Got the Z jacked-up, got underneath and couldn't get the oil plug unscrewed for anything! A damned gorilla must have put it on. I even banged up my thumb in the process. And I'm thinking maybe Jiffy Lube is not such a bad idea afterall.....and I'm not gonna lie, I'm not real crazy about being under a jacked-up car...

So I was just curious...who here does all their own maintenance? is it even worthwhile to change your own oil anymore?.....do you really save that much $$ or time? Or is it always better to do your own maintenance....

 

well, for what you would normally pay at jiffy lube or equivalent for oil and filter, I can afford to put synthetic and a quality filter of my choice on the car.

 

no mechanic has or ever will touch my car, except for a machinist

 

all my work myself, and dude, my buddy has worked at jiffy lube for over a year is now assistant manager, they are all stoner kids working there that dont know dick about cars sept him since he goes to UTI. i wouldnt trust jiffy lube with anyone else's car let alone mine.

 

I do my own maintenance on my Z. If I don't know how, to do something, I ask here. Or learn about it in my manuals. There is a certain pride of doing it yourself. And if your drain plug is on that tight. It is their fault, it should never be that tight. Only like 10 foot lbs or so. Snug but not tight.

 

I agree with you guys. I wanna do everything myself.....but I lack patience and get frustrated easy. This oil plug situation pisses me off....you're right WildmaN, it shouldn't be that tight....a Jiffy Lube type place did it the last time and I don't know why they put it on so tight, its almost like they don't want you to do it yourself. Well, I'm gonna try again tomorrow....my brother used to be a mechanic so maybe he'll help get it off. And I agree there is a certain satisfaction to doing all the maintenace yourself...

 

time to whip out the breaker bar....

(or cheater bar but you didn't hear that from me )

 

I do all my own maintenance because i love doing it, they even put me in charge of all the company trucks at work. Like everyone said theres a certain pride in doing it urself and knowing its done right. The only thing any of my vehicles have been to the shop for is paint, wheel alignments, and and exhaust. hell i even mount my own tires......

 

i do no longer go to jl because they air wrench the drain plugs................i look for bargain dayz at my local z repair place--they give specials on lube and oil periodically, and i try to catch those........

 

I do my own oil changes as well... along with everything else. The oil drain plug has a copper seal that likes to get stuck if the car hasn't been used in a while or was pretty hot and then left for a while I've noticed. Use "the persuader" as we call it to help ya out.

As for time and money... I can change my oil without even jacking the car up ... it's tough but hell if you're planning on only taking a few minutes there ya go. I usually use a jack though. And I have found it's much cheaper, especially over time.

Also, you're less likely to f8ck up, especially because it's your car. Even if you do, you can only kick yourself and not have to deal with getting it fixed with someone else's money (if that makes sense)

 

I second that. A friend of mine is one of those shift managers and I hear all the horror stories about the idiots he has to hire there. They couldn't get a job at McDonalds becaue they dont' bathe, so they work at Jiffy Lube. I would never take my car there. Especially not a 350Z. I shure hope you don't take that car in for oil changes.
Buy a supply of those crush washers. The last guy that put that oil drain plug on probably did not replace the crush washer so he had to tighten that thing down like that to keep it from leaking.

 

Make sure you are going COUNTER-CLOCKWISE....

I do 99% of my own work and that includes oil changes...when you do it yourself then you know how it is put back together and for me it is easier to trust my own work...do you think "Jiffy Lube" is going to take the time to clean off the oil from the pan and the plug before it goes back in? You already know the plug can be overtightened. Read, ask questions, get a buddy to help you do stuff...that's why I make friends...so I can use them J/K

Hell, I just swapped a CAI, an injector and totally removed and fixed my shifter myself and put it all back together...works perfect, and now I know how to disassemble it if it needs fixin again...but since I did it myself, the chances of it breaking are slim to none...I made sure to do it right...something I would not have been sure of if someone else did it.

 

Great advice everyone. Well with help from my mechanic brother, I got the drain plug removed....and Bleach, you're right, there was no crush washer. My bro said that plug was on WAAAAY too tight.

Yeah, I'm trying to get more in tha habit of doing as much of the maintenance I can myself.....and since its your car, you actually care about how its maintained- unlike the 'Jiffy Lube' guys- so you're definitely gonna do a better job. And none of it is that hard if you just take your time and have some patience (& a Haynes manual)...then the next time you perform that task, its a breeze.

 

also jiffy lubes policies they use impact guns to install oil drain plugs, it will strip them eventually if they arent already. i change all my own oil, maybe its cause im a mechanic.

 

I definitely do my own maintenance...as much as I can. For a start, you can never tell what crap they are putting in your engine.

 

Bleach, I generally take the 350Z to the dealership for most maintenance. I'd like to change the oil myself but I would probably have to invest in some racing ramps because the car has a lowered suspension and a bodykit...theres not enough clearance for Rhino ramps....and I really want to even deal with jack stands for this car. The d'ship is actually pretty reasonable and I'm friends with the service manager. Still, I really want to eventually start doing everything myself...

 

I do everything possible myself (ok, ok, with help from you folks) and I have a mechanic friend who just sold his 83 280zx non-turbo, so he does whatever WE (me and yall) dont have time to do. But I have another buddy who changes my oil, balances and rotates my tires for $30. Most places in town want $30 just to balance 4 tires.
I trust both these guys or I would be in a mess, and you guys would be so sick and tired of my questions, you would put me on your IGNORE list.
My parts are gotten at a decent price, cause i grew up with a friend whose dad owns the Datsun dealership, so parts at a good price is not a problem, even though i try not to wear out my welcome. I just remind him that i still remember all the stuff we did to those Z cars and Jeeps as teenagers on the weekends. Blackmail, but it works. LOL!!!

 

you can drive teh car up on 2X4's to get it a few inches higher to fit a jack under it.

 

a 2x4 is 1.5 inches tall. I doubt he has 1.5" of ground clearance!

 

i think he would. 1.5 inches from teh ground isnt that much. you can also make it progressive, like a small stair case of wood.

 

Yeah theres about 5" clearance in the front, so thats a possibility. Or I could just staddle it across a ditch in my mom's front yard to get under it....that worked for the 240Z yesterday....

 

i have 3 5/8 of ground clearance from the floor boards to the ground..

 

i have to use 2x4s to get the jack under my z32. there, thats one thing i liked better about my z31, i could fit under it without a jack.

 

i have to drive on too ba fers to get a jack under my car

 

Most of the time the factory scissor jack works fine on my car and it fits under the side with no problem. That would work on a 240Z too.
350Z's probably dont' have the same type of body design