May sound like a stupid question. Finally got around to my first oil change. Does anyone have a problem draining all the oil out? It only seems to drain out about a 1.5 to 2 quarts. Manual says it takes 3.3 quarts. I tried to loosen the bleed screw. Forget it! That screw is so tight it is starting to strip. Wondering if the previous owner overtightened it. Also the red light is on and won't shut off. I tried tipping it up and to the side. Got a little more out. Repeated the process and drained it again. I've never had a problem with an oil change on any vehicle but this thing was a bitch!!! Any tips or tricks is appreciated.

 

most of the oil is in the oil tank under the hood, with only about a quart or less that comes out the crankcase. It does indeed take almost 4 quarts to fill, if you didn't get that much out then it must have been low.

the screw behind the filter you speak of is for priming the system, this is usually not needed, but if you do an oil change and then the red light will not go out upon starting, it needs primed. You simply remove the screw until gravity allows oil to flow from its hole, and its primed. Don't strip it, use an impact driver to brake it free - one sharp blow will do it - and then don't overtorque it when reinstalling.


for future oil changes, you can get a stainless steel ball valve from the hadware store and install in place of the drain plug under the tank, and when its time to drain you can screw a hose barb with a foot of hose on it into the valve and then open it. drain the oil down the hose right into a jug or pan. when done, remove the barb and install the plug in the valve to keep dirt and grit out of the valve. makes it all slick easy and mess free.

 

Thanks. That was it. Worked great. Learned the hard way. Now I have to get more oil. I guess I need the shop manual.