Hopefully this will help other members who have been looking for a DIY oil change guide (and I apologize if one exists but I could not find a detailed one).

Oil Change Parts Required:

• Oil Filter - Part Detail
• Oil Pan - Walmart
• Oil (5W-20) -
  Amazon.com: Royal Purple Street Synthetic Motor Oil - SAE 5w30, Quart Bottle, Pack of 12: Automotive
  Amazon.com: Royal Purple Street Synthetic Motor Oil - SAE 5w30, Quart Bottle, Pack of 12: Automotive
• Saturn Sky Red Line - Saturn | 2009 Saturn SKY Roadster | Luxury Convertible | Saturn Sky

Oil Change Parts/Tools Optional:

• Fumoto Oil Plug Drain Valves (HIGHLY recommended) - Qwik*Valve*::*Search*results
• Funnel
• Socket Wrench with 5/8" Hex Socket
• Socket Wrench with 11/4" Socket (32mm)
• Socket Wrench Extender
• Socket Wrench Pivot Joint
• Race Ramps - 56" Ramps - Car Ramps | Get your Car Up 8"! | Race Ramps, your best solution for Lightweight Low Profile Car Ramps!
• Chock Blocks
• Gloves
• BEvERage

Procedure:

Step 1:
Lay out race ramps on smooth even surface (sweep away any rocks or debris).
Drive up to the ramps, check to ensure even approach and readjust if needed.
Drive onto ramps put car in park and use the E-brake.
Insert Chock Blocks behind wheels (as shown in Figure 1).
Lay out all needed tools/parts nearby.

Figure 1



Step 2:
Pop Hood
From underneath the car locate the oil drain plug. (The plug is 5/8" Hex nut about 1 inch long). See Figure 2 for reference:
Figure 2



Position oil pan such that one edge is directly below plug and other edge is as close to passenger front tire as possible. The oil will shoot out this way once plug is fully removed. You want to avoid Figure 3 as it is no fun...trust me. This is why I suggest the Fumoto's. The next oil change (now that Fumoto's are installed) should not induce Figure 3.
Figure 3



IF Figure 3 happens to you, don't get frustrated you have a Fumoto now (hopefully) for next time. Proceed to your BEvERage and take a break.
Now that your oil pan is positioned in the correct location (cross fingers) use your socket wrench with 5/8" socket to remove the hex nut.CAUTION* Oil WILL be hot. (Suggest using a glove for this part)
Proceed back to your BEvERage while the oil drains (5 minutes or so).
*e-sarge tip: Move the oil pan closer to the drain with the help of some cinder blocks or wood. This will help to avoid Figure 3.

Step 3:
Locate the oil filter under the hood (see Figure 4).
Figure 4:



Using your larger socket wrench with pivot joint and extender place a 1 1/4" 12 pt (or hex) socket on the oil filter hex nut. Remove oil filter housing (righty tighty lefty loosie) as show in Figure 5.
Figure 5:



Remove oil filter cartridge once loose. (CAUTION ENGINE PARTS WILL BE HOT PLEASE USE A GLOVE)
Replace oil filter with new one as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6:

*e-sarge tip: Have a shop towel handy to catch and oil drops from falling down when removing the cartridge.
*e-sarge tip: Change the o-ring if existing o-ring is damaged or worn, be sure to lubricate the new ring if replacing.



Insert cartridge back into housing, remember that glove and tighten with socket wrench.

Step 4:
Once new cartridge is installed the oil should be done draining.
Install Fumoto Oil Plug Drain Valve as shown in Figures 7 and 8. (Or oil plug if you choose not to use the Fumoto)
Figure 7:



Figure 8:



Tighten plug/drain valve with socket wrench (for oil plug) or crescent wrench (for Fumoto).
Proceed to step 5.

*e-sarge tip: Lubricate and clean the rubber washer on oil plug before reinserting.

Step 5:
Remove oil fill cap as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9:



Fill with 5 qt's of quality 5W-30 oil (I recommend Royal Purple).
I find the best technique is to use a hand to hold a funnel and the other to pour since the funnel will not fit into the hole (metal deflector in the way).
Figure 10:



Replace cap and proceed to final step.

Step 6: Resetting the Oil Life
Turn key to ACC - engine should be off, everything else on.
Hold the INFO and RESET button until ENGINE OIL RESET appears. Hit the RESET button (may have to hold a second or two).
ACKNOWLEDGED should be displayed indicating the oil life has been reset.
Engine oil should now read 100%.
Oil Change Complete.



Thank you all for reading. Hopefully this helps out with changing your own oil.
Feel free to add advice/tips/tricks or PM me errors in this procedure.
This was my first time ever changing my own oil (in any vehicle).

Unless you are using one of the following listed oils, you may have warranty issues.

http://www.gm.com/corporate/responsi...ngine_oils.pdf

Royal Purple is not one of them. Make sure you save all your oil receipts!

Walmart SuperTech is approved and they are going to tell me my warranty is void for using Royal Purple.....not likely.

But thank you for the list.

You are very welcome. I only say this because I just spent two weeks battling with them regarding this very matter. As long as you are ready to battle, it's all good!

Ouch I hope you won. Receipts are hardly proof of purchase and/or installation.
I can easily order Mobil 1 via any retailer, get the receipt, cancel or return the product.

In any case I do have a question, do you fill the oil filter with oil at all or is this not really needed after taking the oil one out. I heard it helps ensure full lubrication but I wouldn't think it would take long to fill up if left empty.

Kare, Thank You for the List......

I love the graphics in the first photo with all the details!

That is fantastic !!

I have done my own oil changes for the last 30 years and I still feel a sense of pride and knowing it was done right is even better!

Your pictures with details are awesome for the beginner or even someone like myself as I had never heard of that fumoto thingy

Where did you purchase your "fumoto" from .... and also the race ramps are pretty slick... where did you purchase those from too?

Thanks!

Hey thanks!
The parts description near the top has direct links to where I purchased those items. I just added a link for the race ramps (Fumoto link is still there too). These are not necessarily the cheapest place to purchase the items from but at the time it was the best I could find.

Let me know if the links don't work for you.

Also, with the Sky's front tire fairly close to the bumper nose I am almost certain that regular Rhino Ramps would work fine (15 bucks vs 200). I have Race Ramps for my lower profile RX-8 and so I just use them for all my cars.

Install the new oil filter dry.

1) I love pic #3... I laughed so hard I thought my spleen was going to pop out of my side..... oh, wait, it did.. OUCH!

2) There's another post on this list that discusses oil and it came down to meeting oil specification criteria rather than manufacturer. I personally use the Royal Purple.

3) I use rhino ramps as well and once on the rhinos, I put a floor jack under the pumpkin and lift the rear so the car is level.

4) Thanks to Are-Ex-Eight for the comprehensive oil change instructional. Good job my man!

5) Well, the wife found my spleen and it's fine She just blew the dirt off and reinstalled using a torx allen wrench.

Great pics. Thanks for the effort.

And now, the safety guru in me....I was a safety officer 24 yrs ago, and I never got over it....do I detect a ring on finger in Fig 10?

Haha yes it is a wedding ring.

A few minor suggestions to add to your already fantastic write-up:

• Raise your oil catch pan closer to the drain plug using cinder blocks, wood, etc. to avoid the mess on the driveway. The closer you get it to the drain plug, the less possibility for the oil to miss the catch pan. I learned this one the hard way too.
• Ensure the area around the filter lid is clean before removing the filter. This is to avoid any dirt from falling into the open filter cavity (dirt in the engine) or the area where the o-ring seats (causing an oil leak).
• Have a clean paper shop towel in your other hand when you remove the old filter from the engine to catch the last few drops of oil that always want to spill on the power brake components before you can safely stow the filter in a proper container (I usually use a zip-lock bag).
• Change the o-ring on the filter lid if your filter comes with a new ring (my most recent Fram filter did).
• Clean the oil filter cap and lubricate the o-ring with some of the new oil (just dip your finger in the new oil and wipe it on the o-ring). This will help it to condition the o-ring and help it seal better with the machined surface on the engine block.
• Clean the oil drain plug and lubricate the rubber washer with a drop of new oil as well. This helps keep the rubber in good condition and forms a better seal with the engine oil pan.

Also, your question about filling the oil filter -- SkyVue2 has the right answer. That technique was sometimes recommended for engines with the old metal cannister style filters. I'm not sure of the exact rationale, but probably something like avoiding a possible air block, or maybe ensuring oil gets to the engine faster during the first start-up after the oil change. In any case, filling your Kappa filter with oil would make a big mess. Filling the filter cavity in the engine would just run down into the engine block.