1995 BMW M3-Avus Blue hey peeps, i was just wondering if i could change my own oil...for an M car...is it any different from regular cars or what? another thing. what type of oil should i use? i've heard a lot about fully synthetic. but which one?

Changing your own oil is so easy that you'll wonder why you ever let anyone else do it. Check this link:

http://www.logun.org/oil.htm

WOW, nice link...gives me all the info. i needed, thanks MUCH!~

Although my car is a little different, the procedure is almost exactly the same. I just changed the oil on my car for the first time, and I was really surprised how easy it was.

I would suggest getting a pair of Rhino Ramps to drive the car up on. This makes it extremely easy to get under the car.

Changing your oil is not only a good money saver, but you also get to see a side of your car that you never see otherwise. This is a good thing for safety reasons.

For example, I changed my oil before inspection II or whatever, and noticed a power steering leak. When the dealer did the inspection II (minus the oil and spark plugs,) they neglected to notice the steering leak. The ONLY way I would have known there was a problem was by being under the car. (Incidentially, they tried to blame me for missing it, saying when I do some of the stuff myself, it decreases the accuracy of their inspection.)

All you need is two metric wenches and a floor jack and a jack stand.

I would not suggest the ramps. I have had bad experiences with them, and they will not fit under an M3 in my case. Jack up the drivers side of the car enough to slip a jack stand under a safe spot, and you can slide under from the front and reach the drain bolt real easy. If you jack the divers, side, the car is leaning toward the drain plug. If the wheel is just about off the ground, you should have room to slide in from the front. It's a LOT less hassle than getting both front wheels 10 inches off the ground. Plus, with a floor jack, you can change the filter while the oil is draining -- easier than you can with ramps.

Just make sure you don't get agressive about the drain plug and strip it. The torque spec is something like 20??? pounds or so. Just a twee bit past snug seems to hold fine.

JO

P.S.

By the way, when you get done with your oil change, get about 3 feet of copper wire and ground pin 7 of your computer interlink thingy to the chasis for about 5 or 10 seconds with the key in the "almost start" position. (when the check engine light is on) This will reset your service lights, if applicable. You can find plenty of posts on this technique, and you do not need to "build" this reset device or anything anal like that. 3 feet of copper wire will give you a tremendous sense of freedom from dealer predation.

Rhino ramps fit fine under a stock M3. And even with my H&R coilovers, I just need to drive up on two short pieces of 2x4 to get my front lip to clear. I think they're $20 at Autozone, and they're short enough so you can still reach the oil filter. Much easier than jacking and dealing with jackstands.

its SOO easy and fun to do..
youll wonder why you paid to get it done..
my friend STILL refuses to change his oil on his 530 because
"its cheaper to get it changed"
but they arnt using mobil 1 most likly!
hes like theres no diffrence!
my face fell to floor becuase you accually do feel a diffrence!

i cant wait to try amsoil

thanks for the feedback guys. i will change my own oil this weekend. i'll probably go get one of those ramps, don't feel like bugging the jackstands. LOL. anyhow thanks!~ which brand would be good? MOBIL 1, ever heard of NEO synthetic?

Or just get an oil extractor. It makes oil changes almost too easy, and for all those out there who think you don't drain the pan, most dealerships use oil extractor now. It's faster, cleaner, and avoids people coming back saying, "you guys stripped my drain plug."

so tell me about this oil extractor. Any links to the actual product? HOw does it work? Does this mean you dont even need to get the front of the car up and remove the drain plug?

Just make sure if you're using like 15 qts of oil, then you probably dumped the oil into the radiator.:biglaughb :biglaughb

As you already found out, it's super easy to do and will save you a ton since synthetic oil costs a lot. Good Luck.

what kind of car do you have and what is the milage. if youre car has a lot of miles the you should use a higher viscosity oil. i have 80,000mls and use 20w-50. i also heard there is a mobile one high viscosicity syntheic oil that is coming out or just came out.

Hi,
Changing the oil is one of the most important and also easy thing to do. We have a short note on it on our site. Please feel free to check it out http://www.bimmerzone.com/motoroil.htm
Have fun changing your oil and save $$$