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How to change your own oil (with pictures)

106K views 65 replies 44 participants last post by  CaddyRum 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
~Writeup originally posted by louiefl99

Click here for All Wheel Drive

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In an effort to reduce engine noise Cadillac has added a shroud under the engine and revised the one over the top of the engine. Both of these need to be removed in order to access the filter on top and the drain plug below.

From under the hood, unscrew the oil filler cap and then wiggle the shroud – you will notice something is holding the left side intact. Pull the left side straight up about 2 inches to release. Next slide the top shroud forward until it clears the strut tower cross brace. The picture shows it upside down, the two lugs on the rear are visible at the bottom of the picture as is the conical seat in the upper left for the latch, and the oil filler hole on the right.



At this point you might want to replace the filler cap in case you drop a socket. This should take all of 60 seconds to do.


The bottom shroud is held by three push pins accessed from the front bumper and four screws (two each side) accessed from behind each front tire. The screws are shown in the picture for a visual aid, but they are not captive and will fall when released. Remove all 4 screws using a 10 mm nut driver – the shroud will not drop as there are two plastic clips (the rectangular holes between the two screws) that will hold the weight of the shroud.

Reaching under the front bumper, wiggle the shroud and you will see that there are three push pins holding the shroud as is shown by the arrows on the silver duct tape. Only remove these as there are other push pins for other components. The push pins have two slots, one under the head and one between the pin and the shroud. Rotate the push pin until you can see the one under the head. Using a small flat bladed screwdriver, gently twist the blade until the head pulls away enough to grab it and then pull down. The head will pop out about a half inch (or all the way if you pull hard enough) and then remove the body. These are reusable if you pull the head straight out of the body.





To reassemble, I slid a 12-pack box under the shroud, installed the screws hand tight and then slid in the push pins. I went back and tightened the 4 screws using a nut driver. Removal was about 10 minutes to do this the first time, but the next time I could have all the shrouds removed in less than 5. Putting it back together took 2 minutes. Best part is that you do not have to jack up the car to do this.

Here are a couple pictures with the engine top shroud removed. The picture with the element visible is resting on the housing, the other picture show it fully installed.




If you can change your own oil, removing the shroud isn’t that hard; understanding how to get the push pins apart was my biggest challenge. Good luck!
 
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#3 ·
Yes, instructions to reset the oil life indicator are in your owners manual.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Here are some step by step instructions mostly from the manual...with some info I added, like tools and what size sockets to use.

Tools required: paper towels, oil funnel, 6 point 24mm socket, 15mm socket, 10mm socket, socket driver, Nm / inch pound torque wrench, 1/2” to 3/8” socket adaptor*, small & medium flat blade screw drivers (or other suitable tool to remove push pin), floor jack, 2 jack stands.
1. Remove oil fill cap, place paper towel in filler neck
2. Disengage the engine cover/shield from the ball studs by pulling up firmly on the right and left front of the engine cover
a. Pull the cover forward and off to remove from the rear tabs
3. Remove the oil filter cap with a 6 point 24mm socket
4. Remove and discard the oil filter cartridge
5. Raise and support the vehicle see note 1
a. Use a low profile floor jack with a hockey puck in the jack cradle
b. Lift vehicle from side just past the front fender
c. Place jack cradle under frame rail just behind a round punched out circle
d. Raise enough to create a comfortable work space under engine
e. Place jack stand under frame rail just ahead of punched out circle
f. Slowly lower jack
g. Repeat for other side
6. Remove lower under engine cover
a. Remove 3 of the 4 bolts with a 10mm socket, loosen 4th but do not remove
b. Remove push pin at front of shield
i. Note my 2009 only has one pin not 3
ii. Find notch on pin flange
iii. With a small flat blade screw driver push in while pulling down on the pin base
iv. Pull entire push pin assembly out when the center pin is down
c. Hold shield up with one hand while removing loose 4th bolt
d. Remove shield
7. Place a suitable drain below the oil drain plug
8. Remove oil pan drain plug with 15mm socket
9. Allow oil to drain completely
10. Install oil pan drain plug and new o-ring seal see note 2, Tighten to 20 Nm (15 lb ft) see note 3
11. Lower vehicle
12. Install new oil filter cartridge
13. Lubricate oil filter cap threads with clean engine oil
14. Install oil filter cap, tighten see note 4 to 25 Nm (18 lb in) see note 3
15. Pull paper towel from oil filler neck and fill with 6 quarts of Mobil 1
16. Replace engine cover
a. Raise front of cover while inserting the rear tabs
b. Lower the front edge of cover and slide rearward so that the rear tabs slide under the retainers
c. Align the cover over the oil fill tube
d. Press cover down firmly on the ball stud at the right front corner
17. Replace oil filler cap
Note1 as previously shown it is possible to drain without lifting vehicle
Note2 IMHO not necessary for every oil change
Note3 instructions in step 10 & 14 state torque specs as 20 Nm – 15 lb ft and 25 Nm – 18 lb in. this appears to be an error, as one states foot pounds and the other inch pounds
Note4 instructions highlight this spec to be important to follow
*tools note: a Nm / inch pound torque wrench is a 3/8” drive but the 24mm socket is a ½” drive, thus the need for the adaptor
 
#7 ·
You might want to add that since the drain plug is at the right rear of the oil pan it's best to drive the car up on ramps and even better if the left ramp is a little higher than the right so as much of the old oil drains out as possible. Also the drain plug takes a 15mm socket, the oil filter a 24mm with about a foot of extensions and maybe a breaker bar since it can be tight.
 
#42 ·
Watch out on this. I broke a filter cover in two because it was too tight on my wife's 2005 CTS. That oil change ended up costing me $350. The dealer recommends using an impact driver (sort of a drill with a socket on it) if its tight because it is very easy to misalign the force applied across a long breaker bar and just snap off that cover!
 
#8 ·
I use a Griot's Garage fluid extractor and suck the old oil out thru the dipstick tube. No jacks, no ramps, no removing drain plugs, no crawling under the car at all. Takes about 15 minutes including the filter change!:cool2:
 
#10 ·
GM Service Manual states that the tightening torque spec for the oil filter cap, and the drain plug are both 25 Nm / 18 lb-ft.

Also, the service manual states that lubrication must be applied to the threads of the oil filter cap prior to installation. Failure to lubricate the oil filter cap threads can hinder later removal and cause possible oil filter cap damage.
 
#11 ·
The new style drain plugs GM is using are pretty neat. No need for a separate washer, they have a built-in rubber seal that should stop leaks better than a metal gasket.

The oil filter cap has a thin o-ring that I assume is reusable as the filter doesn't include one. You need to oil that so it won't bind and tear as you screw the cap down. The seal isn't made by compressing down the o-ring, so as long as it's snug, it won't leak.
 
#16 ·
6000 kms (3750 miles) is way too soon. Depending on the oil used, every year or 16,250 kms (10,000 miles) is more than sufficient.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I tried ramps but the front air dam of the car is so low, it just pushes them. Do you have a lowered version?
This has been making me crazy. I have an old fashioned garage jack but I haven't seen anywhere underneath I am positive is a "Jacking" pad. With most cars it is VERY obvious.

I have a copy of the technical manuals and the simplest one appears to be missing. Everything refers to: "See: Maintenance\Vehicle Lifting\Service and Repair" and I have been unable to find it. The owners manual just shows the jacking locations for the spare tire jack.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks all.
 
#35 ·
Ok I feel a bit like a dumbass since I know my way around a car, but I cant seem to find the oil drain plug ?
Ive got an 08', and crawled around under the car looking for the plug, and its no where to be found. The pictures that are attached are not the same bottom end as what i see ?
Long story short, I dont see anything that would be a definate drain plug ??????

Any help would be appreciated.
 
#37 ·
I watch mechanics do most of my oil changes - just had one done today - 08 CTS RWD. Never saw the mechanic remove any shroud underneath the car. Drain plug was fully accessable.

Curious that oil was also drained and plug reinstalled and then filter was removed/replaced. I realize that filter sits upright on top so I guess oil naturally drains out completely when drain plug is removed. Not like the old style - upside down filter installs.

Didnt see him take the upper shroud out either - must have just moved it slightly to gain full access to filter - but maybe not. Not sure.
 
#39 ·
I had an idea to make oil changes easier. As we know the filter is easily accessible, but the drain plug is a lot more effort. How about installing a Fumoto valve on the drain plug - the one with the hose (http://www.qwikvalve.com/). Make a small hole for the hose to permanently hang down a couple of inches. Then make another cutout big enough to reach in with your hand to work the valve. Save the cutout and put some kind of hinge-type mechanism (perhaps just some stiff rubber) to make it a clean install.

Does this sound like it will work? I've only just got my 2nd gen CTS and have not done an oil change on it. Comments?

BTW, I'm not looking for comments on the merits of the Fumoto valve itself (I know some people don't trust them).

-GT
 
#40 ·
has anyone else have any luck with the fluid extractor? or perhaps can also vouch for "griots garage fluid extractor" ... it feels kinda iffy if one person tired it and it works while others say it doesnt. checked out prices for griots and its about $100 shipped, a little too expensive to try out for an experiment.
 
#59 ·
My 2 cents on the fluid extractor. I recently changed my oil with an extractor that I picked up from West Marine
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product1_11151_10001_313820_-1?icid=HF3_8 about - about $80.00

Someone else posted that they had problems about the line not getting into the crankcase. I had that same problem as the hard plastic lines it comes with are not flexible enough to navigate a hard corner in the dipstick tube. I picked up some smaller diameter vinyl tubing that was able to navigate the corner and get into the crankcase. The diameter of the line was very small and the extraction took a few hours but at the end I was satisfied that the extractor had done its job.

So it can and does work - things to look out for:
The tubing I picked up is only good to 125 degrees. So if the car is hot the lines may melt. If you can find some higher performance tubing, may not be an issue or you can just do it the first thing in the morning.

The extraction was very slow. It may have been due to the diameter of the tubing that I was using but it took over 5 hours for the vacuum to complete
 
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