Just changed my oil. 3.6L. Writeup review.

Spent $60 on 7 quarts of Mobil 1 5W-30 (I only needed 6 quarts) and a Fram CH8765 oil filter. The oil was a little bit more then I expected, but still better then the $110 quote I got from my dealer.

This can be done on the 3.6L in less then 20 minutes. Just need a 24mm and a 13mm socket.

I started by starting my car and turning the wheel all the way to the left to make it easier to get under the passenger side of the car. After that I got my arms under there and started working on the 13mm drain bolt (it faces right at your face when you put your head under the passenger side door). This was really a BITCH! I only had a 6" extension for my 7.5" long ratchet, so this took some real force to get loose. I am also 6' tall and 200 pounds, there isnt much room to move around or get leverage under there. My last oil change was free from my dealer so I dont know what was used to tighten it, but it was way too tight.

With my drain pan in place, I unscrewed the bolt and out came the old BLACK BLACK BLACK Mobil 1. A lot of people have discussed this oil and that it turns very black pretty quickly, I'm not too sure why it does this.

So, while the old oil is draining I get over to my engine bay and find my oil filter canister (this is directly to the right of the oil filler cap on the right side of the engine cover). I actually didnt even have a 24mm socket for the filter canister, so I used a 15/16 combination wrench, worked fine, there was enough room to get it loose. Once you pull the top of the canister out the old filter will be attached to it. Just pull this filter off and discard it. Cleaned up any old oil on the threading on the canister top, then applied a small amount of new oil on the rubber gaskets of the new filter. These canister style filters can be put in either way, there is no top or bottom to them. Slide the new filter in the top of the canister housing and make sure it is in there snugly, it almost snaps into place. I dont own a torque wrench but if you, the proper torque to apply is 25Nm or 18 lb ft.

By the time I was done with the oil filter, the old oil was just about done dripping out. Once it stopped I cleaned up the drain bolt and the surrounding area and put it back in, again if you have a torque wrench the proper torque is 20Nm or 15 lb ft.

Once the drain bolt was back in I added six (6) quarts of Mobil 1, put the oil filler cap back on and started the car. I let it run a few minutes while I reset the engine oil life in my nav unit. To do this just press your INFO button, scroll to your engine oil life, then press and hold the RESET button. It should reset back to 100% after about 5-10 seconds of holding the button.

After I reset the oil life in my nav unit I got out of the car and checked for any leaks around the oil filter canister seal and at the drain bolt seal. No leaks. Took the car for a spin around the block and rechecked for leaks, no leaks. I let the car sit for about and hour and went back outside to check the dipstick. It was just shy of the top hash mark by about a 1/8".

This write up almost took longer then the actual job! Very simple, nothing to take apart, the old oil does not pour over any of the cars parts. My hands barley even got dirty. Not a drip of oil spilled.

Any able person spending over $100 for a dealer to change their oil is out of their mind. Almost anyone can do this. :thumbsup:









Pictures courtesy of the Cadillac FAQ. For another writeup including the pictures seen here goto http://cadillacfaq.com/faq/answers/36oilchange/index.html