How To Change The Oil On Your Ford Focus and Avoid "The Fear"
Sunday, Feb. 02, 2003

For those of you who have researched it on the internet and are now scared to change the oil in your Ford Focus with the Zetec engine, fear not, young padawan, tis easy.

Well, that is, once I got it worked out.

The fear grips you when you read a post in alt.cars.ford.focus, or whatever it is. Some dude says, �Oh, no. I�m so dumb I cannot change my oil without getting oil all over me. The Ford Focus is a oil menace, spewing oil in all directions.� Well, it�s not the case.

And another, different fear grips you when you look to try to find the oil filter. If you want to know where it is, get your eye next to the passenger wheel. Specifically, put your eye at the back, bottom point of the fender hole for the wheel. Now, look into the engine. See it? Yes. Now, can you reach that? Yes, you can, if you have the gusto.

Aisai�s car is now running some cheap (for synthetic) Havoline 7.5w30 synthetic. Really it was supposed to be 5w30, but I accidentally picked up two 10w30 and didn�t notice. I did two quarts of each and the leftover one, as it didn�t need any after the four quarts, is a 5w30.

So�How to�

Find the jacking points. Get a real jack. Get a piece of wood so your jack doesn�t damage the jacking points. Jack up one side of the front with the wood between the jack and the jacking point. Make sure to have it far enough over that the jack stand can get in on part of the jacking point. Hopefully, right under that bolt. Lower side onto jackstand. Rinse. Repeat. (Actually, just repeat for the other side.)

Now, in this case, you�d have to use jackstands (or ramps) since you�re doing both sides. I always use jackstands. Although it�s true that only one of my high school friend�s parents died from being crushed by a car when the jack let go.

Ok, car�s up. Oh, and you did drive it a little to make sure the engine was warm. I like to have the engine cold and then drive three miles. Heats up the oil but the engine isn�t scalding or anything.

Open the oil filler cap. It�s the one on top of your engine. Look in. Pretty. See the pretty flowers.

Get a 11mm socket (or wrench if you�re a glutton for punishment). Get under the car so you can get to that oil drain plug. Put your oil drain pan (capable of holding at least 5 quarts) under the thing. Remember, it�ll arc toward the back. I highly suggest not getting the tiny oil drain pan. I also use a rug that has fallen out of favor (it�s a leaf motif) to catch errant oil drops. Now�open that drain plug. Just let the plug fall onto the oil drain pan. They�re made so it can�t fall down the holes (or you better have made sure).

Drain drain drain. So fun, la la.

Now, the fun part. Get that filter off.

The previous owner had a Fram (aka piece of crap) filter which happened to fit the filter wrench socket type thing that my 323 used. It�s not like I found this out first. There was much Three Stooges-ness before. But suffice it to say that if you have one and a ratchet�

Put the engine so you have power but it isn�t cranked. Turn the wheel all the way to the left. I actually did this earlier, but forgot to mention it. Now, you can �hug� the tire and get your arm in there. Ta-da. That�s how you take it off.

Be of good cheer, however. I know your filter is on gorilla tight due to the oil change guys having no respect for you. However, you�ll put it on the correct tightness and be able to get it off fairly easily next time.

Ook, you�ve got the filter off. But�but�it won�t fit back through the hole you stuck your hand through. Good thing there�s an oil drain pan down there. Drop it and the wrench. Plop. Oops, it missed the drain pan. Thank goodness for Simple Green (though it will leave a clean spot on the ground).

Now, put the drain plug back in. There is a torque specification for it. But unless you gorilla it, you�ll never get it as tight as those freaks at the oil change place do it. What do they have, an air wrench? You may want to wipe up all the oil that the filter dropped on stuff and the underside of the oil pan.

�But I can�t reach that.� You say.

Oh, I forgot to mention. Get under that car, bubby. U-N-der!

Now, you�ve taken some new oil and lubed up that rubber seal on the new filter (Purolator PureOne if you love your car) put it on. If you�re under the car, as instructed, it�s no problemo. However, the fear will take you if you stay under there too long. I had Aisai sacrifice a rubber kitchen grippy thing to the Garage God for me so I could get it tight enough.

Note: This is normal hand tight. Not granny hand tight or Heman hand tight. When you�re doing it, think �How tight would Joe Sixpack make this?� and then make it like his smarter brother would do it.

Finished. Except the oil.

If you really, really love your car, you got Mobil 1 5w30. But we don�t really love (Ok, maybe agape or storge, but not philios or eros) the car that much so it�s Havoline synthetic which costs only $3.50 per quart. Oh, and if you don�t love it much, I guess it�s Castrol GTX. And if you hate it, cheap Wal-Mart brand. But hey, why not just kill yourself and do your car a favor if that�s the case.

The Zetec takes 4.5 quarts. So put four in. Cap back on. Start car and let run for about a minute [edited to add: implied, and then turn it off]. Go get favorite beverage. Drink 4 oz slowly. Check dipstick. Is it low? No? Good. Yes? Add a little oil.

Don�t overfill.

Aah, now you can beat your chest like an ape, since you are King of the Jungle. You�re changed your own oil. Feel free to humor the neighbor who just bought an X-box and then go inside to play on your Playstation. That is if your wife will stop playing The Sims at some point.

I�ve also done how to jump start a car. If you use google and search for �stuffo jump start� I�m sure it�ll pop up.

Note: That oil can be recycled, too. Many garages are required by local law to accept it.

Love,

Postwood

p.s. Yeah, probably storge.