Changed the oil in my car today while the weather was warmer. It was (over)due for age rather than miles, since I’m not driving much working from home.
It was a warm day for the season, but still cold, and the fact that I don’t like wearing my regular, warmer coat or other “clean” articles of clothing while dealing with oil, and can’t work in my garage due to the project car in there, didn’t help either. I’m glad I got it done.
It took longer than expected to do. It’s been a while since I’ve done it, which always makes it take a little longer remembering where things are and what not. But the main time taker was the drain plug being really tight. The last oil change was at the dealership, and they must’ve just used the impact wrench to tighten it or something, as I doubt that was the torque spec. The threads also felt a little messed up, which may have contributed. I struggled to get it loose, pulling some muscles along the way, repositioning myself and trying different wrench setups until I finally got it.
I noticed an immediate difference when I drove it afterwards. My car had been feeling sluggish and I was worried that something was wrong with the engine. I didn’t think that age would have such an impact, especially with long-life synthetic, but I guess so. It still doesn’t run quite like new, but it feels much better, accelerates better, engine brakes better, sounds better.