HONDA ELEMENT oil change

I will get some more pictures of the whole process next time I do it.

1. Run the engine for a bit if the car is not warm and get everything together that you need to finish the job so you are not running around looking for things when you are , well, all dirty.
2. Drive the car up on the ramps or elevate the front of the vehicle however you are going to do it. Always remember, SAFETY FIRST.
3. With your 17 mm socket in hand and the plastic container for your waste oil get under the front of the truck and locate the drain plug on the oil pan. loosen the drain plug. lefty loosey righty tighty :)
4. Place your container under the oil pan and let it flow into it. It takes a while to get all the oil out. I like to leave it drip for a while after the original flush to get the last of it out. The last bit of oil has most of the crap in it that is best to get out.
5. Once all the oil has drained out we need to reinstall the drain plug with a new crush washer. When you tighten the drain plug with the new crush washer do NOT over tighten this. All it needs to do is hold the oil in the pan till your next oil change. The crush washer will "crush" a bit as you tighen it up. This is why you don't reuse the washer. Having said that a reused washer is better than putting the drain plug back on without a washer.
6.Locate the oil filter on the engine . ( If you need help finding it there is a picture down below ) It is on the back of the engine close to the passenger side tire. Loosen it with the oil filter wrench and twist it off. There will be some oil spill out that you can catch in your plastic container.
7. Wipe off the part of the engine where the new oil filter is going to go back on. This will make a clean surface for the new filter to seal to.
8. Put a little oil from the new oil bottle on the rubber gasket on the new filter. Always use the new oil for this as the oil stuff in the waste can can have particles in it. Twist on the new filter. Only hand tight here and not too tight at that.
9. You should now be finished the work underneath the car and can fill the engine with fresh new oil. Remove the oil fill cap and pour 4 liters into the crank. Check with the oil dipstick and make sure its "between the dots" on the dip stick. The service manual calls for 4.2 liters with an oil filter change as well.
10. Start the engine.
11. Leave it in neutral , set the parking brake , and have a look under the engine with it running and make sure there is no oil leaking out.
12. Turn the engine off. Leave it for a bit while you clean up the old oil and put you tools away. As you are doing this the oil from around inside the engine settles down into the crankcase and give you a good read for your fine tuning on the oil level.
13. Check the oil dipstick again and get it into the recommended range on the stick . I like to get it bang on the top indicator. More is better but do no overfill!
14. Transfer the old oil into the empty container and dispose of in an environmentally responsible way.

Your are done! ...Now you can start to think about changing out the tranny fluid :)

The oil filter is a little hard to get at. It is right behind the passenger side front wheel. There is no need to remove the wheel but it needs to be accessed from below the vehicle. If you put the filter on the last time it will be easy to get it off because you did not put it on too tight right.
In the picture you can see the baffled rubber boot that covers the cv joint going to the passenger side front wheel. When the filter comes loose oil will spill out. Try and keep as much oil off this boot as possible. It will last longer that way. I just use a shop rag and cover it up. There is a gizmo you can buy that will cover it and drain the oil away but I think that is a little much.