General Oil change guide

[dk500]

Hi Peter
Thanks for the guidance.
Just finished and took it for a spin, check for leaks !
I got some oil on the pulley in the process of the job and the battery light won't go off now !
Tried cleaning off as much as possible.
Do you think it will just work its way off or should I use something to clean it ?
Darryl

 

[Vitesse]

Hi Peter
Thanks for the guidance.
Just finished and took it for a spin, check for leaks !
I got some oil on the pulley in the process of the job and the battery light won't go off now !
Tried cleaning off as much as possible.
Do you think it will just work its way off or should I use something to clean it ?
Darryl

I would clean it off Darryl just to be safe, if the battery light isn't going off then the Dynamo is slipping and that also means the fan will be, so better be safe than sorry. Just undo the 10mm nuts on the pulley and pull the fan belt off and wipe clean with some spirit based substance.

Tony

 

[dk500]

Cleaned off very carefully, the belt and both pulleys !
Light still on !
I will clean tomorrow with an engine bay degreaser that I have, see if that works, if not, off it comes !
Could it be anything else ?
I did turn the pulley to access and clean filter, and pretty sure I only moved in clockwise direction, not sure if that would be an issue ? If I did move it anti-clockwise ?

 

[fiat500]

Are you sure thst it's the charging snd not the oil light?
You could have dislodged a generator wire if it was possibly dodgy already.
Turning the engine backwards is OK.

 

[dk500]

Definitely the generator light, I checked connections, they all seem OK !
Thanks again !

 

[fiat500]

Just follow Tony's suggestions then , but the belt is possibly loose anyway .

 

[dk500]

Gave a scrub and rinse with engine bay degreaser, seems to have done the job !
Thanks for the patience and advice !
Darryl

 

[AndrewRL]

OK so I should have read this earlier!
As a mechanic newbie I am now working my way through servicing items and was pleased that the oil change went well (so far).
However, if I'd read this thread and read ahead in the Haynes manual I would have realised that I should have cleaned the filter/replaced the O ring at the same time.
So...can I now do the filter or do I need to drain the oil again? If I remove the cover will all the oil come out (or just some residual oil hanging around the filter)?
Thanks

 

[fiat500]

Andrew, the filter is scheduled to be scraped out (as that is what it amounts to) every second oil-change. Although engines which haven't been looked-after properly can have quite a significant build up of crud inside them, it can be reasonably assumed that you will be OK until your next oil-change. The filter is very effective and won't let anything go once trapped.
But if you want to err on the side of caution, you will be able to remove the filter cover with minimal oil loss without draining the new oil. The filter is above sump level and most of he oil should have drained back.

 

[AndrewRL]

Great - thanks Peter (as always!)
I have no idea of the history of the car and how well it was serviced/maintained so I am assuming that most things have not been done in a long time. I am just working through the basics first as I learn how to use a spanner (and time constraints mean that I can't manage more than one/two tasks each session). The service kit I bought had the filter O ring in it so thought I ought to do the filter sooner rather than later....may be tackle it this weekend along with a planned attempt at changing the gearbox oil!

 

[fiat500]

a planned attempt at changing the gearbox oil!

....and before you start that, have a go with the famous ,square-headed fill/level plug on the driver's (RHD) side of the gearbox quite close to the driveshaft exit. You don't want to drain it then find this is stuck.
It can be a struggle to remove, especially if it has been misused. The head has a slight taper so try different spanner/ sockets until you have one with a good fit. Gently hammering an old socket on can be the way to go in my experience.

 

[AndrewRL]

Yep - found that after a bit of groping around and will tackle that before the drain plug (also have a new one to fit). Not really sure how to get good access for removing it but have been squirting it with penetrating oil. Is it better to jack up the car? The instructions all say to carefully clean the area/casing first (with Kerosene according to the Fiat handbook) - is that really necessary?

 

[fiat500]

Yep - found that after a bit of groping around and will tackle that before the drain plug (also have a new one to fit). Not really sure how to get good access for removing it but have been squirting it with penetrating oil. Is it better to jack up the car? The instructions all say to carefully clean the area/casing first (with Kerosene according to the Fiat handbook) - is that really necessary?

It would be good practise to clean the outside of the box so that you would know where any future or present leaks are coming from, but essentially all you need do is clean the drain plugs and the immediate areas around them.
You will find it easier to remove them with the car raised a little but for final filling and levelling of the oil, the car itself needs to be level. In the absence of a mechanical lift this means the wheels need to be on the ground and you need to squeeze under the car to insert the oil and to replace the fill/level plug.

 

[the hobbler]

One simple way to remove the square 'fill' plug is to use an old 1/2in drive socket extension--back to front. Tap the 'female' 1/2in hole over the fill plug and the required socket on the 'male' 1/2in drive. This way you get very good grip in the plug and don't bugger up a perfectly good socket. You will find it much easier to do this job if you can lay your hands on 4 car stands (2 for the front under the spring mounts and 2 for the rear under the suspension arms, just to the rear of their mounting points to the body). This allows you to have the car fairly high in the air, and level. DO NOT DO THIS JOB WITH THE CAR ON ONLY A JACK. Only work under a car when it is properly supported on stands.

 

[AndrewRL]

OK...so frustrating weekend. Spent hours at the square gearbox filling plug to no avail :bang:. Think I will just have to pay a small fee to my local garage to get the car up on a decent ramp and loosen/remove the plug using their range of professional tools (one of which may fit hopefully) before I damage it too much.

Also had a proper look at the oil filter clean/ring replacement job and didn't try this. I assume you need to remove the under engine protection panel or any oil/crud will just run onto this (?) Also I assume you need to remove the rear apron/panel to get proper access to the filter (?). Having already spent so long trying to undo things I decided to call it a day!