Changing the Oil myself on a 603, any special procedure?
 

Not the first time the oil is getting changed, but the first time "I" am doing it on this particular car. Ive changed oil plenty of times in my life, I know how to pull a drain plug and properly clean are retorque it. I know how to change a filter although this one looks quite Dif. than what i am used to. My filter came with some small seals that Im sure I will figure out where they go as i pull the old one out. Any important or special things to do on this engine I should know about????????????
Thanks.

use a 6 point 13mm socket, and a 3 and 6 " extension. only the large rubber o-ring and one of the copper seals are used.
you pull the center shaft out of the oil filter lid
you pull the two 13mm nuts off the filter lid, and remove the lid, there is a large o-ring on the lid replace it with the large one that came with your filter.
swap filters
pull drain plug from pan, and swap copper washers with the one that fits that came with your filter.
also on the filter shaft, there are two small o-rings on the end, they need to be changed with metric 6x10 and 7x11 o-rings you will need to buy ahead of time.

If the shaft O-rings are not deteriorated at all you can leave old ones in place.

When tightening the oil filter canister lid, make sure surfaces are clean (including the part that the big O-ring goes into) and that you tighten the nuts evenly....early on, when I neglected to pay attention to this, I had minor leaks.

Make sure the oil is hot when you drain it. Can be left draining over night.
Make sure you put the sump plug back in before you start filling with the new oil.

On the filter shaft is a tiny hole. Blow some compressed air through it to make sure it is not clogged. If you still have the belly pan under the motor ( the noise encapsulation panel ) it will have to be removed to get to the drain plug. Or you can use a topsider and suck the old oil out of the dipstick hole. I prefer to drain it when the oil is hot.

Just don't make a massive mess like I did.

Thanks a lot everyone. I feel confident now doing this, I will take consideration to everything that was said. I have been snooping on this site long enough that I know, the people that responded to me know what they are talking about.
Thanks again

Just a note, on some 603s, the center shaft does not come out. Mine has the lid type where you just take the two side bolts out and lift the whole lid, shaft and all, out. It will be pretty obvious when you open the hood though, as there either will or won't be a 13mm bolt in the middle of the lid.:o

It was a successful job. no new leaks. She likes the new Oil.
It took about 7 1/2 qts. total after firing it up on 6qts to build oil pressure then rechecking
This time Im running Delo400 with a Mann filter, last time I ran Mobil Delvac. with a Mann fltr.
usually I run which ever of those two oils are on sale,
if neither of them are I'll run the Delo400.
Now Im good for around an other 8K or so.
Thanks again

I did notice that the Head of the center bolt is starting to round at the edges just a little, maybe the PO at one point (or the last person to change it for me) might not have used the right size.(or used a 12 point) I was able to loosen and tighten it with out further damage but as I was tightening it I was thinking to my self that maybe it should be replaced before it strips out and leaves me stuck.
I did notice that there are no threads at the bottom of the shaft anyway it only skrews into the lid. So if you are saying, that bolt technically doesn't need to unskrew to do the job, then maybe next time I wont touch it. Ill just do what you mentioned above. and check and or replace the 2 lower O ring seals at each oil change.
No need to mess with extra things if its not needed on these these cars. right?

For a 126: no shaft. For a 124: shaft. Has to do with shaft/cap/firewall clearance.

are you telling me, that Bodhi does not have the center shaft separate from the lid? ALL 124's i've seen have the center shaft (unless the motor has been dealt with, and or the lid damaged...) you should check with your dad to see if the lid was changed at some point in it's history.

afik, only the 126/140 603's have the clearance underhood to remove the lid with the shaft in place...

your right, I didnt quite understand what you were telling me to begin with.
Upon looking at my 124 again, there isnt enough room to pull the lid off with the shaft attached. so I will have to look at finding an other shaft for a back up incase my hex head eventually rounds to were I cant properly tighten it any more.

You are right not enough room in the 124 to do it, the shaft has to come out.

Bodhi's lid has a lid with a fixed center shaft. I'm pretty sure it is original. It is an early engine # so many they updated the design later when realizing it was a pain to remove the lid in a 124? Odd. Of course, now I'm worried about it.:eek: