1st Oil Change Experience, Observations & a Surprise

[Bristecom]

Are you saying you're supposed to change that plug/washer every time you change the oil? I had never heard of that before... But I may just get one of those Fumoto valves as long as there's no risk or drawbacks with them.

[Scooby South]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

Are you saying you're supposed to change that plug/washer every time you change the oil? I had never heard of that before... But I may just get one of those Fumoto valves as long as there's no risk or drawbacks with them.

Yes...one time use for the crush washer...or at least its supposed to be.. and usually they are about a buck..

Bill

[mashal]

Originally Posted by Black Tire

A week ago I did the first oil change for my Scion FR-S at 1124 miles. Here's a record of what I did and some of the results and observations.

Oil: Amsoil 0W-20 Signature
Oil Filter: OEM Toyota ($20+ from my Scion Dealer!)
Oil Plug: Fumoto F108S Oil Valve

I planned to use my original Rhino Ramps (and some wheel chocks behind the rear wheels!), but the ramps hit the front of the car before they touched the tires. To resolve this problem I laid some scrap sections of a 2x6 board in front of the ramps (crosswise) so that the boards lifted the car a bit before the tires hit the ramps. This worked and was just a little more trouble than the ramps alone.

To remove the original oil plug requires a 14 mm wrench. The crush washer on this plug seems to be painted or glued on, and it was not concentric with the oil plug. I'm glad that I don't have to remove and replace it because it looks like quite a challenge (and the fact that my dealer didn't even have one in stock.) If I was not planning to install a Fumoto oil valve, I would be very tempted to just reinstall it without trying to change the crush washer. It is possible that Scion/Toyota/Subaru is planning to only sell plugs with this crush washer installed and not crush washers alone for this car. As mentioned elsewhere on this forum, the oil gushes out of the drain hole, so be prepared with an oil catch pan if you are doing this yourself.

Original Oil Plug:





I replaced the original oil plug with the Fumoto F108S Oil Valve using the blue rubbery gasket that came with the valve. This version of the Fumoto valve has a short nipple for connecting a hose for draining. The installation was quite painless.

Fumoto F108S Oil Valve Installed on my Scion FR-S (with safety clip):





The oil filter was a no-brainier to replace since it is right on top at the front edge of the engine compartment. I was careful and did not drip any oil in the engine compartment when changing it out. The Scion (Toyota-Subaru) oil filter has a plastic seal over the business end. When I removed it I noticed that the rubber o-ring seemed to already have a coating of oil. I dipped a [gloved] finger in new oil and ran it over the o-ring just in case. I suspect that the technicians at the dealer don't do this step and just use the filter as-is.

Scion-supplied oil filter:



I poured in the manual-recommended 5.8 quarts of my chosen oil, Amsoil 0W-20 Signature and double checked that everything was sealed. The engine started well and I drove it off the ramps. I shut the engine off for 10 minutes and then checked the level at the dipstick. The oil level read high, but perhaps only a little higher than when the car was new from the factory. See my previous post here:

Factory Oil Fill Level

Now for the surprise. I noticed after the oil change that the valve train noise was much less than before. This was noticeable at idle, but even more pronounced at higher engine speeds.. Before the change, the noise generator ensured lots of noise anytime the engine passed 3500 rpm. This change was so pronounced that I forgot to shift from 5th to 6th when I went on to the freeway and accelerated to around 70 mph. I had never forgotten this before because the engine changed sound so much that I could easily drive by ear.

Could it be that the overfill of the oil was the cause of the change in engine noise? To find out I went back under the car the next day. I attached a short hose with the little plastic connector that came with my Fumoto oil valve. I was able to drain exactly 0.5 quart of oil from the oil pan by only partially opening the valve to control the flow. Wow! I would not have been able to do this so precisely without the Fumoto valve. Also, I used only one blue paper shop towel for the entire procedure including checking the dipstick afterwards! The level of the oil was now just a tick below the full mark. After driving the car and then letting it sit for several hours, I checked the oil level again. This time, with a cold engine, the oil level was approximately 5 mm above the full mark on the dipstick. I think this is about right for this car, so I stopped messing with it.

And what about the sound? There was no change in the sound after removing the 0.5 quart of oil. My car is now much quieter, especially at higher engine speeds. I personally prefer this, and I trust Amsoil as I have had also good experiences with it in other vehicles.

For reference, doing the math, this means that for my car it takes about 5.3 quarts of oil to refill it after an oil and filter change. Another post suggested adding 5 quarts and then checking the level at the dipstick. I think this would probably work fine, but I would make sure to check again after several hours (or the next morning ) with a cold engine as I think this is what is intended after reading the manual. Seeing that the recommended 5.8 quarts results in an overfill, I really don't think this is really a problem for this engine. It may be that for the track an overfill is preferred to reduce the chance of oil starvation during sustained high-G maneuvers (this was the case with my last car, a BMW E36 M3). I would really like to talk to one of the Subaru engineers who developed the engine about this.

Yours came with a hose ? I was ordering one and noticed it says it doesn't come with one , I don't mind ordering a separate one just don't know which one to order .

[Hawaiian]

I also used rhino ramps and a 2x4 to get my car up.

You can get the filter and crush washer from subaru dealers for about $10 bucks for the combo. I also posted a link in the oil filter thread if you plan to change your oil a lot. the site was selling them for 6.40 each.

[simpleisbest]

I got mine from Subaru Online Parts:
https://www.subaruonlineparts.com/pr...oducts_id=1326

They sell single filter kits as well.

[simpleisbest]

Originally Posted by Scooby South

Thats a Subaru thing...First time oil changes on Subaru's always have the crush washer stuck to the drain plug.. it will be easy after this..the reason is because Subaru paints the oilpan with the drainplug already in it.. For you FRS guys..I recommend going to Subaru to get the Filter and the drain plug Crush washer... It should be cheaper...and I know for a fact, that dealers have these in stock...always.. because they share that filter with other Subaru models...Be careful with aftermarket filters, because there is a pressure relief Valve inside the Subaru Filter...some aftermarket filters don't have this feature and could leak or split on you...only seen it once...but just words to the wise.. Even after some VERY heavily modded cars that I have seen...most prefer the stock oil filter..

Bill

Hey Bill! Any insight on how to read the dang oil dipstick??
Thing is driving me nuts! No matter how I insert/pull the thing, I still get a very high reading on one side and a lower reading on the other....

I guess this is a Subaru thing, but as I want to keep my eye on the oil level, its driving me nuts!!

[roddy]

The manual says to take your reading from the side that reads lower.

[Scooby South]

^What he said..

[Black Tire]

Originally Posted by mashal

Yours came with a hose ? I was ordering one and noticed it says it doesn't come with one , I don't mind ordering a separate one just don't know which one to order .

I guess I ordered the hose separately. Here is a link to a hose with a 3/8" Internal Diameter (ID) that works. Alternatively, you could probably buy the same hose locally at a hardware or home improvement store. Make sure that if you order the s-type valve that you use the supplied plastic hose connector on the end of the hose. The hose itself is not strong enough to hold well with a heated oil pan such as is needed when changing the oil. The plastic connector piece should come with an s-type valve.

http://www.qwikvalve.com/3-8-ID-x-3F...yl-Tubing.html

[ft86Fan]

Originally Posted by Black Tire

The Fumoto drain valve is working great so far (1 week in) - no leaks. I think oil changes will be completely different with this valve. Note that I needed to use a pliers to get the safety clip in place. My fingers are just not strong enough to squeeze it open against the spring tension right now.

Yeah, you'll need a pair of pliers for that but be careful. Last time I did this the plier lost grip and the clip acted like a spring and flew out and put a dent on one of my car .

[Phaedrus29]

Originally Posted by Black Tire

I replaced the original oil plug with the Fumoto F108S Oil Valve using the blue rubbery gasket that came with the valve. This version of the Fumoto valve has a short nipple for connecting a hose for draining. The installation was quite painless.

Fumoto F108S Oil Valve Installed on my Scion FR-S (with safety clip):

I'm trying to decide between the regular F108 and this F108S, but I have no experience using Fumoto valves. Any thoughts on one over the other? Why did you go with F108S? Thanks.

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus29

I'm trying to decide between the regular F108 and this F108S, but I have no experience using Fumoto valves. Any thoughts on one over the other? Why did you go with F108S? Thanks.

The F-108 is just simple open the valve and let the fluid drain into the pan.

With the F-108s, you connect a hose and the other end of the hose goes into the oil pan below. Its just a matter of preference. Is the added simplicity of having a hose down to the pan worth the extra money?

A question you and only you can answer for your particular case.

[jarviz]

Hmm.. the F108s sounds much cleaner since it's since there's so little space to maneuver under the car with just rhinoramps.

[Black Tire]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus29

I'm trying to decide between the regular F108 and this F108S, but I have no experience using Fumoto valves. Any thoughts on one over the other? Why did you go with F108S? Thanks.

I really wanted to be able to attach a hose so I could get rid of the big messy oil catch pan. I plan to use a simple container (probably a low 2 gallon gas container) to catch the used oil and reduce the mess. The F108S allows a hose to be attached so that I can direct the flow into the container without any mess. The straight F108 only allows the oil to drain out of the valve directly without being able to attach a hose. Fumoto also makes a F108N that a hose can be attached to, but the attachment end is longer and so it probably not as good for this application.