Oil Change Information for the Holden VE II Commodore
- Document Contents
- Introduction
- Tools and Parts Required
- Step 1 - Draining the existing Oil
- Step 2 - Removing The Existing Oil Filter
- Step 3 - Refitting the Sump Plug
- Step 4 - Fitting The New Oil Filter To The Engine
- Step 5 - Filling the Engine with New Oil
- Step 6 - Replacing the Oil Cap and Checking for Leaks
- Step 7 - Resetting the Vehicle Service Due Warning Reminder
- Step 8 - Resetting the Engine Oil Life Percentage Indicator
- Document Information
- Information on tools and parts required, as well as oil and filter specifications
- Vehicle: Holden Commodore (VE II)
- Copyright Owner: Matthew Jones (Matti Jones) (ZerOne)
- Document Visits: 5192
- Created: Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:16 am
- Revised: Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:10 am (Rev 17)
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WARNING
Never change your oil while the engine is hot!
Allow the engine to cool for a few hours, as hot oil can cause severe burns.
Be sure you have a safe area to do your oil change.
A level, solid ground is a must so that you can safely jack up your car.
Never rely solely on your car jack to hold the vehcile in place. Always use car car stands, or bricks to provide a supplementary stand for the car jack.
It is also recommended to put something down on the driveway or garage floor underneath the engine in case you spill oil.
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Tools Required
1 x 15mm Socket, Ratchet or open end wrench
1 x Oil filter wrench
1 x Oil catch/recycle container
1 x Funnel
1 x Clean Rag
Parts Required for V8 Models
1 x New oil filter (Ryco Z663), (Mobil 1 EP M1-113), (K&N Pro PS-1017)
8.3 x Litres of SAE 5W-30 Motor Oil (API SL/SM)
Parts Required for V6 Models
1 x New oil filter (Ryco Part Number R2605P)
6.5 x Litres of SAE 5W-30 Motor Oil (API SL/SM)
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The first step is to drain the existing oil from the engine.
This is acheived by hoisting the vehicle up so as you can gain access to underneath the engine.
Once this has been completed, secure the vehicle by placing car stands, or bricks underneath the hoist points on the vehicle.
Finally, chock the rear wheels of the vehicle using bricks to avoid the vehicle rolling of its stand.
Once you are underneath the vehicle, locate the oil drain plug on the engine sump.
Next, place the oil drain pan underneath the sump plug, and using a 15mm socket / spanner, loosen the drain plug.
Once the drain plug has been loosened, continue removing the sump plug using your fingers, being careful to avoid dropping the sump plug in to the oil drain pan once it is removed.
Once the sump plug has been removed, the existing oil in the engine will drain from the engine sump.
This may take several minutes to complete.
To aid in draining the existing oil from the engine, you may also wish to remove the Oil filler cap on the engine.
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Whilst the oil is draining from the sump, the next step to complete is to remove the existing oil filter from the engine.
To do this, you will need to use the oil filter wrench.
First place the filter wrench over the existing oil filter.
Once the wrench is in place, tighten the wrench grip as shown in the following images.
Loosen the oil filter until it can be easily removed using your hand.
Note : once the filter is loose, oil will begin to leak around the filter. This is normal.
Remove the filter from the vehicle, and place the filter on the oil drain pans filter holder, to drain the used oil from the filter.
Finally, wait until all the oil has drained from the vehicle before moving on to the next step.
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Clean the sump plug, to remove any debris, and oil from the plug.
Next, clean the oil drain hole and thread with a clean cloth, to remove any oil and debris from the hole and thread.
Finally, fit the sump plug to the drain hole, and tighten so as it fits snugly.
Do not over tighten the sump plug, as this may cause the sump plug thread to wear, requiring a new sump plug.
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Before you fit the new oil filter to the engine, you will first need to prepare it.
This includes filling the new filter with new oil (about 250ml, or 2/3 full), and lubricating the filter gasket by smearing oil on the rubber.
By putting oil in the new filter, you avoid running the engine for an extended period without oil initially when the oil change has been completed.
The oil on the filters rubber gasket helps the filter to seal against the machined face on the engine, minimizing the chances of an oil leak.
Once the oil filter has been prepared, simply screw the filter back on to the engine using your fingers at first.
Finally tighten the oil filter using the oil filter wrench. Again, do not over tighten the oil filter as this may strip threads, and cause an oil leak later on.
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Now you're ready to fill the engine with oil.
Unscrew the oil fill cap and insert your funnel.
VE Commodore V6 motors will require around 6.5 Litres of new engine oil.
VE Commodore V8 motors will require around 8.3 Litres of new Engine Oil.
Because of this, you will require a large 10 litre container for oil.
Initially, place 5 Litres of Oil in to the engine (V6 models), or 7 Litres of Oil for V8 models.
Next, start the engine, and allow it to run for roughly thirty seconds.
This will pump the new oil around the engine, and fill up the recently fitted oil filter.
Switch Off the motor.
Using a clean rag, remove the engine oil dipstick from the engine.
Clean the dipstick using the rag, and re-insert the dipstick back in to the engine.
Finally, remove the dipstick, and check the oil level.
Using the Dipstick as a guide, fill the engine with oil until the dipstick reads the full mark.
For V8 engines, the dipstick will have 3 holes which indicate the 6, 7 and 8 Litre marks.
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This step involves the obvious.
Once the engine has been filled to the correct level with engine oil, replace the oil cap.
Next, clean any spilled oil from around th oil cap and engine bay.
Spilled oil can be a fire risk, so it is important that any spilled engine oil is mopped up, and the engine bay is clean.
Start the engine, and ensure that there are no leaks.
Check around the drain plug, and around the oil filter for any signs of fresh oil leaks.
Finally, it is a good idea to inspect the used oil for any metal fillings, or unusual contaminents.
This will give you an early indication of possible high engine wear, or engine problems if anything unusual is found.
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Service Reminder Reset Procedure
The displayed service reminder is reset using the following procedure:
1) Turn the ignition to the OFF position.
2) Press and hold the TRIP button on the steering wheel.
3) Turn the ignition to the ON position, do not start the engine.
4) Release the TRIP button on the steering wheel.
Important : A confirmation beep will sound upon reset.
5) Once in the Service Reset screen, press and hold the ENTER switch (The LHS steering wheel scroll wheel) for 3-5 seconds.
If the service reminder comes back on when you start the vehicle, the Service Reminder Display has not reset. Repeat the above procedure.
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Finally, it is recommended that the engine oil life percentage indicator, found in the instrument cluster engineering mode, be reset whenever the engine oil has been changed.
The engine oil life percentage indicator is an intelligent method of determining when your next oil change is due, and takes in to account a number of factors including,
Engine running time,
Engine loads, and RPM ranges used,
Engine running temperatures
With this information, the vehicle can determine if an oil change is required sooner, based on how the engine has been used, during the current oil cycle.
To reset the engine oil life percentage,
1) Turn the ignition switch to the On Position. (Do not start the engine).
2) Depress the accellerator pedal down completely three times, in quick succession.
3) The engine oil life percentage should now be reset to 99%
To confirm that the engine oil life percentage has been reset,
1) Switch the ignition to the Off Position.
2) Press and hold the Scroll Wheel button on the steering wheel.
3) Switch ignition to the ON position.
4) Release the scroll wheel button button on the steering wheel.
5) The Drivers Information Center LCD Display will read "Engineering Mode", and will display a number of menu options.
6) Highlight the required menu option by using the scroll wheel, and scrolling up or down until the desired menu option is highlighted.
7) Press the Scroll wheel button to select the Engine Oil Life menu option.
8) The Engine Oil Life reading should read 99%