Thread: How To: Oil Change on 3.8 Genesis Coupe...

I just did my first change on the GC this weekend, and I took some pictures and notes of what was involved.

Tools and Supplies Needed:

• 10mm Socket (Belly Pan Bolts)
• 17mm Socket (Drain Plug)
• 1 1/16" Socket / Wrench or Vice Grips/Pliers(Oil Filter Canister)
• Oil Drain Pan
• Floor Jack and Jackstands or Ramps
• Hyundai Oil Filter (Part #26320 - 3C30A)
• 6 quarts of your preferred oil (5W-20, 5W-30, or even 10W-30 depending on climate, 5W-20 is OEM)

First thing you need to do is get the car in the air and get the belly pan(s) off. If you are using ramps, you can just get it up on the ramps and remove the pan(s) and move on to the next step. However, if you are using a floor jack like I was, you can't jack the car up from the centerline in the front with the belly pans on, and you can't get the rear belly pan off with it on the ground. What I did was jack it up using the front passenger side jacking point, just behind the front passenger tire enough so I could remove the belly pans. I took both the front belly pan and the mid belly pan off, but you can probably just take off the rear one to get access to the oil pan and oil filter canister. Once I got the belly pans off, I dropped the car back down and jacked it up using the subframe cross member that is exposed once the pan is off. This step is optional as you could simply just do the change with it supported on a jackstand on that passenger side jacking point, but i preferred to have the whole front end up to make sure it all drained well. I tried to get a picture of the belly pan with the car up in the air, but I couldn't pan out enough to get the whole thing.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/IMG_0001.jpg

Once you get the 8 10mm bolts out holding the belly pan on, the oil pan and oil filter housing will be revealed.

Oil Pan:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/IMG_0014.jpg

Oil Filter Housing :

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/IMG_0015.jpg

You are now ready to drain the old oil and change out the filter. First step is to make sure you remove you oil filler cap in the engine bay, or at lease loosen it so it's not sealed. This will allow the oil to drain out better. Once you have that done, and have a drain pan under the drain plug, go ahead and break it loose with your 17mm socket, then remove it the rest of the way with your fingers. The engine oil may be hot, so be aware so you don't get burned. I like to use disposable thick vinyl gloves just in case. Allow the oil to all drain out until it slows to single drops. While it's draining clean up the drain plug, and put on the new crush washer that comes with the new filter. On mine, it looks like they painted the oil pan with the plug in, so the factory crush washer was half painted to the fill plug and I needed a razor blade to break it free. You can probably go without changing the crush washer for a few changes, but since it comes with the filter, it's a no brainer to replace it. I'll usually flip it over the next time I change the oil, then change it on the 3rd change, but again, it's included, so might as well change it. When you have the new crush washer on the drain plug and the oil draining has slowed to just drops, go ahead and reinstall the drain plug by hand, finger tight. You will remove this a little later so no need to tighten yet.

Ok, next is to move on to the oil filter housing. The cover of the housing has a large bolt head-like fitting on top. The size is 1 1/16". A proper sized wrench or socket wrench is best for this, but vice grips or pliers will also work in a pinch. Beware though that the housing is all plastic, and repeated removals with vice grips or pliers could damage the socket fitting or possibly crack the housing if you aren't careful. Just be aware. Move your drain pan over to be underneath the filter housing and start to unscrew the filter housing cover slowly until you start to have oil come out. Once oil starts to drain from it, let it drain until it's almost stopped, then remove the housing the rest of the way by hand. Be aware again that when it comes out it will still have oil in it, so try to keep it upright and avoid burning your hands. Once you have it out, the filter will come out with it, and you can dump the remaining oil out into your drain pan. Also note the large o ring in a channel on the housing...this will need to be replaced. Here's a pic of the oil filter housing out of the car...you can kind of see the O ring.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/IMG_1911.jpg

Here's a pic of the old oil filter media next to the new one...

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/IMG_0019.jpg

The OEM filter was in the housing with the printed side down inside the filter housing cover, but it shouldn't matter which way it's in there...it's the same on both sides. Once you have the housing out of the car, remove the old filter by twisting and pulling until it comes out. Put the new one in the same way, except twisting and pushing down until it snaps into the bottom fully....you'll feel what I mean when you do it. The last step is to replace the O ring on the outside of the filter housing with the one that comes with the filter. Once you've done that, just run a nice coating of fresh oil over the O ring. It's up to you if you want to do this next step, but I poured some oil into the housing with the new filter installed just so it wasn't totally dry in there when I started the car after the change. You can put in anywhere from .25 - .5 quarts and the new filter media will absorb it quickly. Be careful not to put too much or you will get it all over you as you reinstall it. You can also wipe out the inside of the housing (part that doesn't come out of the car) if you want, but it shouldn't be too dirty. When you are ready, go ahead and re-install the filter housing over with new filter and O ring. Start to thread it in by hand and take care to make sure you are not cross threaded because the housing and it's threads are plastic. You will get to a point where it doesn't screw in easily by hand anymore. When that happens, switch back to the socket wrench and tighten it the rest of the way. Take care not to over-tighten it.

Once you have the new oil filter installed, we are almost done. At this point I like to put the drain pan back under the finger tight drain plug, and pull the drain plug back out. You will get some more oil out that was released when you took apart the oil filter housing. Let this drain out until you are back to single drops again, make sure your crush washer is still on the drain plug, and go ahead and re-install the drain plug finger tight. Use your socket wrench to go another 1/4 to 1/2 turn and you are good.

Go ahead and start to pour in your new oil. I suggest using a funnel because a lot of these oil bottles suck to pour neatly and you don't want oil all over your engine. My car ended up taking 5.5 quarts, and yours should as well, but don't just dump it all in and call it good. I suggest putting in 5 quarts first. Once you do that, put the oil fill cap back on, double check under the car to make sure you have everything installed correctly and no loose tools kicking around, then start the car and let it run for a few minutes. While it's running, look underneath at the oil filter housing area and the area around the oil pan to make sure there are no leaks. Shut the car down and let it sit for a couple minutes, then check the oil level on the dipstick. The new oil will be VERY hard to read on the dipstick, but it helps to look at the two little indents on the dipstick at the L and F marks. Those tend to fill with oil if it's submerged, and stray oil in the dipstick tube will not fill them. On my car, 5 quarts brought me just above the L mark, and I added another 1/2 quart, ran it, let it sit, then checked it again and it was at the F mark. I also noticed the dipstick on this car doesn't like to go back in smoothly and tends to bind depending on how you put it in. Once you are sure there are no leaks and are happy with your level, go ahead and reinstall the belly pans and put the car back on the ground.

Congratulations! You've just changed your oil! I like to take mine for a quick little spin when I'm done to let the suspension settle back out, and let the oil get good and circulated through the engine. I check the level again when I get back to make sure.

Hope this helps you guys out!