Changing the Oil & Installing A K & N Oil Filter In Your Honda Civic

Think you’re ready to perform a DIY oil change and K & N oil filter installation on your Honda Civic? Unless you’ve got all the right tools and gear ready to go, think again. Here’s what you’ll need: A floor jack, to get your vehicle up in the air, a pair of jack stands to keep it up and steady while you work, a ratcheting wrench with a 17mm socket, an adjustable wrench that fits a 1” nut; four quarts of motor oil, an oil catch to catch the used oil, and a K & N Honda Civic oil filter, number HP-1010. You can find it at Auto Parts Network. Got all that? Then you’re ready to go!

Step by Step

Before you start, turn on your engine and let it warm up for 5 minutes, then shut it down. Put your parking brake on, and use the floor jack to raise the passenger side high enough that you can slide underneath and work, making sure to secure the vehicle with the jack stands before you proceed. Beneath the engine on the passenger side, you’ll see the oil filter near the front of the car, and the oil drain bolt facing the rear. Place the oil catch below the drain bolt, then use the 17mm socket ratcheting wrench to remove it. Drain for 5-10 minutes, and then replace the drain bolt, tightening it just beyond hand tight. Over-tightening could damage the threads. Next, place the oil catch below your old oil filter, and remove it by hand or using the adjustable wrench. Attach your new K&N Honda Civic oil filter using the adjustable wrench to just beyond hand tight, then remove the oil catch and jack stands, and lower your vehicle.

Tip: Removing the oil filter cap from the engine bay will help the old oil drain faster.

Use a funnel to pour in 3.5 quarts of new motor oil, and then run your engine for 5 minutes, shut it down, and wait 5 minutes. Next, check the oil level, and add to it if it’s below the MAX mark. Repeat the engine run, cool, and test until you hit MAX. Good work- you’re done!

Ready To Put A K&N Oil Filter In Your Honda?

So you’re ready to replace that flimsy factory stock oil filter with a premium K&N Honda oil filter- or are you... when are you supposed replace your old oil filter anyway? The tried and true answer (and the one you’ll most likely get on that oil change sticker if you go to a professional oil change outlet) is every 3,000 miles or three months, whichever comes along first. That interval isn’t arbitrary- it’s the amount of time that petroleum based engine oil takes to break down and degrade, coating your nice clean engine parts with what mechanics like to call “sludge.”

Engine oil does a lot for your engine. It lubricates moving components, protects them against wear and corrosion, whisks away contaminants, improves seals, and cools the moving parts of your engine- all those areas your radiator fluid doesn’t get to. Using a good quality oil filter, like the K&N Honda oil filter, keeps your oil running clean for as long as possible, but eventually the heat, friction, oxidation, and contaminant build up causes sludge to form. Once it begins, sludge develops exponentially, sucking up the remaining good oil and coating your engine components with a hardened layer that must be scraped and chiseled away. Wait too long to change you oil and filter, and you could be dealing with premature engine failure. Of course, many of today’s Honda owners use synthetic engine oil.

Synthetic vs. Traditional

Most synthetic engine oils promise to last far longer than the traditional motor oils’ three thousand mile/three month limit, some even claiming to go as long as 15,000 miles. Due to the Federal Emissions mandates, today’s engines run hotter, and the motor oil manufacturers have stepped up to the challenge by creating synthetic motor oils that run cleaner and longer. But while they may be lab tested for a ridiculous longevity, most mechanics don’t recommend running them to their limit in your engine. Change your oil and filter every 3-5 thousand miles for petroleum based engine oil, and every 5-7 thousand for synthetic based engine oils. You can find a wide array of oil and filter choices, as well as care tips, at Auto Parts Network.