VZ and VE - How to change the oil and filter on your Alloytec. (Detailed pictures)

[Luke52]

Changing your own oil, particularly on these Alloytec motors, is a pretty simple task. Plus it can save you money in the long run. Furthermore, who doesn't like tinkering with their car every now and then?

Enough chit-chat, what do you need?



-A new cartridge oil filter (Ryco R2605P or equivalent, such as a Repco ROF102)
-At least 6.5 litres of new oil for a VZ, and double-check the owners manual for the capacity and specs on a VE. I'm unsure of their capacity, and have been told different things (See posts below.) These Alloytec motors like a thin oil, so I would not recommend using an oil any thicker than a 10w.
-An oil drain pan of AT LEAST 8 litre capacity (I'd recommend a 10 litre one to be safe though)
-15mm socket + extension and ratchet, or 15mm spanner. I'd recommend the ratchet option though, makes it easier and neater, and reduces the risk of burning yourself with the oil.
-24mm socket. I recommend a socket and ratchet here again, purely due to accessibility. Much easier to get a socket onto the filter housing.
-A 1 or 2 litre bottle with level markings or measuring jug
-Funnel
-Rags

Okay, the first thing you should do is warm your engine up. Just let it idle for about 10 minutes or so, and this will allow the oil to flow better. If using an oil flush, add this to the oil before warming it up. Switch the engine off once it's warm.
Now you'll want to remove the passenger-side engine cover. Just grab it and lift, and it will pop straight off.



Now remove your oil cap.



Now get down on the ground and locate the sump plug. These Alloytecs are great, the plug is easily accessible at the front of the sump. Position the drain pan underneath the sump.



Once the pan is in place, grab your 15mm and undo the sump plug. If your drain pan has a grate/catcher thing like mine, try to put the sump plug on it. If not, try to keep it in the socket to avoid dropping it into the pan. Otherwise, have fun fishing.




While you're waiting for the oil to drain, grab your 24mm socket and ratchet, and change the filter. The round cannister with the big hex nut on top of it is your filter housing.
These can get pretty tight, but try to avoid hitting it or being too rough, as they can break or crack.
Once you undo the cap, grab your rag and use it to lift the cap off. These can still be fairly warm due to the engine running previously, so be careful not to burn or scald yourself.




Grab the filter cartidge and pull it out of the cap. It should simply pop off with a slight tug.



Now remove the o-ring on the housing cap. Your new filter should come with a new o-ring.



Once you've done this, grab your rag and clean the threads and the insides of the cap. Then get your new filter and push it into place. It should just pop into position, you'll feel it engage. The filter can be installed either way, there is no bottom or top. Remember also to fit the new o-ring.



Now get some of your fresh oil, and pour it over the threads on the cap. This will just help to lubricate the threads, making removal of the cap easier for next time. I've done this every single service, and never had a problem with the cap seizing.



Now thread the cap onto the housing by hand to ensure you don't cross-thread it or anything. Once you have it hand-tight, grab your ratchet and 24mm again, and tighten it until it is firmly snug. Don't reef down on this with gorilla-like force, you will feel when it's tight enough. If you happen to have a torque wrench handy, follow the recommended torque on the cap.



At this stage, I like to pour a bit of fresh oil through the engine, until the oil coming out of the sump is mostly clean. This just helps flush out the remaining old oil and crap.

Now thread the sump plug in CAREFULLY. Avoid cross threading it. If you're unsure, just remove it and start threading again. Once the plug is in, remove your drain pan, being careful not to spill any oil.
Now you'll want to tighten your sump plug. Much like the filter housing, make sure it's firm, but don't go too crazy with the force. You'll feel when it's tight enough. Be sure to wipe off any excess oil around the sump plug, so you can identify if it's leaking later.



Now all that's left to do is fill the sump with oil. The VZ Alloytecs take roughly 6.5 litres of oil, but check the owners manual for VE specs. So if you have a full 5 litre bottle, pour all of that straight in. However once you've put a few litres in, it's good to check the sump plug for any leaks. If required, tighten the plug a bit more.
Once you've put 5 litres in, this is where the measuring jug/bottle comes in handy.



I always fill this to 1 litre, add it to the engine, then fill it up to 500ml, add that, and it's usually spot-on for my VZ. Obviously add however much extra is required for VE models.

Once you've added the oil, leave it for a few minutes to settle. Then check the dip-stick, and add more oil if required. Double, triple, quadruple check your dipstick to make sure the engine has enough oil. You can never be too sure.

Replace the oil cap, check for leaks around the sump plug again, and jump in the car. Allow the computer to do a system check to make sure all is good, and fire it up! Let the engine run for a bit, and look for any leaks around the sump plug again, and the oil filter housing. Take it for a squirt around the block, check for leaks again, and check the oil level again after driving it. Don't be too worried if the oil level drops slightly after you've driven it, not all of the oil would have settled back into the sump yet.

Thanks for reading, hopefully this has helped people needing a bit of clarification or anything.

Note: Thanks to SabbathSS and Kuzman89 for the clarification on VE oil capacity.

Enjoy!
Luke.

[CAPRILICIOUS WL]

You are a LEGEND.
Great write up man.
I'm sure this will help so many people in the future.

Keep the great effort up.

Cheers
Dave.

[Sabbath']

Just a note, VZ takes 6.5L, but the VE changed sump design and as a result they now have a capacity of 7.1L

[Luke52]

Just a note, VZ takes 6.5L, but the VE changed sump design and as a result they now have a capacity of 7.1L

Thanks for the correction mate, changes to the original post have been made.

I forgot to mention, this is my first time doing a write-up like this, so all comments, corrections and criticism are welcome.

[kuzman89]

If I'm flushing the oil, do I follow the steps you'd do for an LSx engine? ie Australian LS1 and Holden Forums

[Luke52]

If I'm flushing the oil, do I follow the steps you'd do for an LSx engine? ie Australian LS1 and Holden Forums

Yeah, if you're going to do a full flush like that, the steps are the same. Drain, fill, run, drain, replace filter, re-fill.

[kuzman89]

I went out and bought a litre of Nulon oil flush, you reckon I should go back and buy 4 litres more and flush it with all of that or just mix it with the current oil or mix it with a cheap supermarket oil? It's been on 15k service intervals it's whole life so I'm just concerned about sludge. Out of warranty now so doing my own services every 7,500km's

[Luke52]

That oil flush is just an additive, it goes in the old oil. So as per my write-up, add the solvent to the old oil before you change it, idle the engine for about 10 minutes, then dump the oil. That should be basically what the instructions on the bottle say.

[kuzman89]

I ended up doing a full flush, purchased some crappy $12 oil from supercheap and added the solvent to that, glad I did, the oil almost came out as black as the original 15k old oil, out of warranty so going to do services every 7,500. Cheers mate!

BTW, 7.1L for the VE is inaccurate, unless they've changed the specs, in my manual it said add 6.7L, this is a 2008 SV6.

[Luke52]

I ended up doing a full flush, purchased some crappy $12 oil from supercheap and added the solvent to that, glad I did, the oil almost came out as black as the original 15k old oil, out of warranty so going to do services every 7,500. Cheers mate!

BTW, 7.1L for the VE is inaccurate, unless they've changed the specs, in my manual it said add 6.7L, this is a 2008 SV6.

Good to hear. Thanks for the heads up about the oil capacity, I know that 6.5 is spot on for my VZ, never done a VE before though so I'm relying on the knowledge of others for those specs.

[HoldenOnn]

Fantastic Write-up and great pics.......Well Done Luke.

Just have to comment on the VE Oil Capacity. I do all the oil changes on my VZ and parent's VE. I have just finished doing another oil change on my parents VE Berlina V6 2008 model today. The owners handbook says 6.5 litres sump capacity. The service manual which I have also specifies 6.5 litres.

When I drain oil, I drive car for 15-20 mins to get oil hot, drain immediately once home, and let drain completely for an hour while I go have lunch. Filling up the VE V6 Berlina today, I put in 6.6 litres and this got the oil level to a couple of millimetres above the maximum mark on dipstick.

So I can confirm that both my 2004 VZ V6 Calais and the 2008 VE V6 Berlina has a fill capacity of 6.5 litres.

[kuzman89]

HoldenOnn, is that the 180kw engine? Must be a difference between the 195kw and 180kw engines

[HoldenOnn]

Yes its the 180kw engine.....same as Omega. The SV6 and Calais have the High Output 195kw engine.

On the data plate under bonnet of parent's VE Berlina;

Engine is: LE0
Built: Aug '08

** May have been a change from Nov onwards with the MY09.5 model as Holden upgraded the Omega and Berlina engines....see links below **

Holden VE - Media Release - Improved Fuel Efficiency for Commodore

Holden VE Commodore / Calais

[Luke52]

Hmm, I'll have a look through my Castrol books when I head into work later on, see what they say. Seems to be a fair bit of confusion regarding the VEs.

[tHe_sTiG]

Thanks a lot Luke, big help for me! No more service centers for me, changing the oil myself anymore!

[enVy6]

Woooot!! Thanks for this bro, definitely helps me a lot and will be changing my own oil + filters in the future!!! If you feel up to it don't be scared to do write ups of all other sorts of tune ups such as transmission, diff etc !!

[Jacko84]

hahaha transmission is a bit more messy

[revinR1]

The VE sump plug is 13mm for memory also

[Torquative]

suppose it should be asked ... if your using another 4 or 5 litres of oil to flush the engine/sump does it matter what weight it is because its literally going in one hole and out the other, or does it have to be close to the weighting your putting in?

Im sort of thinking no, it doesnt matter because your just pouring it in so it pours out and takes all the gunk with it, but Im also thinking yes it does because it could clog somewhere along the way and mix in with the good stuff you pour in later.

Am I just overthinking a simple thing here???

[calais06]

suppose it should be asked ... if your using another 4 or 5 litres of oil to flush the engine/sump does it matter what weight it is because its literally going in one hole and out the other, or does it have to be close to the weighting your putting in?

Im sort of thinking no, it doesnt matter because your just pouring it in so it pours out and takes all the gunk with it, but Im also thinking yes it does because it could clog somewhere along the way and mix in with the good stuff you pour in later.

Am I just overthinking a simple thing here???

Id like to know this aswell, my engine was serviced every 15,000km and i was going through the logs and one was getting close to 20,000km (previous owner, fleet-car) so im wanting to do a flush.

Hmm, I'll have a look through my Castrol books when I head into work later on, see what they say. Seems to be a fair bit of confusion regarding the VEs.

My 2006 VE Calais (195kw) says 6.7L in the service manual.

[WogBoyz]

suppose it should be asked ... if your using another 4 or 5 litres of oil to flush the engine/sump does it matter what weight it is because its literally going in one hole and out the other, or does it have to be close to the weighting your putting in?

Im sort of thinking no, it doesnt matter because your just pouring it in so it pours out and takes all the gunk with it, but Im also thinking yes it does because it could clog somewhere along the way and mix in with the good stuff you pour in later.

Am I just overthinking a simple thing here???

When i change the oil on my 8, i only use 1L or so to pour through to flush out the old oil ect in the sump, i also use the same oil im going to be putting in my engine

[Torquative]

thanks, I might just use 2 litres of the same stuff I'd be putting into the engine to try and give it a good flush on a tight budget.

I highly doubt its ever been done in its 180 000 kays, and next service I'll buy another 5 litre bottle of good stuff and flush it with that to make sure everythings done and gone.

[Torquative]

guys FYI after I drained the sump, I emptied the drain pan, and put 2.5 litres of the new oil through just as a quick flush ... and it come out looking like the old oil there was that much rubbish with it!

So next service I'll pickup another 5 litre bottle just for pouring through to clean all the gunk out.

[VYMAD]

Anyone know what the torque NM is for the filter cap and sump plug?

[VYMAD]

Also, are the fuel filters same as VY?