Oil Change Again!!!

[TwistingMyMelon]

Should be oil, DOH!

Hiya

Been a silent reader for tooooo long!! I have a mk1 94 1.8is (pics shortly). I like to change the oil every 5000 miles / 6 months (I drive it hard), normally I send it to the chumps at ATS, as it is £35 for a Shell fully synth change and have had no complaints.

This time I thought I'd do it myself as I intend to work more on the car. Just had a quick rekkie to look for any potential issues and have the following questions:

1. Do you have to take the plastic bottom engine guard off to access the sump plug, from what I can make out the plug is just at the end of this , although Rod's enthusiasts manual suggests you do?

2. Whats the best oil to use, spec and brand? I get a little HLA noise on startup sometimes, but the oil pressure always remains good (real gauge not on/off one).

Any advice and answers would be much appreciated I'm off to do some wrist exercises, so i can get a good grip on the Filter

Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Tuesday 4th September 13:30

[TwistingMyMelon]

Brilliant! Came across it before but forgot about it!! Is it stupid to use a 19mm Spanner to get the sump plug out as oposed to a socket (Brother is borrowing set)? Also, can anyone recomend anybrands or offers on oil at the moment, online or shops?

[TwistingMyMelon]

Used halfords fully synth in past and found it OK, mite pop down and have a look tonight.

Stop Press!

Just had a look on ebay and found 4 litres of Silkolene Pro S 5W-40 for £40 with free p&p from Opie oils, looks like I might go with that.

Cheers for the help guys