Trailblazer maintenance questions...

[HillHound]

Just turned 4K miles on my wife's 03 Ttrailblazer 4.2L and gonna change the oil/filter tomorrow. I haven't even looked under it yet...any hints?

 

Also was wondering if there are grease fitting on them. My Silverado had 11 zerks and I hope the Trailblazer has none or at least less than that!

[MattDewalt]

I change the oil on my wife's TB. It's pretty straightforward. There is a big plastic splash shield that covers the entire bottom of the engine compartment. GM put a nice little acess panel towards the RT side of the motor. Turn the 2 screws about 1 turn each and the panel will pop off. The screws stay attatched to the panel. Once the panel is off, you will have access to your drain plug and filter.

[burgundyz71]

If it ever stops raining I'm changing oil too. There are fittings but haven't gotten under there yet to count.

[MUVEIT]

The only bad part is unscrewing the filter without soaking your hand in oil. Also plan on buying oil when on sale. 7 quarts at a time sure makes a dent in a case you use to get 2 /12 oil changes out of.

 

Dave

[trailblazr]

have any idea what the drain plug is supposed to be torqued to after the oil is drained? is there a required torque at all on the oil pan drain plug?

 

thanks

 

[bowtie_pasta]

Usually the manual will list a torque spec for the drain plug bolt. Don't know what it is for the TB, but for my Blazer it's 12-15ft. lbs. I beleive.

[HillHound]

The only bad part is unscrewing the filter without soaking your hand in oil. Also plan on buying oil when on sale. 7 quarts at a time sure makes a dent in a case you use to get 2 /12 oil changes out of.

 

Dave

Yeah I wondered how they fit 7qts in there too. The 6.8L V10 in our F250 only takes 6.

 

Anyway, I got it changed pretty easily, albeit not neatly. Like you said-all was nice and clean until I broke the seal on the filter!

 

Didn't get to the fittings though. I never noticed any that were out in the open but I didn't look too hard. I think I'll just grease them next time I change the oil. It should be fine for another 3 or 4 K miles.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

[Black02Silverado]

The only bad part is unscrewing the filter without soaking your hand in oil. Also plan on buying oil when on sale. 7 quarts at a time sure makes a dent in a case you use to get 2 /12 oil changes out of.

 

Dave

Try using a zip lock bag, the freezer kind or the self standing ones work well. Put it over the filter and when you take it off the bag catches the oil and not all over you.

 

Just another UBI.

[chevroletmb]

no grease fittings on a envoy/trailblazer

[mcali17]

Do you guys really torque the oil drain plug?? I have been changing my own oil for 14 years, not to mention countless other vehicles and never, ever used a torque wrench and also never had any problems. I mean, if you are that concerned that you may over or under tighten the plug by all means use the torque wrench but I guess it is just one of those things that comes with experience to know how tight is tight enough but not too tight.

[burgundyz71]

I posted earlier that there were fittings on the Trailblazer but after further examination I must change my answer to none.

[bowtie_pasta]

Do you guys really torque the oil drain plug??  I have been changing my own oil for 14 years, not to mention countless other vehicles and never, ever used a torque wrench and also never had any problems. I mean, if you are that concerned that you may over or under tighten the plug by all means use the torque wrench but I guess it is just one of those things that comes with experience to know how tight is tight enough but not too tight.

I've actually put a torque wrench on my drain plugs, but I do agree it's going it a bit overboard. It's silly they even put a torque spec in the books.

 

Lately though I just give em' a good snug and that's that.

[mcali17]

I was just curious. I am told that every single nut and bolt on a car or truck has a torque specification, I guess it just depends on what you consider critical. I have come across oil drain plugs that were so tight, I had to use two crescent wrenches interlocked to remove the plug. Same as oil filters. You have to make them hand tight, but don't want them so tight that you can't get them off.

 

I wonder if there is a torque spec for the oil filter.

[HillHound]

Anyone know if K&N has an oil flter for the Trailblazer I6?

[burgundyz71]

truckperformance.com lists one for the I6