WHERE IS THE OIL FILTER on Ecotech 2.2?

Okay, okay...I thought I was ready...I had everything together, and thought
I'd be able to recognize the oil filter housing....WRONG! Where is it you
guys? What does it look like? On which side of the engine, etc. etc. Should
I get it from above or below? Is it in the block...or? Thanks ahead of time
for the info!
Warren

 

Open the hood, stand in front of the driver's side near the center and look
straight dow. See that black screw-on cap there? That is the oil cartridge
filter. It is now a simple oil cartridge that screws into the engine block
instead of the old metal external filter. Makes it kinda nice for the do-it
yourselfer, huh?

marx404

 

Lol yeah this will be a new one for you. Looking from the top of the
engine compartment standing at the front bumper. Look at the intake
manifold then look to the right of that and down a little bit. Notice a
black plastic cap about 3 inches in diameter. Notice a 1 1/4 inch hex
head on the cap. Remove that cap...hey theres your filter, have a rag
handy.
Some things to know for the ecotec:
- Snap the new filter into the cap or you might crush it when you put it
together.
- Do not torque down on that cap as it may break. Just snug it down till
it stops.

 

Geee, wasn't that what they had before the spin-on filter was invented?
IIRC, 'very messy' was the reason why it got displaced by spin ons long
ago. And spin ons aren't messy unless they're cheap with the design and
put them horizontal.

Hey, remember that 80's GM that had it up in the oil pan?

 

The Ecotec oil filter design is a lot less messy than most spin-ons I've
seen - there's not much oil that lingers in that area and the filter snaps
into the cap so you can just pull it out, pull off the old filter and put in
the new one.

 

I actaully like the cartridge filter used on the Ecotechs.
Unlike most people around today, I have had the thrill of
working with both cartridge and spin-on filters. To be sure,
the old style cartridge filter could be messy. However, I've
never seen a spin on that wasn't messy also. I don't care
what angle you mount them at, some oil always slops over the
side when you unscrew them. The vertically mounted ones are
little better than the horizontally mounted one. In fact,
I've seen severval vertical arrangements that were worse
than any horizontally mounted filter. The Ecotech filter on
the otherhand is painless, and very simple to change. Little
if any oil is spilled when you pull it out of the enclosure.
I have changes my Vue's oil twice now and have yet to drop
any oil from the filter on the engine. I'd rate it as the
easiest car to change oil in since my 1972 Pinto. The Pinto
has to be number 1, since I could change it's oil without
even going underneath (I could reach both the pan plug and
filter from the top of the engine).

Ed

 

I asked the salesman that question on the final walk-around when I
bought my 2.2L. Vue 3 weeks ago. He was amazed I asked that question,
since it was the first time anyone asked it of him and he did not even
know where it was. He had to go find one of the dealership mechanics
to get an anwer.
Anyway, I'll probably get the dealer to change the oil for the first
few times, then I will install the synthetic oil that Valvoline
recently offered a 100 percent rebate on.
I changed the oil every 3K miles on my two SW2's. With the new Vues.
there is no fixed oil change interval anymore and the CPU determines
when the oil needs to be changed. Does anyone have figures on the
elapsed mileage when that happens?

 

The Oil Life Monitor counts engine rotations. If you drive hard or put
your engine underload by towing your engine makes more revolutions.
Other things are factored but thats the major % of it.

 

Here are several GM web sites that give a more complete
explanation (sales pitch?).

http://www.gm.com/company/gmability...es/news/simplified_maintenance_qa_040104.html

http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/images/issues/may03/TLMay03e.html#story1

http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/images/issues/mar04/TLMar04e.html#story6

http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/arcv_pdf/3_00_e.pdf

From http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/arcv_pdf/3_00_e.pdf

"A computer chip in the Powertrain Control Module is loaded
with a certain number of engine revolution counts. The count
for each engine/vehicle combination is determined by
testing. As the engine runs, each revolution is subtracted
from the remaining count in the oil life monitor. When the
count reaches zero, the instrument panel light comes on.
But, here’s the clever part.

"When the various input sensors detect that the engine is
running under either cold or hot conditions, it subtracts
extra counts (penalties)for each engine revolution. So, the
conditions that cause the oil to "wear out" make the counter
run down faster."

Regards,

Ed White

 

Does anyone have figures on the

My 2004 Quad Coupe just alerted me at 2,466 miles. No trailer towing, no
hard driving. It was esentially highway. I was really surprised. I do not
know if age of the oil figures into it (based on the previous setting /
reset) but the oil was placed in the car at manufacture in October 2003. Due
to it's age it was due anyways, and besides, I wanted to run synthetic, so
it was surely time.

Warren