If it's time for an oil change (first replacement after 5 thousand km, and then every 10 thousand km) did not come out, but you are tormented by doubts, try to determine the condition of the oil, using the experience of experienced car enthusiasts. Apply a few drops of oil taken from the crankcase (using a feeler gauge) on filter paper. Light yellow and light brown spots with a blue tint indicate good oil condition. A dark spot should be a warning sign. Some car enthusiasts are quite skilled at checking oil by touch. If your fingers feel warmth and hard grains when rubbing the oil, it means the oil needs to be changed, as it is liquid and contains mechanical impurities. The presence of mechanical impurities is most likely during the first oil change. Despite the high production culture and the most advanced technology for manufacturing engine parts, the smallest particles of metal are still separated and washed away by the oil constantly circulating in the system. The bulk of these particles settle in the labyrinths of the oil filter, but some of them still escape into the system.
In Zhiguli cars, unlike other brands of cars, all the oil circulating in the system passes through the oil filter, which is why it is called full-flow. The filter works effectively while the folds of its filter element are still able to collect waste. It is replaced with a new one at the same time as the oil is changed.
Since the drain plug of the crankcase is located at the bottom of the engine oil pan, it is natural that the oil change operation should be performed on an inspection ditch or overpass. The tools and materials required for this are: a key for unscrewing the oil filter, which is commercially available; 12mm key for unscrewing the plug; container for draining used oil; fresh oil (3.75 l) and oil filter complete with rubber gasket; napkins or some old soft rags for wiping.
If the car is prepared for the operation, i.e. installed in the right place and secured with wheel chocks and a parking brake against movement, if the hood is open and the oil filler cap is removed, the oil can be drained. In order for the oil to drain quickly and completely, it must be hot, so be careful when performing the operation to avoid burns. The container for the used oil must be placed under the drain hole, slightly shifting it back along the direction of the car, since the hole is located at an angle of 30°. Draining time is 10 minutes.
The oil filter is removed when most of the oil has already leaked out. The filter is unscrewed with a special key. It is worse when there is no such key. Sandpaper can come to the rescue (coarse-grained). After wrapping the filter housing with the abrasive side, turn it counterclockwise. There is another way to unscrew the filter, but it is used in the most extreme cases, when there is no other way out. The filter housing is pierced with a stitching tool, which is in the driver's tool kit, and, having put an extension on the end of the stitching, the filter is unscrewed.
On the end face of the oil filter there is an annular groove in which a rubber sealing gasket is located. To prevent the gasket from shifting when installing the filter, it is pre-lubricated (preferably with thick grease). The gasket reliably seals the filter and no special effort is required when installing it. After installing the new filter (remember: the filter is single-use), you can pour in fresh oil, having first screwed in the drain plug. The oil is poured into the oil filler neck carefully, without rushing, so as not to spill it on the engine, and the neck is closed with a lid.
Only oils recommended by the manufacturer should be poured into the engine of VAZ cars. Among imported oils, you can find substitutes for domestic ones, but switching to any other type of oil is impossible without preliminary flushing of the lubrication system.
Foreign analogues for domestic "Zhiguli" oils can be: as a winter oil - SAE 20WAPI "SE" oil, as an all-season oil - SAE 15W-30API "SE" oil. For those who are interested in what such a number of letters mean, we decipher: SAE is an abbreviated designation of the Society of Automotive Engineers, W - indicates that the oil is winter or all-season, API is an abbreviated name of the American Petroleum Institute, S - indicates that the oil is intended for carburetor engines, E - indicates that the oil is intended for engines produced after 1972.
To flush the system, instead of the drained used oil, pour in 3 liters of special cleaning oil VNIINP-FD and let the engine run for 10-15 minutes at a low (800-1000 rpm) crankshaft speed. Then drain the cleaning oil, change the oil filter and pour in new oil. It is also advisable to flush the lubrication system with cleaning oil for purely preventive purposes, since after 50-60 thousand km of mileage, resinous deposits and slag appear in the system.
Although the plant recommends periodically flushing the system with cleaning oil, it is often not available for sale. It is also rarely available at service stations. Therefore, in practice, an extra portion of ordinary "Zhiguli" oil is used as cleaning oil.
The oil level must be certain. Experienced car enthusiasts are often surprised by the fact that in the period from one maintenance to another, i.e. for 10 thousand km, it is rarely necessary to top up the oil. Indeed, the oil consumption of serviceable VAZ engines is minimal, but there comes a time when the engine occasionally consumes too much oil. You look, and the level is below the "min" mark. Despite the fact that the design provides for an oil pressure indicator, periodic checking of the level will eliminate unforeseen accidents. The oil level in the engine must be checked when the engine is cold. You need to remove the dipstick, wipe it and reinsert it into the socket. After removing the dipstick again, determine the level in the engine crankcase by the oil trace on it. If the trace is between the "min" and "max" marks, then everything is fine. If the oil trace coincides with the "min" mark or has dropped even lower, oil should be added in small doses using a measuring cup, and after a few minutes, check again with the dipstick (the trace should be between the "min" and "max" marks).
(The material is posted on the website: VAZbook.ru)
Both in axle gearboxes and in gearboxes (gears and transfer case) the oil has to work under difficult conditions, especially during the first thousand kilometers. When running in, the gears are cleaned of burrs, and these small metal particles are washed off by the oil and clog it. The oil is still "noble", but mechanical impurities make it incapable of performing the functions assigned to it. The oil must be changed. To do this, you need to have 17 and 12 mm keys for unscrewing plugs, a filling device, vessels for draining used oil, fresh oil and wiping material.
Draining oil on an inspection ditch or overpass is a simple matter. Since dirt accumulates on the front and rear axle gearboxes, gearbox and transfer case, you must first clean the drain and filler holes, and then only unscrew the plugs, having previously placed vessels for draining the used oil. The oil must be drained hot, so caution during the operation will not hurt.
To fill the axle and gearbox reducers with fresh TAd-17I oil, you will have to work a little, since the oil must be directed from the bottom up. A device developed by one of the Oryol factories, which works on the principle of excess pressure, has already appeared on the market. Oil is poured into a 3-liter tank, and then an excess pressure of up to 50 kPa is created in it using a car pump. If you disconnect the pump from the tank and insert a hose tip into the filling hole, the oil will have a path to the top.
The oil levels in the gearboxes and boxes should reach the lower edges of the filler holes: 1.3 liters are poured into the axle gearboxes, 1.35 liters into the gearbox.