Originally Posted by vifferman

First, thanks AK for your excellent post. I've changed my own oil for some 45 years (really) and while I have the FSM, and knew what to do, your photos ensured confidence and a clear understanding of the position of things, et al -big help. Thank you. Now - the good, bad & ugly of my 4/30/11 experience...

1) Removed the air deflectors and raised my 2010 Z Roadster onto the Rhino Ramps (2x4s in front for clearance insurance). No issues.

2) Open hood & loosened the oil filler cap (many forget this step). Chose to remove the four rearward bolts and lower the access flap rather than to go thru the pain of full belly pan removal. It works, but the lowered flap is a considerable hinderance to easy access, so I may follow AK's lead in the future.

3) Because of the awkward access (had to reach from below rather than from above), the drain plug removal resulted in my first significant "beyond-the-pan" spill in 45 years. Big mess, but I always place an absorbant pad under the drain pan (in this case, an old mattress pad), so no permanent concrete stains or the like. Still - big mess with inordinate clean-up time - ARGH!

4) Waited till oil had drained to a painfully slow drip, then replaced the drain plug (w/new washer) & filter. Based on others' reports of overfills with 5 quarts, I added roughly 4.8 quarts of fresh Nissan Ester to bring it to within about 1/4 inch of the 'full mark.' Perfect IMO, and still there after several drives.

Notes & Observations: 1) IMO - all the magnetic stuff (drain plug & filter attachment) is largely unnecessary snake oil. If it makes you feel better, do it (it will do no harm), but regular oil/filter changes will likely serve you well enough sans the snake oil. 2) If you must use a magnetic drain plug, buy one made of steel, as aluminum plug threads are commonly subject to failure (stripping) against the stronger steel oil pan mounts. 3) And, no offense intended to AK, whether you use an aluminum or steel drain plug, AK's stated positioning of the OEM crush washer is wrong. It may mean little, but the proper position of the copper crush washer (per Nissan) is for the dimpled side to be screwed on against the bolt seat , with the larger flat surface to mate with the oil pan surface.