The 1998 Nissan 200SX was available with either a 1.6-liter or a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Changing the engine oil on either dual overhead cam engine is similar, although each engine takes a different oil filter. Accessing the oil filter presents something of a challenge; especially for front-yard mechanics performing their own oil changes without the use of a car lift. Having the correct wrench to reach the filter certainly makes the task more manageable.
Apply the parking brake of the Nissan 200SX and release the primary hood release latch.
Open the hood by releasing the secondary hood latch. Prop the hood onto its hood prop rod.
Remove the oil fill cap on top of the valve cover. Place the cap in a safe spot so it does not fall into the engine compartment.
Hoist the front of the 200SX up with a jack. Place a jack stand under the left- and right-front frame rails. Lower the vehicle onto the jack stands.
Put on latex gloves. Crawl under the front of the vehicle with the drain pan, metric wrench set, oil filter wrench and replacement oil filter.
Locate the oil pan drain bolt at the bottom of the oil pan. Turn the bolt counterclockwise with a metric wrench. Loosen it until you align the oil drain pan beneath the oil pan drain bolt. Remove the bolt so the oil drains into the pan. Allow the oil to drain until it is barely trickling or dripping from the pan.
Replace the oil pan drain bolt and tighten it snugly. Do not overtighten the bolt, but ensure that it is snug to the oil pan.
Locate the oil filter on the passenger side of the vehicle. It's between the rear engine block and the firewall of the engine compartment. Place the flex-head band-strap oil filter wrench onto the shaft of the filter. Pull the handle counterclockwise to remove the filter. Align the drain pan beneath the oil filter before you loosen it very much.
Remove the filter and allow the oil to drain from the engine block. Rub some spent oil on the rubber ring gasket of the new oil filter before installing it. Make sure the old rubber ring gasket of the original filter came off the oil filter housing flange before installing the new filter. Hand-tighten the filter snugly. Do not tighten the filter with the oil filter wrench.
Collect all the tools and crawl out from under the front of the 200SX.
Lower the car back to the ground.
Place a funnel in the oil fill hole. Pour three quarts of oil into the engine. The 1.6-liter 200SX takes 3.375 quarts of oil; the 2.0-liter takes 3.625 quarts. Remove the funnel and replace the oil fill cap. Start the engine. Allow it to run for 10 to 20 seconds. Check the oil fill dipstick (yellow-tipped handle). Add the remaining oil, as required for whichever engine you have. Do not overfill.
