Built in various styles from 1962 to 2008, the Grand Prix name has been used by Pontiac for a variety of very different cars during it's 46-year production life. It evolved from a V-8-powered rear-wheel-drive personal luxury car to a front-wheel-drive sport coupe and sedan powered by four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines. Motor oil is both a lubricant and a coolant in the engine of your Pontiac Gran Prix. At regular intervals prescribed in your owners manual, the oil an oil filter must be changed to minimize engine wear, optimize fuel efficiency and ensure sufficient oil filtration. Save money on oil changes by doing it yourself with a few basic tools.
Park your Grand Prix in a level place, turn off the engine, and engage the parking brake. Place blocks behind the rear tires and disconnect the negative battery cable under the hood. Remove the oil dipstick and wipe it clean. If you have been driving your car, wait an hour before beginning your oil change to reduce the temperature of the oil and engine block.
Jack up the front of the vehicle and lower it onto jack stands. Place the jack stands under a stable spot on the frame to avoid damage to the undercarriage and to be certain that it will not fall. If you are working on a newer model Grand Prix, it has a sub frame as opposed to a full frame. Check your owners manual for the correct areas to place the jack and jack stands.
Under the car, locate the the oil pan and oil plug. The oil pan is the lowest point on the engine, and the plug is a bolt in bottom of the pan. Place the oil catch pan below the oil plug and remove the oil plug with a properly sized wrench or socket. The oil will drain into the catch pan.
Replace the oil plug and wipe the area clean with a rag so that you can locate any leaks that may arise later.
Place the catch pan below the oil filter. The oil filter will be higher up on the engine, but accessed from under the car. Using an oil filter tool or strap wrench, loosen and remove the oil filter, allowing any excess oil to fall into the drain pan. Wipe the mating surface clean on the engine block and remove any oil filter gasket material that has stuck.
Fill the replacement filter and lubricate its rubber seal with new oil. Screw the filter into place until it makes contact with the engine, and then tighten it, by hand, as instructed on the side of the filter or its retail box -- usually 1/4 to 3/4 turn. Tightening too much may cause the oil seal to split or make it very difficult to remove at the next oil change. Use caution not to cross-thread the filter on the engine block.
While it is better to have oil in the oil filter when you first start your car, some engines do not have the oil filter oriented vertically, in which cases the new oil will pour out when reinstalling. In that case, only lubricate the rubber seal and do not fill the filter with oil.
Double check that you have reinstalled both the oil plug and the oil filter.
Locate the oil fill cap on the engine and remove it. Pour the required amount of new oil into the engine using a funnel to reduce the chance of spilling. Reference your owners manual for the correct type and amount of oil. Place the dipstick back in its place and check the oil level, filling as needed until it is between the marks on the end of the stick.
Remove the jack stands and lower the vehicle back to the ground. Pour the old oil into a sealed container for proper disposal.
Start the Grand Prix and allow it to run for a minute, then turn it off again and wait two minutes for the oil to drain back into the oil pan. Check the oil level once more and add as needed to bring the level to the "Full" mark. Check below the car for any leaks near the oil drain plug or oil filter.
