The Mk7 and 7.5 Fiestas are one of the most popular cars in Britain. My guide to replacing the tail and brake light bulbs on one, which you can read here https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2018/06/30/how-to-change-the-brake-and-tail-light-on-a-2009-2017-ford-fiesta/ is one of my most viewed posts on this blog. So I thought I’d make more posts about the Fiesta as and when the opportunity arose.
Today we will be replacing the oil and filter. The car I’m working on is a 1.25 petrol, but from what I can gather the process is pretty much the same across the range of engines.
For this job you will need a jack, jack stands, a ratchet with 13mm socket, a oil filter socket and a container to catch the oil coming out.
The first step is to jack up the car and support it on jack stands. I found this great image on the FiestaST.org forums which explains jack and jack stand placement much better than I could! The jacking points (red circles) are along a pinch seam where the sides of the body meet the floor panel, and the jack stands (blue circles) sit under the subframe.
Once you’re under the car it’s time to find the oil filter and sump plug.
The oil filter is on the side of the engine facing the nose of the car.
The sump plug is on the rear side.
Place your container underneath the sump plug and remove the plug with your 13mm socket. Be ready to move the container to catch the oil as it can come out with a bit of force.
Whilst the oil is draining you can replace the filter. Remove the old filter with your socket and make sure that the new one matches it.
Before you put the new one on, dip your finger in some fresh oil and run it around the rubber gasket. This just helps the gasket seat correctly as the filter is tightened.
Put the new filter on and replace the sump plug.
Before lowering the car back onto the ground, I normally put half a litre of oil into the car and poke my head back underneath to make sure that nothing is leaking. I then lower the car back down and add about half a litre of oil at a time until it reads just below the max on the dipstick.
To reset the service interval you turn the key to the second position and hold the brake and accelerator pedal down at the same time for about 20 seconds.
That’s it! A nice quick and easy little job which will help keep your engine healthy and happy.
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By Richard Francis
