I've been tinkering around with the idea of changing my own oil in my S80. This may not sound like a big deal for most of you but ...you see, I'm a grandma. Granted, not your milk and home-baked cookie sort, having recently relinquished ownership of my 72 MGB, tired of spending too many cold hours tracing down wiring problems or fuel line leaks. The MG was an easy car to work on. 6 spark plugs, a few belts and hoses, 2 carbs, one oil filter, one radiator all held together with a a big hunk of iron. I couldn't get into to too much trouble with my tweeking as long as I didn't wander over too close to the carborators. While I occasionally changed my own oil, often it was only a matter of adding new as the old never actually stayed in long enough to get dirty :)

Well, I can see no reason I couldn't change my oil in the S80 even though the dealer says ONLY LET CERTIFIED VOLVO MECHANICS WORK ON YOUR CAR (enough to scare the bejezzus out of you right there!) But now I've got a warm garage, plenty of tools and a free Saturday. Besides, I already know I'm not allergic to the black engine crud that permeats into your fingers whenever you open the hood.

Now, I don't want to go messing up the engine of my only transportation to and from work because I didn't know the in's and out's of a proper oil change. I found a website (bay13) that looked to give me a good, comprehensive step-by-step rundown, so I know this isn't rocket science, but I do have a few questions and would value your opinions (if you would be so inclined).

Do I need to buy a genuine Volvo (Mann?) oil filter or have is this just propaganda? (I know the MG had to have a special filter that allowed a small reservoir of oil to remain in the filter that it used to at start up, so to me this isn't a silly question.) What are your recommendations?

And the dealer has always put Casterol GTX in it so unless there is some compelling reason why I need to change brands, I was planning on sticking to what worked in the past. It sounds like synthetic is the way to go though.

Now the big three part question - The directions state "When replacing the drain plug be sure to use an aluminum crush washer torqued to 26 Lb. Ft." What does he mean by "when" and "replace". Is he refering to replacing the entire plug or just putting the old one back? It would make more sense if he was refering to just replacing the washer, which I'd imagine, might need done every time if its made of aluminum... I'm confused. And how many of you guys torque the plug to 26 lb. ft? I don't own a torque wrench (however I would know what it looked like if one was dropped on my foot.) Will my dad's old advice of just "snuggin' it up" work just as well (checking often for leaks).

Any other hints, tricks or things to look out for?