Oil change and transmission fluid check, missing bolt

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Originally Posted by giaka

I did notice I was missing a bolt on the skid plate under the engine, whats the quickest way to find the part number for it so I can order one?

Parts diagram (ETK). Go to realoem.com and choose vehicle type with your VIN. Those bolts are spec'd as one-time-use bolts (torque + angle), so you may wish to consider replacing them all and torquing them correctly. Warning - they're not cheap.

Originally Posted by giaka

First time I have ever seen a filter like this with the plastic caps. I guess Im used to see Mann filters.

Normal.

Originally Posted by giaka

Shes a pretty clean machine underneath which made me happy, its a joy to work on clean cars. Not 100% sure on the transmission temp (warm not hot) when I leveled the car and pulled the fill plug to check the level. Car was running and in Neutral, I pulled the plug and probably 4oz or so ran out onto the drip pan. I put the plug back in and decided Im changing the fluid and filter before 65k. Fluid looked ok and didnt smell funny but the thought that CarMax may have serviced and overfilled it is scary. There were Marks on teh fill plug and drain plug so someone has been under there (another oddity since the car only has 50k miles on it).

Transmission must be level and within temperature range to set fluid level. It's possible that you drained fluid from a correctly-filled but hot transmission.

Originally Posted by giaka

Farmer style, dont worry those leveling blocks are glued and screwed together. Its a very stable setup. If I need it higher I just jack it up and add more 2X6 spacers .

Please tell me you didn't crawl under the vehicle unless it was also supported by jack stands...