456 Oil Change

In my experience, there is no mystery to this. Just know that there are two drain plugs. One at the bottom of the block, another at the bottom of the tank. Drain both. Lots and lots of oil will come out (not meaning to be silly here - just make sure you have a catch-pan big enough for the job!). I find once the majority of the oil is drained, the tank or block will continue to drip for a long while. My mechanic said this is due to the oil cooler slowly draining down. Personally, I allow it to drip for a little while but don't wait until the whole thing is empty.
Fill with the recommended amount of oil, but watch it as you approach the last quart or two. The oil is supposed to be checked warm so you won't get an exact reading from the dipstick. Also, on my car, the last quart seems to fill the tank a lot quicker than the others, so it'll look like you have need for a full quart and then suddenly you are overfull.
Then do the usual. Start it, verify oil pressure, check for leaks, dispose of the oil in an environmentally friendly way, and go have fun!

 

Yes, good advice up above.
The last quart should go in only after you have the engine running for a while, as it takes several minutes for the oil to warm up and for the level to stabilize between the engine and the reservoir.
The easiest mistake is to be impatient and top up the reservoir too soon, only to realize later that you have actually overfilled it.

 

Lots and lots of oil will come out (not meaning to be silly here - just make sure you have a catch-pan big enough for the job!). I find once the majority of the oil is drained, the tank or block will continue to drip for a long while.

Reminds me of the first time I changed the oil in an old 911 years ago as a kid. I forgot there is almost 13 quarts of oil in there. You should have seen the mess.

 

the part of the tube where the dipstick goes in, varies in diameter; wide at the bottom and narrow towards the top, which is why you can so easily overfill it.
Last time i did this i removed the oil by sucking it back up thru a hose i stuck down the dipstick tube. This seemed like a much easier way to change the oil than the traditional way. But i have not yet looked into how to change the filter - anybody got any pointers for that?

 

Well, the proper way to change the oil is to let it drain after it has warmed up and the best way to do so is to have the car on a lift.
This way you drain the oil with most of the deposits and contaminants that otherwise through the dipstick would not be eliminated and the oil filter sare within wasy reach.
Through the dipstick one can only pump out whatever oil is in the reservoir, thus leaving quite a bit in the crankcase, while the oil filters are out of sight.