Changing Oil in Your Car Made Simple

Changing Oil in Your Car Made Simple

When the average person’s car needs an oil change we drive to a Quick Lube and have it done in 20 minutes. Another alternative would be to change the oil your self, this is a fairly simple process, most people with some common sense and some basic hand tools can do it at home on a weekend.

The first step is finding out how much oil your car holds and what kind of oil filter fits on your cars engine. Your car’s owner’s manual will have a capacity section in the back, down the list till you come to the engine oil capacity, and the chart will list the number of quarts that your car needs. Also on most new cars when you can look on the oil cap it should state the oil weight which is recommended by the cars manufacturer. Then you need to go to the local parts house (I prefer Advance or Orileys) get the brand of oil that you prefer in the recommended weight, and quantity. When you pay, you can get the part number for the oil filter, all you have to know is the make of the car and the motor size and they should be able to find the information and then tell you which filter belongs on the car. Remember to get an oil filter wrench to remove the filter of with if don’t already have one.

Next, go home and find a level spot on which to park your vehicle. Before you jack up the front of the vehicle, you need to set the emergency brake and chock the rear wheels; this is just a safety measure to keep the car form rolling back. Once you have completed this, you need to refer to the owner’s manual again for the recommended lift points for the car. You are not able to just put a jack underneath a car and lift it up because you will risk damaging the under body. There are certain places to put the jack to properly do this, or if your have a 4x4 and have a straight axel in the front you can just put the jack in the middle of the axel and lift it that way. Once you have the car in the air you will want to put some jack stands under each side and lower the car down on these, this will prevent the car from falling on you if the jack where to collapse, since jacks are only designed to pick the car up, not support it all day. Once the car is safely on the jack stands, you are ready to change the oil.

First, you need to remove the oil fill cap under the hood so the oil will flow out freely. Be sure that you have a container for the used oil later; take it to recycle centers which are usually located around town. Remember that it is now illegal to dump oil anywhere. Next find the drain plug, which will be located on the bottom of the engine block. It is the only plug located usually in the middle of a black pan in the front of the vehicle. Be careful that you have the right plug because some transmissions are also equipped with a drain plug. Once the plug has been located, find the right size socket or wrench to fit it, and be careful not to