If you find yourself like many studying up on this subject, you are probably sort of reluctant to handle maintenance on your own vehicle. But changing the oil on your everyday driver involves only some ordinary tools and a little free time, and it’s an ideal project for new enthusiasts wanting to get familiar with their cars or owners looking for a way save a few bucks. Besides, after you have the process down, you’re able to get rid of the trouble of having to drive to a shop and wait or needing to arrange a ride for the day. Even more important, you can take more control of the maintenance and health of your motor vehicle.
Tools That You Need
Floor jack
Jack stands
2 Wheel chocks
New oil & filter
Oil filter wrench
Socket set & ratchet
Filler funnel
Shop rags/old towels
Oil drain pan
Rubber or plastic gloves
Safety glasses
Oil drain plug repair kit (optional but good to have)
Park the car on a level surface and grab your tools while the engine cools some. Don’t work on a hot engine, it’s easy to get burned.
Have on your safety gear, pop the hood open and remove the oil filler cap, and let’s begin.
Raise the Automobile
Set the car in “park” and chock the rear wheels to stop it from rolling back when you start raising the front end. Standing in front of your car, roll your floor jack under the front bumper and push it back until it’s sitting directly under the cross member. Be sure that you’re not jacking up on the oil or transmission pan or another part that may possibly bend under the weight. This may cause dents, damage and leaks. Raise the car until it’s sufficiently high for you to slide the jack stands under the frames on each side. Once in place, slowly lower your car onto the jack stands.
Releasing the Old Oil and Filter
Whenever you’re working on a more modern automobile you might be required to take off the plastic undercover to start before getting access to most of the components. Some have built-in access hatches which may be marked while others will simply will need to be taken out entirely. The good news is they are relatively easy to unfasten or are basically locked in place with just a few screws.
Set the drain pan below the oil drain plug. With your ratchet or wrench, unscrew the oil drain plug. Once you have it off, look over it to determine if the top is warped or the threads are bad. If yes, you’ve got to utilize the repair kit or oversized plug when screwing it back. A previously over-tightened plug can be defective, keeping it from establishing a proper seal with the pan and allowing oil to flow out. As soon as you take out that plug, the oil will start emptying out into the pan.
While the oil is draining out from the bottom, change to your oil filter wrench and twist off the filter. Most of the time, the filter is reachable from underneath the car but some makes have them located on top. Filters only need to be hand-tight but you’ll find that they are sometimes rather difficult to remove because some repair shops nearly torque them down. If you find yourself having trouble budging it then try another kind of oil filter wrench. Some are more effective than others depending on how much space you have to work with and kind of filter. As soon as you finish twisting off the filter, a little bit of oil will spill out from where it was attached. It’s a good idea to wipe up any spilled or extra oil from your engine compartment because it makes it quicker to pinpoint new leaks down the road. Inspect your old oil filter and be sure there’s a rubber O-ring on the sealing surface. Once in a while, that O-ring doesn’t come out along with the filter and gets left behind. Later, when you screw in a new filter with its own O-ring you get a double stack of O-rings. This keeps the new filter from seating the proper way and forming a reliable seal and oil can then pump out of your engine and damage it.
Putting in the New Filter and Oil Drain Plug
After more or less 5 minutes just about all the oil probably will be drained from the vehicle and you may get going with the reassembly. To start, take a tiny amount of new oil and rub it over the rubber O-ring of the new oil filter. Now install the filter and get it hand-tight. Now screw in the existing oil drain plug or the repair kit, whichever is needed. Be sure the plug is screwed in securely but don’t over-tighten it. Now that things are together again, take away the oil drain pan and your tools from underneath the vehicle. The single thing allowed to remain underneath the auto should be the jack stands. Put the floor jack once more under the car and lift it up just enough to clear the jack stands for removal. Now, slowly bring down your car to the ground.
Filling with New Oil
Now that your vehicle is back down, you’ll be ready to pouring in the new oil. Place the filler funnel in the oil filler tube and begin pouring. When you’ve refilled the oil supply, check the oil dip stick to make sure the amount is indicating full. If that’s the case, take out the funnel and replace the oil filler cap. Start the engine and run it for only a few minutes and after that search for leaks under the car. In the event you spilled any oil just use cat litter to absorb it up and then power-wash the left overs with a bit of detergent and water.
The last step is to safely dispose of your old oil and filter. Don’t dump it in the backyard or pour it down your sink. Find a local recycler like Walmart or an auto parts store that sells oil and they will generally take your old oil at no cost or a charge a small fee. Otherwise, call your local municipality – in most cases, they have drop-off points for household hazardous waste. And that’s it! After a couple of oil changes the whole job will take you less than 30 minutes, save you at least $25 and above all, make other diy car maintenance tasks seem doable.