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DIY: How to Change Your Oil
05/22/12
What you will need:
1. An oil filter wrench
2. An adjustable wrench or a socket wrench
3. Two empty plastic milk cartons, or other empty container
4. A funnel
5. Some rags
6. New oil
7. New oil filter
8. A shallow plastic or metal pan that will hold at least 2 gallons (Cat litter
pan works well.)
9. Wheel blocks
10. Safety glasses
11. A jack and a pair of jack stands or a pair of car ramps.
12. Rubber gloves (Optional)
"How often do I need to change my oil?" you ask. Most manufacturers'
recommendations are once every 7,500 miles, depending on the car and driving
conditions. Most folks change it once every 6,000 miles. Conventional wisdom
says that changing more often is better.
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Personally, I recommend every 3,000 to 3,500 miles to my customers. This is
because driving conditions are very rarely "Ideal" and keeping clean
oil in the crankcase is the best way to keep your engine running for a good,
long time.
Okay, let's put on some old clothes and get to work. Make sure that your car
is parked on a level grade, rather than on any sort of hill or inclined driveway.
Warm oil drains much easier than cold oil so let your car run for about 10 minutes
before you drain the oil. After the engine is nice and warm, jack up the car
and place your jack stands under the frame to support the vehicle. Or, if you
have car ramps, drive the car onto the ramps. In either case, block the rear
wheels to prevent rolling. Set the parking brake and if you have an automatic
transmission, put in Park.
NEVER GO UNDER A CAR SUPPORTED BY THE JACK ALONE!! SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH CAN
RESULT!!!
Watch out for hot oil, it's a good idea to wear safety glasses when changing
your oil. I wear a pair of latex examination gloves, exactly like your Doctor
uses, to help keep my hands clean and pick up the drain plug that will probably
fall into the drain pan. You can buy them at the auto parts store.
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Grab your drain pan and wrench and slide under the car. Locate the oil drain
plug on the oil pan.
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Place your drain pan under the plug and unscrew the plug (counter-clockwise)
with the wrench. Make sure you have a good fit and do not round off the drain
plug. If it proves stubborn, get the proper size socket and ratchet or a 6-point
box wrench.
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As soon as you completely unscrew the drain plug, the oil will come out in
a rush, so be careful. Like I said before... chances are the plug will fall
into the pan along with the oil. Don't worry when it happens.
When all the oil has drained into the pan, fish out the plug and screw it
back in. Tighten it firmly, but not so hard that you strip the threads. I don't
know how many drain plugs I have had to repair because people think you need
to put 50,000 foot-pounds of torque on a drain plug.
Always change the filter whenever you change the oil. I could never see the
sense in changing the oil and leaving a quart of dirty oil in the engine.
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You'll be able to get to the old filter from either above or below the car.
Place the oil filter wrench around the filter's body. There are two types of
oil filter wrench, a cup type and a strap type. The cup type fits over the end
of the filter like a socket and has a 3/8" or 1/2" square hole for
fitting on a ratchet. The strap type fits around the body of the filter and
will work on any filter. If you plan on doing all of your filter changes, invest
in the cup type for your filter. With the strap type, grab the filter as close
to the threaded end as you can. Place a pan under the filter to catch any leakage
as the filter is removed.
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The old filter may be a little tough to crack loose, but once it does, it
will spin right off. Unscrew it completely and put it aside, it will be full
of oil. Wipe the surface of the oil filter housing to make sure the old oil
filter gasket did not stick to it and that it is clean and dirt free.
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Take some of the new oil and coat the gasket of the new filter with it. This
insures the new gasket will slip into place properly.
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Install the new filter. In filters that sit straight up and down, I usually
fill with new oil. Tighten the filter firmly, spin it hand tight and then another
1/4 turn by hand. Do not tighten it with the oil filter wrench. All you'll do
is distort the gasket and cause a leak.
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On top of the engine locate the oil fill cap. It will usually say "Oil"
or "Oil Fill" on it. Most of the time it's on top of a valve cover.
Unscrew it and pour in the proper amount and type of oil recommended for your
vehicle. Look in your owners' manual for the proper type of oil and the location
of the oil fill if it's not obvious.
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After you have the oil in, replace the oil fill cap and wipe up some of the
oil you might have spilled.
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