Instructions on How to Change Oil

Changing your oil regularly is the key to making it last a very long time. In this article, we cover the basic instructions on how to change the oil in most vehicles.

Let’s start with a quick word of caution. Every vehicle is unique. Make sure you give the oil section of your owner’s manual a quick read to make sure that there isn’t something unique that has to be done when changing the oil of your car. Murphy’s Law suggests that if you read the manual, nothing odd will come up. If you don’t, it will!

Getting Ready

The first step to changing your oil is more preparatory than anything. First, you need to crawl under the car and see if you can get at the oil filter and drain plug. The drain plug is on the bottom of the oil pan and should be easy to reach. The oil filter may not. If you can’t get at it fairly easily, I strongly suggest you take the car to an oil change shop. The aggravation isn’t going to be worth it. Trust me on this.

If everything looks good, you need to grab the owner’s manual. Look up the oil section and figure out how many quarts of oil you need and the type. Head off to the local auto shop store and pick up the oil. Also grab a quality oil filter and, if necessary, an oil filter wrench. These “wrenches” fit over the filter and allow you to unscrew them. If you are regularly going to be changing your own oil, consider buying some car ramps so you have room to work. They run $40 to $100 depending on the brand.

Instructions

Okay, we’re ready to go. The first thing to do is wait for your car to cool down. Oil is very hot and you are going to get it on your hands. Give the car 30 minutes to cool down. Check the temperature using the dipstick. You want the oil to be very warm because it will drain better, but not blistering hot.

Once the oil temperature is good, put a container under the oil plug. Unscrew it and let the oil flow. As this is occurring, unscrew the oil filter. Be careful. It has oil still in it. Try to avoid getting it on the engine. Carefully remove the filter and set it in the container. Make sure to remove any left over debris or gasket from the engine. Grab the new filter. Lubricate the gasket with a finger dipped in new oil. Now screw the oil filter on. Tighten by hand and about a quarter turn with the wrench. Now put the oil plug back in and tighten firmly.

At this point, you need to add oil again. A funnel helps. Add the minimum indicated in the owner’s manual. Then slowly add and check the levels on the dipstick. The levels will not be entirely accurate until the engine is run, but it will give you an idea. Don’t overfill with oil. Doing so will increase the pressure in the engine and could cause the seals to blow. That is very bad news and a very big expense. Definitely a no-no.

Are we done? Nope. You need to deal with the old oil. It is against the law to dump it or pour it down drains. You need to take it to a recycling center. Call around to gas stations in your area. Most will take it for free. Recycling centers often stick to paper products, but they will know where you can go as well.

Well, that is it for the instructions on changing you own oil. As you can see, it is pretty simple. It might take you a half hour the first time. After you get the process down, it will take 20 to 30 minutes each time.

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