In the past 10 years, the price of changing a car’s oil has skyrocketed across the country. While you can occasionally find a special offer for less than $ 20, most places don’t charge $ 30- $ 60 for a basic oil change. Not only is this a ridiculous amount of money for a simple car maintenance task, it is something that can be easily done with the right tools. Instead of paying these high prices, more and more people are changing their own oil. Here is a simple guide to changing the oil in your car.
Tools you will need
3/8 unit socket set
Combination wrench set
Oil filter wrench
Oil pan
2 empty gallon containers
Surgical gloves
New oil filter
New oil
Jack
Jack stands
Once you have gathered all your tools, you can now start the oil change process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to changing your car’s oil.
Step 1: Warm up your car by driving for 5 minutes; be sure to turn on the heater while driving to get all the oil warmed up. Doing this makes the oil thin so it can be removed more easily. After driving, find a nice, level place to park your car and turn it off. Let it cool down for a few minutes while you gather your tools and prepare for your oil change.
Step 2: Set your safety brake and put rocks behind your tires in case of an emergency. Now you can slide under your car and locate the oil drain plug. If you can’t fit under your car or are uncomfortable with the car on the ground, you can jack it up. It is a MUST that you use jack stands on your car at this point as it could easily slip off the jack and crush you. Don’t go any further if you don’t have safe and reliable jack stands available to use.
Step 3: After finding the oil drain, you can use its socket to loosen the drain plug. When loosening, do not loosen completely or oil will spill out. You can loosen it with your fingers after starting the plug, but don’t remove the cap just yet.
Step 4: Now you can spread out newspapers and place your oil pan under the drain plug. At this point, you can now loosen the plug completely and set it aside while the oil drains.
Step 5: You can then remove the oil fill plug under the hood while allowing all the oil to drain. It’s good to wait about 1 hour for everything to drain as you want to start with all the new oil.
Step 6: After letting everything drain, it’s time to put in the new oil filter. With a rag, you can clean the round metal circle where the oil filter fits, and then screw on the new filter. You can tighten this with your fingers as you don’t need it too tight.
Step 7: You can then screw the drain plug back into its hole and tighten it with a socket. Now you can take the oil drain pan and the empty milk jug and funnel. Pour the oil into the milk jug and then seal the top with the lid.
Step 8: Now you can fill your funnel into the oil fill hole and pour in as many quarts as your vehicle takes. After pouring in the oil, you can discard the empty oil containers and check the dipstick to see if the oil level is high enough.
Step 9: After completing all tasks, check that all plugs and drains are tight and start the engine. Let the car run for 5 minutes and check for leaks.
Step 10: Make sure you dispose of the oil and materials properly as they are toxic. Look online or in the phone book for the nearest oil recycling center.
This is a quick and inexpensive way to change your oil. Once you pay for the starter tools, if you don’t already own them, the only cost will be to buy oil. In the long run, changing your oil will save you tons of money compared to paying high prices at your local garage.
