How to change your own engine oil in 30 minutes.
Oct 30 '00
Besides the regular check-ups that you should be doing every week or month on your car, there are few maintenance items that come a few times a year. One of them is an engine oil change, that thing that people do religiously every 3000 miles or so. This is probably the stuff that any gas station or even a tire center can do for "$12.95" as their coupon says. So why the heck would you want to do it yourself? Well, plenty of reasons. And I'm surprised that there isn't an epinion how-to written on this simple subject, so here I go.
Why you want to do it yourself
1. Choices/Quality: You choose what brand oil and oil filter you put in your car. Usually, a station that does it for you only has one brand (usually their brand, e.g. Exxon or Mobil or KMart) and one grade. And get this: sometimes they don't even change the oil filter! That's an extra charge! Sometimes they'll lie to you and say they changed the oil and filter, but only did the oil... Again, the oil filter they use is probably some generic brand or their own brand. You usually don't have a say or choice to put a good brand oil and filter, such as Fram or AC Delco or STP. And usually, they just put in 10W-30 grade oil for every car that comes in. Some cars need a different grade of oil! And you can choose synthetic or regular oil. Synthetic is more expensive, but lasts longer and requires less frequent changes, and has other advantages over regular oil. Some high-performance sports cars and luxury cars require synthetic oil. Read your car manual for the recommended oil type and grade (e.g. 10W-30, etc.). Sometimes they recommend different oil grades for summer and winter.
2. It saves time: Yes, I'm crazy. Doesn't those stations do it much quicker, since they have all the equipment and they do 100s of them a day? Well, yes and no. You see, if you usually only have weekends to do such things on your car, so does everyone else in your town! You'll have to wait 30 minutes to maybe 2 hours just to get an oil change! Believe me, I've done that, and that's when I got sick of it and decided to do it on my own.
3. Satisfaction of working on your car: This may or may not move you. But I like working on my car, even if it's a simple thing as an oil change. You feel proud of doing it, and your car (if it has a soul) will feel the love. And it will return that love to you…
When to do it
You'll hear many different opinions about when is a good time to change your oil. That's because it varies from case to case. But the "3 months or 3000 miles, whichever is sooner" general rule of thumb is a good place to start. You'll have to change the engine oil more often if you are in an urban area and you commute in stop-and-go traffic 5 days a week. Also, areas of high pollution (usually urban areas) require more frequent changes as well. I sometimes do the "look, smell" assessment: When you check your oil level, wipe the dipstick on a clean, white paper towel and smell the oil. If it smells burnt, and it looks dark brown/black on the paper towel, then it's probably time to change the oil. If you don't know how clean oil looks and smells like, buy a liter of oil and put a drop on a paper towel: it should be of a clear, light brown color.
What you need
You have to invest a little in the beginning, but after about 3-4 oil changes, you'll break even and start to save money. Don't skimp on these necessities, all available at auto part stores:
Car ramps or jack with jack stands. Plus wedge block for rear tires (can be wood, metal, or plastic): I prefer car ramps, because they are so simple. You place two of these in front of your front tires and then just drive up on them. Then you have more than enough room to get under your hood to do the job. Using jacks & jack stands is another way to do it: follow the instructions and safety precautions that come with the jack stands. (Don’t use that emergeny jack that’s in your trunk! That’s for emergency use when changing a flat tire only!) $30 and up.
Cardboard or something to put under the car / lay down on while under the car: You can be fancy and get one of those "dollies" with wheels, but that's probably overkill for just changing the oil. An old box can also save your garage floor / driveway from oil and you just throw it away when it gets too dirty. $0
Oil filter wrench (or oil filter cap adapter for socket wrench): This is a little tool that wraps around the oil filter and lets you twist it out. This fits a range of sizes, but you have to know the size of your filter (look in an oil filter company's catalog found in your auto parts store). I prefer the oil filter cap, which is a fixed size made just for your car/filter, and it is a plastic adapter that goes over the oil filter and you attach a regular socket wrench to the cap and twist it off. $5-10
Oil drain pan: These vary from what look like plain rectangular buckets, to fancy ones with a cap/lid for storage until bringing them to a recycling center. Get a 4-5L capacity pan for most passenger cars, bigger ones if you have a huge engine or have an SUV. $5-10
Box of engine oil and oil filter for your car: At the auto parts store, in front of the shelves with oil filters, you will find a catalog (e.g. from Fram or AC Delco) of part numbers for your car. You just look up your car and see what that manufacturer’s model number is for the oil filter. The oil grade is found in your car manual, but you’re free to choose whatever brand you want. $1-5 per liter of oil, $4-10 oil filter.
Wrench, funnel, paper towel or rags. Also, rubber gloves and an old outfit to wear. Safety goggles strongly recommended to protect your eyes from possible oil splashes.
Step-by-step
Before we start, we need to make sure the engine oil is warm enough so that it will drain out easily, but not too hot or you'll burn your skin or create a dangerous situation. Oil can become very very hot inside your car engine, so this is an important step to take. Letting your car run for a few minutes before the oil change will do. If you've driven your car already, let it cool off for a few hours before you start. The best time for me is first thing on a nice Saturday morning...
First, we need to raise the front of your car so we can access under the hood where most cars have oil filters and oil drain plugs. The car ramps or jacks will do it. Just follow the instructions that came with the jacks or the ramps. Remember to do it on a level surface, preferably on concrete (usu. your garage floor is concrete). Asphalt is not that great, and grass/dirt/gravel is a no-no. As a safety measure, remember to put your car in Park (if automatic) or in gear (if manual), and engage the parking brake. Also, put something wedge-shaped behind each of the rear wheels to prevent the car from sliding back. Sometimes I just use wedge-shaped firewood...
Second, we need to drain the old oil. You'll need to locate the oil pan and the screwable drain plug that's attached to this pan. This varies from car to car. If you have a Chilton Manual (repair book for your car-- about $20), it'll show you where it's located in the first chapter. It's usually something that's close to the engine itself, and about the size of a cereal box. It may or may not be of a different color (such as brown or blue). (NOTE: there is a similar-loooking drain pan, usually without a screwable plug and most likely further back, behind the engine towards the rear of the car compared to the oil pan. This is the transmission pan. If it does have a plug and you see translucent pink/red fluid coming out of the pan, that's the wrong pan!)
Next, place the oil drain pan underneath the drain plug, but about 5 inches in front of the point that's directly underneath it. This is because the oil will not pour out straight down, but outwards and it'll curve down. Use a wrench to loosen it up and use your fingers (you should have rubber gloves on) to take the plug completely off and try to hold on to the plug. Otherwise it'll drop into the pan and you'll have to go fishing for it! Allow all the dirty black oil to drain. You have to play around with the oil pan to make sure the oil falls into it and not onto the cardboard on the ground. Screw the plug back in with a wrench, but don't over-tighten or you'll be regretting it later on your next oil change!
The filter: You bought the oil filter that fits your car. So you know the general shape of this thing. It probably won't be the same color, but look for something that looks like an oil filter from underneath the car. Usually it is attached to the engine itself. Sometimes it's hiding behind wires and tubes, sometimes it's half-way up the engine and hard to see. Sometimes you'll be lucky and it's accessible from the top (with your hood open). Put the oil drain pan right underneath it. Warning: this will be a bit messier. Try to unscrew it with your hands first. If it doesn't work, then use the oil filter wrench or cap/socket wrench combo. When it's loose, carefully take it out with the open side on top, like a glass of water. Be careful because the filter contains oil. Pour the oil out into the pan. The oil dripping out of engine where the filter was will be a little messy. Wipe down the engine parts and wires that got oil on them. Before putting in the new filter, take a drop of new engine oil, and with your finger, coat the rubber seal on the filter with it. Screw the filter back in with your hands. Don't overtighten. Tighten to a point where it's barely in there, and go an additional 1/4 turn. You should be able to unscrew it with your hands next time. You want to screw it to a point where oil doesn't leak out, that's all. Otherwise you'll damage your engine, esp. if it's aluminum. If you're anal like me, you'd take a paper towel or rag and wipe down the underside of the car so it’s free of engine oil.
Open the hood (if your car is too high, you'll need to put your car to the ground, or get on a step stool), and open the engine oil cap (usu. on top of the engine and has an icon on it) and fill with about 3.5 liters of engine oil (for most 4-6 cylinder engines). Check your oil level with the oil dipstick to see where you are. Add more if necessary.
Funnel the used oil into plastic milk bottles until you are ready to take them to a recycling center. DO NOT throw these into a public flood drain or your toilet or sink or whatever. You must recycle this. Most auto parts stores will take them for free, and your local recycling center will take them as well. If not, you can always go to the oil change station and ask them to dump it for you. They might charge you a buck, but talk them out of it.
Check underneath the car to make sure oil isn’t dripping from a too-loose oil filter or oil drain plug. Take your car off the ramps or jacks. Run the car for about 5 minutes around the block. Park it and put a clean cardboard underneath the engine. See after 30 minutes if there's any oil that dripped. If so, you might need to tighten the oil filter a bit. Or it just may be oil that you didn't wipe down; so check where it's coming from.
This process took me about 40 minutes on my first try. Now I can do this in about 20 minutes tops. There you go, you just saved yourself a lot of time and money, and you'll feel good knowing exactly what oil and filter you put in your car and your car will thank you for that.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
herjazz
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: Mike Choi
Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 70
Trusted by: 57 members
About Me:
Web/Graphic Design, Art, Computers (Macintosh), Activism, Cars, Music (drums, bass, guitar, CubaseVST)
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.