All About Quality Auto Parts: DIY Oil Change
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Changing your oil
There are several benefits of changing your own oil compared to going to a dealership or to an instant oil change place.
Yes, we know sometimes its cheaper, however, when you go to the auto parts store and pick out your own oil and filter, you know exactly what’s going in your vehicle.
Here is a step by step guide to changing your oil:
* Go to the parts store and for most cars buy six quarts of good oil. Here we recommend staying with the manufacturers recommended (check your owners manual, or ask your auto parts specialist) oil for your car. Your engine will need about five of those quarts (also check with your auto parts specialist, he will tell you how much you need for sure) and you keep one in the trunk in case the car needs an extra quart during the operation of the vehicle. About oil: In the USA
some of the best are Pennzoil, Quaker State, Castrol, and Valvoline. If any of these are readily available to you, use them for long engine life. Most brands are very good, though, and don’t knock yourself out trying to find these. What is important is: whatever the brand you chose, stay with that brand forever. Do not mix oil! If you chose a synthetic oil such as our Mobil1, do not mix regular oil with synthetic oil.
* Pick up a good oil filter for the vehicle. In the USA, the best filter we now know of is the Fram Dual-Guard. When I say good filter, I mean one that will do the job removing the carbon and such from the engine oil. Talk to your auto parts specialist and find out what is the best way to go for you. We also have Purolator and a significant amount of “cheap” filters. Always go with the best. A good filter is a lot cheaper than an engine overhaul.
* Pick up a decent “oil filter wrench” from you local auto parts store. There are several different style of these items and the key phrase is “working in close quarters”. Chose one that will do the job for you and get the filter off the engine. I, personally, use a metal strap wrench because I have never found a vehicle that it wouldn’t fit or do the job.
* Buy a decent oil container pan to put under the car to receive the oil. Forget the old dishpan or bucket. You need a pan that will contain the oil that can be closed to seal the oil after it is drained. Why? Because you are going to be a good citizen and recycle the oil at your auto parts store after it is drained rather than dump it in the trash or on the ground. Okay, you’re ready to start the process. First, understand that if oil gets on your hands or arms, it’s not like acid. Mechanics use clean engine oil to wash off dirty oil, but afterwards wash thoroughly with soap and water. Petroleum based products are better to get this gunk off the skin.
* Elevate the front of the vehicle using the car jack. Elevate it only enough to give you access to the underside of the engine and give you some room to move a wrench. Use “jack stands” when ever possible. Never depend on your car jack while you under the car. Too many fail and too many folks get crushed when the car comes down. You can get a pair of jack stands for less than $50 at your auto parts store.
* Locate the oil fill cap on the engine (usually on the valve cover) (usually where you add oil to the engine). Visually inspect the cap and the top of your engine where the cap goes for built up oil that looks like dirt, if you see any use a rag from a cheap bag of rags ($3 at the auto parts store) to quickly wipe it down (ensuring none falls into the oil cavity). Remove the cap and set it aside.
* Locate the engine pan plug on the lowest part of the engine oil pan. If you read the Haynes Manual ($15-$30 at your auto parts store), you know that the oil pan is covering the entire bottom end of the engine. The drain plug will have a hexagonal head on it and may be any size from 13mm to 17mm.
* Locate the oil drain pan that you bought (to contain the oil) directly under the drain plug on the engine.
* Using a socket wrench or a combination wrench of the right size, loosen the oil drain plug on the engine and remove it completely. You will get some oil on your hands (but, who cares?).
* Let the oil drain completely from the engine. Go take a break, have a cup of joe, or whatever. Let it drain completely into the container under the vehicle.
* Replace the drain plug on the engine oil pan. Rule of thumb is that you tighten the drain plug tight. How tight is tight? Well, I use a combination wrench (the closed end) and use one finger to pull it tight. When my one finger cannot pull it any tighter, that is tight enough. If you don’t have much strength in your hands, use two fingers to pull the wrench…but no more. That will seal the drain plug and keep you from stripping the threads out of the oil pan.
* Next move the drain pan to a point under the oil filter. Use your filter wrench and rotate the filter counter-clockwise to remove it. Counter-clockwise means you are looking at the filter on the engine from the bottom. A couple of turns with the filter wrench and the oil filter will come free from the engine. At that point, you can unscrew it with your hands and drop it into the pan beneath it. Oil will escape from the filter and drain down into the pan. This is normal.
* Open the new filter in it’s box and you will notice that it has a rubber gasket on the base. Open one of the bottles of engine oil and take a “little oil” from it to coat the rubber gasket thoroughly. If you don’t do this, you won’t get the filter off the engine the next time. The rubber gasket will seal itself to the engine and cause you a lot of grief.
* Screw the new filter onto the filter pipe coming out of the engine and screw it down to the base (using hands only). Turn it with your hands until it is tight. Use the filter wrench you bought at the auto parts store and turn the filter one quarter turn more to seal it. Note: Some say turn it 1/2 turn more. But 1/4 turn is sufficient and will make it a lot easier to loosen next time. Okay, you are done under the car. Release the jack and the whatever else you are using to hold the car in the UP position. Remove your drained oil and its container for proper disposition later. Put the car on the ground in normal driving status.
* Find the engine oil fill on the valve cover and add five quarts (US) of new engine oil. Cap the oil fill hole.
* Pull the engine dipstick and check the oil level. You will find that it reads one (US) quart high. Reason: The filter is empty. This extra quart resides in the filter when the engine is shut down.
*Start the engine but do not rev the engine. Just let it idle. The light on the dash that says “OIL” will illuminate for a brief time and then extinguish. This is the time for your oil pump to pick up the new oil and pressurize the system.
* Let the vehicle engine run for about five minutes. This will warm up the engine and let the oil circulate. It will also give you a chance to make sure the filter is not leaking. Check under the vehicle and make sure you are not leaking oil onto the pavement.
* Shut the engine off. Check the dipstick on the engine and it should read “FULL”. You should have no oil leaks under the engine. The next time you have to do all of this is 3000 miles or approximately 4 months. If you value your engine and your car, you will maintain this schedule. Every mile you drive over this figure means wear on the engine and early engine failure.
ALWAYS CHANGE YOUR FILTER WITH EVERY OIL CHANGE!!!!
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