How To Change Your Oil

Engine oils are designed to prevent the metal surfaces in your engine from grinding together and wearing away. Engine oil also collects the by-products of combustion, such as silica oxide. It cleans the engine of these chemicals and build-ups and keeps the moving parts coated in oil. Engine oil diminishes oxidation at high temperatures. It does this within a confined environment of scalding heat and high pressure.

Engine oil is very different from other kinds of oil, it is important that you select the right oil for your vehicle (see your manufacturers handbook). When shopping for oil, read the label on the oil product description. Do not experiment with any other types of oil that are used for different purposes.

Regularly changing your car’s engine oil and filter is one of the most important things you can do to keep your car running well. Over time the oil breaks down naturally and your oil filter becomes clogged with contaminants. Depending upon your driving habits and type of vehicle, this may take as few as 3 months or 3,000 miles, or be as long as 20,000 miles or 24 months (consult your owner’s manual for service intervals).

After the vechile’s warrantee period expires, a number of mechanics reccommend that you change your engine oil and filter using a premium product each 7,000kms (about 4,500 miles). This practice will greatly improve your vehicles performance and significantly extend its operational life. Vinatge car owners are also more likely to be fastidious about frequency and quality of oil changes than regular drivers as replacement engines are less readily sourced (see below).

Each time you change the oil, be sure to keep a record and receipts of these purchases as evidence of regular oil changes will help to impress potential buyers when then the time comes to sell your vehicle.If you take your car to a dealer, one of the first things they ask to see are the service manuals.Amongst other things, they are looking for the frequency of oil and oil filter changes.

Conversely, a failure to change your engine oil will definately cause irrepairable damage to your engine which will eventually fail and will need to be replaced. New and reconditioned engines can be both expensive to purchase and to have installed. It is also a task better best handled by those mechanics with sound knowledge and experience in the area who are properly equipped. It can be a tricky and challenging task to replace an engine, so it can be expensive.

The car has been a topical subject for environmentalists, but in Europe today, there are grass-roots community groups that have formed to extend the life of many domestic products and machinery as a means of saving energy and resources. The extension of life for these consumer products negates the need for new production and and the materials, labour and energy needed in that process. Thus there is a valid “green” argument for changing your car oil on a regular basis.

Fortunately, changing your oil is both easy and relatively inexpensive. This article will help you to learn how.

STEP 1: Gather all the necessary supplies and equipment. Under your car with all the oil out is not the time to discover what is missing. It will help to have everything close at hand. (Caution: it is far safer for you to commence the task when the engine has cooled down. Only work on a hot or warm engine in an emergency situation. Take the greatest of care when working with a hot engine.)

STEP 2: Before draining out the old oil, you may want to open the hood of the car and open the oil filler cap on the top of the engine. This will help the oil drain easier because air can flow in as the crankcase drains. Locate the drain plug on the bottom of the oil pan. It is normally towards the back of the engine at the car to catch oil runoff. A number of home mechanics will read their owners manual to ensure they detect the correct plug as some engines can seem to have more than one plug.The plug can sometimes be very difficult to unscrew. In those cases, you may need to use special cold liquid products designed to assist in loosening screws and bolts. Talk to your autocare retailer about these. Where the unscrewing is proving difficult, be careful not to place undue strain or stress on your body. Its far better for a mechanic do it once and leave the plug a bit looser for you to do the next time as opposed to you injuring yourself (dont feel defeated, its quite common!). Incorrect use of force can also damage the plug itself. As the oil comes out of the pan at an angle, it can be tricky to catch, and may land on the ground. You can use a flat pan or other appropriate receptacle to collect it in. If you are working on your driveway, you will want some newspaper or a drop cloth to catch residual spillage, or you risk an oil stain on your driveway or garage. This oil will need to be disposed of properly. You should always do so in accordance with the environmental laws and regulations governing your area.Used oil can be toxic and a hazard to plants and animal life.

STEP 3: Loosen the plug counter-clockwise using the proper sized socket (or wrench). The fit is especially important if the bolt is tight, which it shouldn’t be. If you need more leverage, an extension such as a pipe segment on your ratchet handle can help. If this type of “breaker-bar” arrangement is required it was way too tight. You should also remove and replace the circular paper (or felt) drain plug gasket, but a metal washer can be re-used if in good condition. Be careful not to drop the plug in the oil, it’s a messy job trying to find the plug in the black stuff.

• If you do drop it in the pan, you can easily find it with a magnet. Ideally, use the type that is at the end of an expandable rod.
• Another easy way to “save” the drain plug is to use a funnel with a bit of screening in it. Catch the plug as it falls out. You can then pull the funnel out of the way of the stream and set it to one side.

STEP 4: Some vehicles (such as BMW, Mercedes, newer Volvos, etc) may have a filter element or cartridge as opposed to the simpler spin-on type. They require you to open the cap of a built-in resevoir and lift out the filter element itself.

STEP 5: Locate the filter assembly. This can be a tough part. Filters are not put in a standard position, and they can be on the front, back and side of engines. Look at the filter you purchased to replace the old one and look for something similar. Once you have located it, remove it from the engine. This can be tough, and often seems too hard. Once you get a good grip slow and steady twisting can sometimes get it to begin to spin. If you can’t get it off by hand, use an oil filter wrench. Keep trying. It will eventually come off. There will be oil in the filter, so be careful not to spill it and have a pan underneath to catch the drips.

STEP 6: Replace the drain plug on the oil pan. Don’t forget to install a replacement gasket or washer. Start threading it with your fingers so as not to cross the threads, and it should be snug, but no need to be super-tight.

STEP 7: Carefully screw on the new, lubricated filter, being careful to not cross the threads. With the paper cartridge filters, they will always come with at least one o-ring, sometimes as many as four different ones. Make sure to replace all of them to ensure that they will not leak. The filter will generally say how tight to tighten it. Go until the gasket touches, then however far it says it should be. This is usually 2/3 or 1/4 of a turn after the gasket touches but could be more. Read the specifications on the filter or box it came in. Using a cap wrench can make it easier to install per specs if the filter is in a difficult to reach location.

STEP 8: Add new oil to the car at the fill hole. The amount you need is in the owner’s manual, usually listed under “capacities”. Don’t always rely on the dipstick for an accurate measurement; it can be off, especially if the engine has just been run (the stick will read low because there is still oil in the galleries). If you want to check the stick accurately, just check it first thing in the morning, parked on a level surface, when it’s cold and settled. It’s a relative thing.

• If you hold the bottle with the spout on top it will pour more smoothly, without bubbling.

STEP 9: Replace the fill cap, check around for tools and close the hood.

STEP 10: Start the engine, watching to be sure the oil pressure light goes off after start-up, and be sure to look under the car while the engine is running (put car in park or neutral with the parking brake on) to check for any drips. If the filter and drain plug aren’t tight, they may leak slowly. Run the engine for a minute or so.