Cars: Changing Your Car's Oil

Oil is everything to your engine. If you do not regularly change your vehicles oil you will be drastically shortening the life of your engine. Before you decide to change your oil you might want to consider having it done by a service. For not much more than you will pay for a new oil filter and 5 or 6 quarts of oil you can have the oil changed professionally. If you still want to do it yourself, read on.

The first thing you need to do is gather the necessary tools and supplies. You will need the following supplies: a new oil filter, 5 or 6 quarts of the recommended oil (check your manual), an oil filter wrench, a socket set, rags and an oil pan to catch the used oil. Now that you have gathered the supplies we can begin. The first step in the process is to warm the engine up. Take the car on a short drive around the block to get the engine warm, but not hot. Warm oil will drain better but hot oil can be dangerous. Now position the drain pan underneath the oil pans drain plug. Using a socket wrench loosen and remove the oil pan plug to allow the oil to drain freely. Be careful of hot oil and try not to drop the plug into the pan. After the oil has drained you will then remove the oil filter from the vehicle using an oil filter wrench. Set the old filter to the side and clean off the filters mounting surface with a clean rag. Next get the new filter and apply a thin coating of oil to the gasket. Attach it to the vehicle and tighten according to the directions on the package (usually hand tight). Finally reinstall the oil pan plug and fill the engine with the amount of oil specified by your manufacturer. That's it, you are done. Now just clean up your mess and properly dispose of your used oil and filter.

If this sounds like more work than it is worth it might be. You should once again consider having your oil changed by a professional oil service. Good luck with whatever you decide.

About the Author:
Learn about Sacramento auto repair at the authors website on auto mechanics and auto repair.

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Cars: Changing Your Car's Oil

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