pastradamus
4th May 2009, 11:12
Im an Engineer. though I specialise in anything to do with a cars engine, transmission, steering, safety etc etc
I find it shameful the amount of people out there who bring their vehicles into a mechanics workshop and get charged extortionate rates for such a simple job as an oil change. Oil changing is a pretty simple process which requires very little knowledge of an engine, its components or the way it works - simply put, anyone can do it.
So lets get down to it,
Firstly, Never change your oil while the engine is hot! Let it cool for a few hours, oil can burn you badly.
Be sure you have a safe area to do your oil change. Level, solid ground is a must so that you can safely jack up your car. I think the best jack for home use is a trolley jack but a the standard scissors jack will do just fine. Make sure your jack is attached to a jacking point on the chassis (you'll find the location of these in your owners manual). Also I recommend putting blocks behind the rear wheels to prevent slipping (a car slipped on my shoulder before and believe me it was painfull!) I also like to put something on the driveway or garage floor underneath the engine in case you spill.Cardboard or a piece of plywood are great for this.
Before you even start to do your oil change, be sure you have everything you need to get the job done.
What You'll Need
Ratchet or open end wrench
Oil filter wrench
Oil catch/recycle container
Funnel
New oil filter
New Oil
Clean rag
These parts are readily available from parts shops. A good parts shop is one which sells tools, oil, parts. A bad parts shop is one which sells all of the above but also car radios, body kits, alloy wheels and other associated crap. Go to the proper parts shops for better prices.
The first step in an oil change is to get the old stuff out of there. The oil drains out of the oil pan at the very bottom of your engine. The oil is held in by a drain plug that looks like a big bolt at the bottom of the pan. Though its not always a bolt, sometimes it can be an ingrooved lock nut which requires a sump key to open (common with french cars). You can pick these up in any parts shop cheaply. I recommend using a breaker bar for opening that sump plug as it can be tightly locked in.
Take off the oil filter using a 3-inch oil filter wrench. Dump the old oil into the oil drip pan and put on the new oil filter. Tighten the oil filter by hand, and then replace the oil drain plug using the wrench. Clean off the excess oil. The filter sometimes proves hard to find. It is located towards the rear of the engine block. Use a tie-wrap filter wrench, the chain-wrenches are a joke IMO.
Go under the hood and add the oil. Turn on the engine and check the oil pressure gauge to make sure it rises. If it doesn't, turn the car off quickly and add more oil. The pressure gague is not always on the car's internal display so use the dipstick(next to the engine block) to check the oil level - wipe the dipstick firstly, put it back in, turn on the engine, turn off the engine and check the level on the dipstick.
Lower your vehicle on the jacking stand. If you need to, then add more oil. Make sure you dont add too much oil as it can damage the internal seals in the engine. Its also important to check that you dont add too little oil as this will make the car's engine run hot and damage the engine once more.
Pastra.
I find it shameful the amount of people out there who bring their vehicles into a mechanics workshop and get charged extortionate rates for such a simple job as an oil change. Oil changing is a pretty simple process which requires very little knowledge of an engine, its components or the way it works - simply put, anyone can do it.
So lets get down to it,
Firstly, Never change your oil while the engine is hot! Let it cool for a few hours, oil can burn you badly.
Be sure you have a safe area to do your oil change. Level, solid ground is a must so that you can safely jack up your car. I think the best jack for home use is a trolley jack but a the standard scissors jack will do just fine. Make sure your jack is attached to a jacking point on the chassis (you'll find the location of these in your owners manual). Also I recommend putting blocks behind the rear wheels to prevent slipping (a car slipped on my shoulder before and believe me it was painfull!) I also like to put something on the driveway or garage floor underneath the engine in case you spill.Cardboard or a piece of plywood are great for this.
Before you even start to do your oil change, be sure you have everything you need to get the job done.
What You'll Need
Ratchet or open end wrench
Oil filter wrench
Oil catch/recycle container
Funnel
New oil filter
New Oil
Clean rag
These parts are readily available from parts shops. A good parts shop is one which sells tools, oil, parts. A bad parts shop is one which sells all of the above but also car radios, body kits, alloy wheels and other associated crap. Go to the proper parts shops for better prices.
The first step in an oil change is to get the old stuff out of there. The oil drains out of the oil pan at the very bottom of your engine. The oil is held in by a drain plug that looks like a big bolt at the bottom of the pan. Though its not always a bolt, sometimes it can be an ingrooved lock nut which requires a sump key to open (common with french cars). You can pick these up in any parts shop cheaply. I recommend using a breaker bar for opening that sump plug as it can be tightly locked in.
Take off the oil filter using a 3-inch oil filter wrench. Dump the old oil into the oil drip pan and put on the new oil filter. Tighten the oil filter by hand, and then replace the oil drain plug using the wrench. Clean off the excess oil. The filter sometimes proves hard to find. It is located towards the rear of the engine block. Use a tie-wrap filter wrench, the chain-wrenches are a joke IMO.
Go under the hood and add the oil. Turn on the engine and check the oil pressure gauge to make sure it rises. If it doesn't, turn the car off quickly and add more oil. The pressure gague is not always on the car's internal display so use the dipstick(next to the engine block) to check the oil level - wipe the dipstick firstly, put it back in, turn on the engine, turn off the engine and check the level on the dipstick.
Lower your vehicle on the jacking stand. If you need to, then add more oil. Make sure you dont add too much oil as it can damage the internal seals in the engine. Its also important to check that you dont add too little oil as this will make the car's engine run hot and damage the engine once more.
Pastra.