The Basics of Changing Oil

    The Good Ole Oil Change

    If you drive a car, it will eventually need an oil change. I would like to believe that if you are reading this you have a car in which needs an oil change and you are not sure as to where to start. I can help with that, sorta. I would like to give you a basis to work with so you can tweak and alter it to appease your specific needs. I plan to provide insight on tools you will need, as well as any tips or tricks that I have come across in venture with the good ole oil change.

    Before we get into the bulk of it there are a couple choices which are completely up to your discretion and will provide no immediate benefits. I highly encourage you to follow another way if it will provide you piece of mind and you can successfully achieve the same end goal. All can be taken with a grain of salt and altered to how you see fit.  

 Step 1

    The best thing to do before any job is to think about what tools and necessities are required for an enjoyable experience(well, as much as anyone can enjoy changing their oil). First decision to make is if you want to warm your engine or not, some believe it helps to have the oil warm, but it sure makes the job easier when your car is cold. If oil gets too hot it can burn you on its way out of the car. Maybe your first time go with a cold car. Second you need to decide whether to elevate your car with a jack or to do something simpler like drive your car on the curb. Decisions. Decisions. This now will take us into what tools we will need for the job.

The image above shows a standard car jack               This is a piece of plastic that's incredibly strong 

and jack stand. If you are not sure how to use             and you can elevate your car this way.

one, that is a job for another blog or YouTube it.

    Neither one will make your oil change more effective in cleaning the oil, so like I said do which ever you prefer. We will add this to the list of tools we are about to create.

Tools

• Jack&Jack stand/curb (shown right and left photos)
• Crescent Wrench or Socket (if you know the size of your bolt)
• Napkins or Towels. Something to clean your hands
• OIL. Don't forget you will need it
• An oil pan and a funnel if you are not confident in your pouring skills

Step 2

    Now that your car is in the air safely and you feel comfortable getting under it, slide under with your oil pan and wrench and find the bottom of the engine. Keep those towels near by. It tends to be fairly obvious as it will be a strong looking metal pan with a isolated metal bolt. (If you are unsure, check YouTube). Grab a paper towel and begin unscrewing the bolt, when it reaches half way prepare your oil pan for capture of the oil. WARNING! If your car was warm when you lifted it, it will be warm oil. Do not let it land all over you. With that warning it takes me into a tip. If the hole when the bolt is removed is facing the ground it will just fall out, if the hole is sideways it will shoot out like a hose. Use your physics skills and find the route of the projectile motion to find where it will land. No, kidding, just take your best guess where it will fly and put the pan there. But with that being said its time to take off the bolt and let the oil drain.

    Quick decision, they say its really good to let the oil drain over night. I think that is excessive but what do I know, and who has time for that? Either way make your decision and go with it.

After joking about the projectile motion stuff you can really just use a large pan to get it. I was mainly just trying to let you know its not going to trickle out. It will exit the engine with moderate vigor like above.

Step 3

    I assume your car has completely drained if you are reading this section because above was the section about draining.  Next, slowly slide the oil and the pan out of underneath the car and put it somewhere safely to the side where to wont spill or be knocked over. It would be a very messy clean up. Puy that bolt back into the engine pan, and make sure to not force the bolt back in as you do not want to mess with the threads in the pan. Stripped threads can cause a slow oil leak. Once the bolt is back in, I always fasten it as tight as I can with my hand, as the Germans say "gutentight" or good and tight, and oil is safely to the side, clean up any mess and get back onto your feet. Then get back down and make sure that bolt is tight. No, again I kid but I cannot stress enough the bolt is in properly and securely.

Step 4

    Pour the oil into the engine, its usually marked on the top of the engine with a screw on cap and a little symbol to mark "oil". I encourage you to google it or go into your manual to see how much oil your car needs exactly. Make sure the amount they tell you seems roughly the amount you just got out of the car. If they do not add up keep researching. (This is when the oil you bought and the funnel you might have will get used.) 

This is the most general picture I could find, yours will look something like this.

Step 5

    In my opinion this is one of the trickier steps, pouring the oil back into the oil container in which you emptied. Pour slowly and just go for it. There is not much you can do about it. I put a paper towel underneath to try and help but its a tough job for a tough person and you can do it. Also in the picture below I am almost certain that the oil is clean, so do not use that oil color for any reference to yours as we do not know its condition.