I want to learn how to change the oil on my car what do I need to know to start?

Answer 1

At your library, find the Chilton's or similar maintenance and repair book for your car, year, model and engine size. Xerox the pages on how to do the oil change procedure.
Or buy the book - Amazon - or get the manufacturer's factory service manual from the dealership.

For most cars, you need an adjustable wrench (Crescent is a well-know brand.) Or a set of open-ended or box wrenches, either SAE (inch) or metric sizes. You also need an oil filter wrench which fits your specific oil filter. Go to an auto parts store and ask for the filter for you car and the wrench to fit it.

Ask if your car needs a crush washer to replace the original washer on the oil drain bolt, and buy one if required. You can also get the oil filter and crush washer at your car dealership.

Buy enough oil for your engine (check your owner's manual for capacity) plus 1/2 quart for the new filter and 1 or 2 more quarts in case you need to top off before your next oil change.

For the typical car, any brand of oil will work fine. Buy the grade & weight that your car mfr specifies, but you can use the least expensive oil on-sale or with the best rebate value. I found that the oil company products are often the lowest price (Chevron, Mobil, etc.) compared to name brands like Pennzoil, Vavloline, Castrol, etc.

If your car requires synthetic oil (eg Mobil1), then keep using it. Otherwise, use regular mineral oil.

You also need a large drain pain to collect the used oil - at least 1.5 gallons in capacity, and maybe a plastic funnel.
And buy a pack of nitrile throw-away gloves.

If you let car warm up for about 5 minutes (or drive home from the parts store) the oil will thin out and drain more easily.

Unless you have a 4x4, you'll need to lift your car. Place a brick behind one of the rear wheels - kick it or jam it against the rubber so it won't roll backwards. Use a hydraulic or scissors jack to raise the car, and place a solid jackstand to support the frame. Lower the car so it rests solidly on the jackstand - you don't want your car to slip off the jack.

Get a large piece of cardboard or lots of newspaper sheets to place under the engine in case of any oil spills.

Crawl under the engine and locate the oil pan under the engine. Some cars have panels which cover all or part of the underside of the engine. Remove the panel near the oil drain bolt and oil filter.

The drain bolt is a large bolt and washer at the back of the oil pan - use your Crescent wrench (or open-ended or box wrench) to loosen the bolt about 1/4 turn. Place the oil collection pan under the oil drain bolt, remove the bolt and washer and let the oil drain completely out. (Don't do this on a windy day or you will have oil blowing every where.)
Wipe the bottom of the oil pan any spatter oil, esp around the drain bolt.

If you have a new crush washer, discard the old one and install the new one (or original washer) on the drain bolt and *carefully* thread the bolt into the oil pan. Don't cross-thread the bolt into the oil pan - stop and back out the bolt if you feel any resistance. (A tip: rotate the bolt backward until it 'clicks' or jumps - that is the point where the bolt and drain hole starting threads line up.)

After you re-install the drain bolt, now it's time to remove the oil filter. I drain the oil filter while it's on the engine by punching an 8-penny nail into the lowest point of the end of the filter and let the 6 to 8 oz of waste oil drain out into the oil catch basin. Now slide your filter wrench over the filter and unscrew the filter. Pour out any remaining oil, then wrap the filter in newspapers and into a plastic bag and toss.

Key step: check that the rubber seal came off with the old filter, and is not stuck on the oil filter attachment point on the engine. (Honda engines had this problem, and you can have a big oil leaks if you have two oil seals on the new filter.)

Wipe some new oil onto the rubber seal on the new filter, then install the new filter onto the engine. When it bottoms out, give it one more quarter turn by hand. Don't use your oil filter wrench on the new filter. Some people will pour about 4 oz of fresh oil into the filter before installing it on the engine. Your choice.

Now climb out from under your car and go the topside. Pour the new oil into the oil fill location, usually sitting on the valve cover. (Don't pour oil into the radiator, brake fluid reservoir, power steering pump or transmission.) The oil fill cap may have an image of an oil can molded into it. After you pour your last quart of oil (you read the manual and know how many quarts it takes), check the dipstick so you do not overfill the oil. When you are finished, remove the oil drain pan from under your car, and pour the waste oil into a used, clean 1 gallon plastic jug for recycling. I save old bleach bottles for that purpose. Most auto parts stores will accept used oil for recycling.

Lift your car using the jack, remove the jackstand, lower the jack so your car is back on level ground and remove the brick behind the wheel. Start your engine and check for leaks. Toss the used newspapers and old filter in the trash, recycle the empty new oil bottles and used oil and clean up.

If you keep a maintenance book, write down the date and mileage of this oil change so you know when to do it again.
Take the car for a short test drive, but check for major oil leaks as you back out your driveway.

That's it. Now you are ready to invest in a Jiffy Lube franchise.

Answer 2

You'll need to buy 4 to 5 quarts of oil, an oil filter, the proper filter wrench, a socket wrench with the proper size socket and a drain pan.

Jack up your vehicle and place a jack stand in a secure place. Locate the oil plug on the bottom of the oil pan. It will look like a bolt. Place your drain pan underneath the oil plug. Unscrew the plug counterclockwise until the plug is removed. The oil will flow out rather quickly. After the oil has drained, unscrew the old oil filter and replace it with the new one. Replace the plug in the bottom of the oil pan. Remove the jack stand and jack the vehicle back down. Pour the appropriate amount of oil -- usually 4 quarts -- into the oil fill hole on top of the engine. Be sure not to overfill!

It is best to do this job in the morning when the engine is cold and the car has been sitting overnight. The first time may be somewhat annoying, but with a little practice it will become so easy you'll wonder why anyone would ever go to an oil change shop. After you've perfected this, front brakes is the next easy repair you'll want to learn.

Answer 3

I think you're getting confused between checking & changing the oil in your car. A decent modern car won't use or lose any oil, so you shouldn't notice any drop in level on the dipstick. Keep checking though, so if the car does start using oil, you'll notice quickly & hopefully get any potential problem sorted. The car will have a service schedule which tells you how often the oil should be changed (this is where a garage or mechanic replaces all of your engine's old oil with new stuff). The intervals vary, but it's usually around 12 months or 10,000 miles in the UK (up to 30,000 on some vehicles). In the US, people still seem to change their oil much more frequently (3 months or 3,000 miles), but with modern synthetic & semi synthetic oils, that's just not necessary unless you have a very high performance car.

Answer 4

have someone show you and talk you through it while you do the work. You can't really get the info you need like this because although changing oil is simple there are still alot of variables one in particular is the location of the oil filter. after reading some of the other answer pleeeeeeeease have someone talk you through the first one cause some of the other answers on here will have you messing up your car. for one thing all cars are not the same so don't just look for the" big bolt" because on some cars the transmission pan has a drain plug as well( 2000 Mazda 626) and some cars have a external transmission filter that looks just like the oil filter ( certain models of Saturn). have someone who knows how to do it talk you through it.please

Answer 5

I got a book from a parts store on my car.
The book showed me where the oil drain was; a nut and washer on the bottom of a pan under the engine.
And where the filter was. Nearby.

I needed to jack up my car, put two jack stands underneath, so I could get under my car, a wrench and hammer to loosen the nut, a pan for the oil to drain into.

The first time was awful. Afterwards, I could do it with my eyes closed.

I even learned how to change my transmission fluid and filter.

Just takes time and patience.

Answer 6

All cars are the same. There's a huge bolt / screw underneath the bottom most point of your motor, you will know it when you see it, you unscrew that and have it drain into some sort of oil dispensing pan. Take the used oil to Autozone and bam your done. Don't forget to put the new oil in of course.

Answer 7

Get yourself a repair/maintenance manual for the car, and use the BEST oil.


http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/default.aspx?zo=1452557

Answer 8

An oil pan... Oil... and whatever you do... Do NOT lose the screw!