How to change your car oil
Should you do it?
YES - if you have somewhere to store the stuff you need, or someone to borrow it off. It's hard the first time. Easy the second time. Real men should be able to change the oil in their car themselves. It will save you time and money in the long run.
How long does it take?
30 minutes when you know what you are doing and have the things you need. 2 hours for your first time.
What do you need?
1. New oil.
2. New oil filter.
3. Oil filter wrench.
4. Oil pan.
5. New sump nut washer.
6. New sump nut. (Optional.) (I think I need 14mm washer - need to confirm)
7. Wrench and socket set. (Probably metric.)
8. Big mouth funnel.
9. Rag.
10. A way to lift the front of your car up safely.
11. Old empty milk bottles.
Quick Steps
1. Lift the front of the car
2. Get under with a wrench and take off the sump nut.
3. Place the oil pan under the car and wait for the oil to run out.
4. Use the filter wrench to take off the oil filter, and wait for more oil to run out.
5. Put the new oil filter on and the sump nut in.
6. Pour new oil in to the top of the engine, checking the dipstick to the right level.
7. Use the rag to clean the sump nut and the oil filter. Go for a drive and see if you have any leaking. If you do tighten up the sump nut and filter.
All the things I learned:
1. Drive the car around a bit before changing the oil. It will heat up the oil and make sure you get all the oil out. But be careful because now you have hot oil coming out.
2. Lifting the front of the car is the hardest bit. You need to get some force on the sump nut to both undo and tighten properly, so you need space under the car to get force on the wrench. You can try and put the car up on wood blocks but you'll probably not get the height you need.
You will be best off with a couple of car ramps. They are about $100 AUD per ramp per wheel. You just need 2 to get the front of the car up.
Alternatively get a jack ($60) and stands ($50). With a jack you have to make sure you jack the car up in the right place. Try lifting the car from the wrong point and you can damage the car. Also you have to be on concrete or similar solid ground in case the stands slip. If they slip and you are under the car you can die.
3. Use a socket wrench for the sump nut. Make sure you have the right socket for the sump nut. If you have imperial inches on a metric sump nut and you bur the nut you are in a lot of pain because you'll not be able to get the nut off and you are screwed. So make sure you absolutely have the right socket. Get a socket set with a nice long handle as you need to put some force in to the nut.
4. Get an oil pan that has litre markings so you know how much has come out. Make sure it has a spout for emptying. Ideally it should have a spike on it so you can put the old oil filter on the spike to drain in to the pan. It should be shallow to fit under the car and wide so it covers both the filter and the sump nut.
5. When you take off the sump nut check the sump nut washer. Some washers are copper and made so they deform when you tighten them to make a good seal. That type can't be re-used.
6. When putting on the new oil filter, check the oil filter, it should tell you how tight it should go back on. My one was hand tight then a half turn. Before putting the new oil filter on, wipe some oil around the seal, so that when you tighten the filter the seal doesn't stick too early and rip the seal.
7. When you buy the new oil, see if you can get a can of oil that has litre markings on it to help work out how much to put back in. Use a funnel to pour in the oil. A big mouth funnel or it will take ages. Wrap a rag around the base of the funnel and around. You do not want to accidentally pour oil on to the alternator or anything else, it could cause a lot of problems.
8. Keep checking the oil level from the dipstick. It's a litre of oil from the bottom dipstick marker to the top. Over filling the engine with oil causes problems.
9. Pour the old oil in to the milk bottles and stick in the basement until you can dispose of it. Our council lets you dispose of old chemicals once a year for free.
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