The oil change tutorial!

My daughter recently asked me about changing the oil in a car, so, daughter, this is for you...


What you will need:

*The proper amount and type of oil. This information can be found in your owner's manual or online.
*The correct oil filter. This can also be found online and knowing your engine size helps.
*A drain pan that is used for oil and nothing else.
*A funnel.
*Gloves, either latex or nitrile.
*An oil filter wrench.
*The proper size socket or hand wrench to remove the oil drain plug.
*A jack and jack stands OR wheel ramps to get the car off the ground.
**OPTIONAL: a drip pan, which is a large pan that catches anything that might miss the oil drain pan.

(In my case, I needed six quarts of 5W30 oil and FRAM oil filter PH-16.)

Here are my supplies (minus the floor jack and funnel) ready to go.  You can use wheel ramps if you wish.  In any case make sure that whatever you are using is rated for the weight of the vehicle.

Here you can see the jack stands doing their job.  I left the floor jack in place as a sort of back up.  Whatever you do, never rely on a floor jack or your vehicle's jack as the ole method of keeping your car in the air.

After bringing the engine up to normal operating temperature the first thing I will do when I am changing the oil on any vehicle is to remove the oil cap on the engine.  This is so that the oil will drain in a reasonable amount of time.  If there is a whitish, brownish slime on the bottom of the cap this is just condensation and can be wiped off using a rag or paper towels.

On the underside of the engine, on the oil pan, you will find a bolt that looks kind of like this.  This is the drain plug and it usually has a gasket on it. Make sure you have gloves on, and loosen the drain plug slowly.  Have your catch pan ready, and remember that draining oil has a tendency to arc somewhat at first, so either have a huge pan or be ready to move the pan to keep the oil from getting on the ground. Remember that the oil is going to be HOT and it can burn you.

While you are under the vehicle it is a good time to look for things that are leaking and make note of them, if you are not going to repair them now.

This is a typical canister oil filter.  What that means is that it is a filter contained inside a metal housing with a gasket and a threaded insert at the end not shown to attach it to the engine.  There are also cartridge filters, which are secured under a reusable cap but have no metal housing.  These particular types of filters are not always necessarily on the bottom of the car.  If you are unsure of which type of filter that you have, consult your owner's manual or a service manual.

Once all of the oil is out of the engine, you need to take a rag or paper towel and clean this off.  You will also want to make sure that the gasket from the old filter is not still sticking to the engine.  It is a round rubber ring and occasionally it will be stuck here. 

In the top picture I am applying a light coat of oil to the new gasket, which will not only help prevent it from sticking but it will also make the filter easier to remove the next time you change your oil.  The bottom picture shows that this is, again, a light film of oil.  Go ahead and attach the new filter, following the directions on the filter (usually 3/4ths of a turn once the gasket makes contact) and reinstall the drain plug.

Once the drain plug is installed and the filter installed, add the proper amount of oil to the engine through the oil fill cap opening.  Two things of note here: One is that the engine in my truck has an opening wide enough that I do not need to use a funnel, and the second is note the position of the bottle.  You will get a lot less splash back by pouring the oil this way.  Also, I am aware that there is no oil coming out of the bottle, this is for illustrative purposes only.

Now, you get to clean up anything that might have spilled, any towels or rags, and of course the used motor oil.  The old filter should be allowed to drain into a container (preferably the same container you are placing the used oil in to for recycling, and preferably overnight) and then the filter and any rags can be thrown away into the regular garbage.  It is worth noting that disposing of used motor oil into the sewer or onto the ground is a crime and you can be prosecuted for it. Many auto parts stores will recycle your used oil for you (some places burn it for heat, and much of it is used to make home heating oil, believe it or not) but it is best to call ahead before just dropping it off.

Some points to make note of here:

Stick to well known brands of oil and filters.  Personally I use Fram oil filters and Valvoline oil.  I have used these since I have been driving (30 years and probably a dozen or more vehicles) and have never had a problem with either.

Use conventional motor oil.  Synthetic oils should only be used if the engine in question has always used it.  Synthetic oil can cause leaks in an engine that has never used it before because of the cleaning agents present in synthetics.

Just my opinion but there is no need to use $15.00 per quart oil in your $1000.00 shitbox.

Used motor oil is going to be a dark brown to black color.  This is normal and is indicative of the oil doing its job.  Not only does engine oil keep you engine lubricated but it also helps to prevent sludge and other buildup.  How bad can build up get?  Bad enough to ruin an engine.  I remember doing a $150.00 oil change once you counted the flushing chemicals (glorified kerosene), filters and oil needed to get the sludge out, all because someone thought going 30,000 miles between oil changes was a good idea.

On the above note, follow the manufacturer's recommendations on oil changes, which can be found in the owner's manual.  Some newer cars have oil life monitors in them which will tell you when to change the oil.  You may have heard the old adage "three months or 3000 miles."  Today's oil is better formulated and can go longer, but don't push it.