Changing Your Car’s Oil Is a Car Maintenance Job You Could Do Yourself by Tim Bisley
There are many car maintenance jobs that are best left to a mechanic, as not only can they be completed quicker but there are also some jobs that may need specialist tools or are a dangerous job to try and carry out as an untrained individual. But changing the oil in your car is something that can be done affordably and easily by doing it yourself; oil changes can cost varying amounts at mechanics and garages so you could save yourself the expense by doing the job yourself.
First of all you will need to purchase the right type of engine oil for your particular car, your car’s manual will be able to tell you this information along with the capacity as well – this will let you know how much oil you will need to pour back in once the old oil has drained away. You will also require a wheel jack if you need to get under your car.
Once you have all of the equipment and oil you will need to drain your engine of all of its oil. First of all you should wait for your engine to cool if you have driven the car recently just in case any hot oil spills out. There is normally a drain plug underneath your car and it is worthwhile locating where this is for your car’s particular model to save lots of searching.
Before you loosen the drain plug you should open your oil filler cap on the top of your engine; this will help speed up the draining process as the engine will not be sealed. Be careful not to let anything drop into the open filler cap whilst you are draining your engine. Once you have done this you can then unscrew the drain plug with a basin or large pan underneath to catch the old oil, the oil can come out at an angle in some cars so make sure you place newspaper or old towels on the ground first to prevent any oil spills on your drive.
Once the oil has all drained away you will then want to tighten up the drain plug again and begin to refill the engine with new oil. At this point, with your engine being cool, it is best to measure out the oil in line with what the car’s manual says the oil capacity is, you may get an inaccurate reading from the dipstick at this point. If you are not sure whether you have added too much then it is best to stop and give the oil some time to seep into the engine and then try running the car for a few minutes, the oil pressure light may come on initially but if this does not shut off then you need to turn the engine off, allow it to cool and then add more oil.
At the end of this process you will have helped to make your car run smoother and prolonged the life of many of its core parts. This process should be done regularly and is partially why people will get this job done as a part of getting their car serviced but you could help to keep your car healthy by doing the job yourself, so if you are looking for a way to keep your car in top condition and avoid any damage and inefficiencies that could cost you more money then look into changing your oil yourself.
About the Author
If your car has let you down or has seen better days then car loans or second hand car finance could be the welcome bit of assistance that helps you afford the car you want or need.
OIL PAN SCIENCE
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