ALT-4 How to Change Oil
Before attempting to change your oil you should check the condition of the old oil in the vehicle. If the old oil smells like gasoline, looks like chocolate milk, is gummy or is gritty you may have one of several engine problems and you should see a mechanic or get a repair manual. It is also a good idea to keep an eye on the oil level in between oil changes so you can see if your vehicle burns or leaks oil. You can put some newspaper under the vehicle where you regularly park it to see if it has a leak. If you don't have any leaks but your exhaust smoke is bluish white then your vehicle burns oil.
If your vehicle burns oil that does not mean it needs piston rings. That may be what is causing the oil to burn but that is normal wear and tear on an engine. If properly maintained ANY engine will last 300,000 miles and it will be burning oil by the end of that time there are NO exceptions. What you can do to help your engine as it gets older is to use heavier oil to lubricate it. Go from a 10 w 30 to a 10 w 40 or for much higher mileage vehicles ask your auto mechanic if 20 w 50 might not be right for you. The heavier the oil the less will get past the piston rings and the less will burn. You should only use the heavier oils when an engine is older because the engine is worn more and the oil clearance, distance between oiled parts, is higher. A heavy oil in a new engine could break the oil pump causing the engine to seize.
Changing your oil in your car or truck or jeep can be a breeze if you know what you are doing. First you must know what kind of oil and filter to use. The type of oil should be written on either the fill cap, a sticker on the hood in the engine compartment, an owner's manual or an after market repair manual. If you don't have an after market repair manual and you think you might be doing more than just changing your oil buy one. You can also find out what kind of oil your vehicle uses at the auto parts store from the parts guy there or in the oil filter catalogue when looking up which kind of filter to use.
Now as for the quality of the filter and oil. As long as the oil has an S.A.E. (Society of Automotive Engineers) number on it telling you what weight it is. An A.P.I. (American Petroleum Institute) oil service rating on the same label telling you what quality of oil it is. Then should you use the quality and weight of oil recommended for the vehicle. The label is round and can be found on the oil bottle. If you cannot find an oil bottle with this label on it don't buy it. This might be different in countries other than the US.
The weight determines the thickness or viscosity of the oil. With Multi Viscosity oil the first number is how the oil acts when it is cold and the second number is how it acts when it is hot. So that 10 w 30 would act like a 10 weight oil when cold when you need a thinner oil. While 30 is the weight it would act like when it is hot when you need a thicker oil because in the heat the oil tends to thin out. While when cold it tends to thicken. The oil service rating tells how well that oil performs under operating conditions. You will find that even the cheapest oil performs as well as the most expensive if the API Rating is the same. They must all meet the same quality standards. The difference is in what additives that are in the oil. The higher the the oil service rating the more additives it has. The additives prevent oil oxidation, engine deposits and chemical breakdown.
The next thing you need is a filter. An oil filter just like the oil has to meet a specific standard to be used on any vehicle. Some special long life filters can be used twice but most are only used once. You can find out what type of filter your vehicle takes in the owner's manual, A filter catalogue at the store, the parts guy at the store or an after market repair manual.
Depending on what kind of oil you use you do not have to change it until it is between 3 and 6,000 miles. The 3,000 is the standard life of conventional oil. You can change it under 3,000 but it is highly recommended that you never change it over 3,000 because 3,000 is usually when the oil should be replaced. To change oil at longer interval you should use synthetic oil with a special long life filter. Not everyone can afford synthetic so there is still conventional oil to use that does just as good a job if changed regularly. Synthetic is often suggested for new cars. Synthetic and conventional can be mixed .
Now getting down to the nitty gritty how to change the oil. Get all my your tools together first. Get a big drain pan with a spout on it. When you tip the drain pan to drain the oil out it goes down the spout making for a mess free pour. Next get a strap wrench for the filter and a socket or box wrench for the drain plug. Also get a funnel to pour the oil into the engine with and of course get the oil and filter.
Now locate the filter and the drain plug by lying on your side sticking your head under the Vehicle. Then position the drain pan under the vehicle and remove the drain plug. Depending on how close your car is to the ground you may need to jack your car up to reach the drain plug and the oil filter. Alway use jack stands in place of a jack while working under a car it is much safer. The Hydraulic seal could blow out on the jack and the car could fall on you. Use a socket or box wrench so that you do not round the head of the oil pan bolt when removing it like you would if you used a pliers or an adjustable wrench. The drain pan bolt should not be on so hard that you need a longer than normal wrench to take it off but use a longer wrench anyway just in case.
If you run into a rounded drain plug and cannot get a grip on it with a wrench get a pair of vice grips. Put the vice grips on the bolt then adjust the screw until the jaws of the vice grips close around the bolt. Once tight take the vice grips off and tighten the adjusting screw one to two full turns. So that when closed the jaws are closer together than the diameter of the bolt head. Then using the lever action of the vice grips, grip the stripped oil pan bolt between the jaws of the vice grips. The teeth in the jaws of the vice grips should now bite into the metal of the drain plug. Tool steel is harder than fastener metal so you will not be damaging the vice grips in doing this. Once the teeth have biten into the metal deep enough then you can turn the bolt and take it off. Be sure to replace the bolt because you can only do this trick once or twice.
When the oil is drained replace the drain plug, using the wrench, make the plug hand tight. If you were to over tighten the plug the plug would damage the threads of the drain pan and will strip both the plug and the pan. If you have stripped the plug you might be able to get away with just replacing the plug and cleaning the threads of the pan up with a tap. A new plug costs about $5.00 at an auto parts store. A new drain pan costs about $350.00 or more depending on the vehicle and where it is mounted.
Next locate the oil filter and use the strap wrench to loosen it. Once loose twist it off by hand and place it in the drain pan. Shine a pocket flashlight around the seating area for the oil filter on the engine block to make sure that the gasket for the oil filter is not sticking there. Also look at the old filter and compare the size of the gasket with that of the new filter to make sure the new filter is the right one. If someone does not lubricate the seal/gasket for the oil filter properly then it can stick to the engine block on removal of the old oil filter. A common mistake is to put an oil filter on over an existing gasket and double gasket it that way. This will cause a very large leak causing oil to fly everywhere within the engine compartment. If not caught right away all the oil will leak out and your engine will seize.
After making sure there is nothing on the mounting surface. Get the new filter and lubricate the rubber seal or gasket on the threaded side of the filter. Then fill the filter up with oil. Only fill the filter with oil when the filter is hanging right side up, thread side up. If the filter is upside down on the top of the engine or on the side of the engine and not the bottom don't fill it up. Then install the filter making sure it goes on hand tight. Never use a wrench to tighten a filter because a filter can easily be too tight and will not come off without a lot of extra work
Now that we are done on the bottom side all that is left is to fill the oil. Put the funnel in the fill tube and pour. Don't pour it all in at once just most of it. Then add a little at a time until you reach the full mark. Do not go over the full mark because it can create bubbles in the oil and the bubbles will be transferred throughout the engine wherever the oil goes. Half a bubble is air so you will only have half the oil lubricating the engine. Also make sure that it is up to the full line because at higher speeds and higher RPMS the engine needs all the oil it can get.
Always dispose of the old oil properly by taking it to a service shop or auto parts store that collects used oil for recycling. They should take it without a charge because they make money by selling it to the recyclers. They will however have you sign a log stating how much oil you brought and who you are and where you live. This is done by EPA guidelines. The only oil a recycling center will usually not take is oil contaminated with antifreeze and water. Such contaminated oil is a toxic waste and cannot be recycled but you can ask them at the recycling center what to do with it each town has different laws.
