How to Change your own Oil
Changing your car’s oil is one of those jobs that you can tackle yourself with the minimum of mechanical knowledge or equipment. Before you start though, it is wise to do some preparations first. Check in your car’s handbook for the quantity and grade of oil you need for your car, and also buy yourself a replacement oil filter. You may also have to purchase a special tool to remove your sump plug, so find out which one you need.
The next thing you need to do is start your car’s engine and let it run for a bit. You don’t want the engine to be hot, just warm enough to make the oil flow freely when you drain it. Don’t forget, hot oil will burn you, so don’t be tempted to drain the oil when the engine is at normal running temperature.
You will then need to jack up the front of your car, and place axle stands securely in place. Don’t be tempted to work just using the car jack to hold the car up. The jack could slip while you’re working underneath the car, and you definitely will be injured, or even killed. So think of your own safety and make sure the car is properly supported on the axle stands or wheel ramps, or both if possible.
Take an old rag and wipe down the area around the sump plug, as you don’t want any road dirt to get into your engine. Once you’ve done that, you can loosen off the sump plug, making sure that a large enough container is placed under the sump to catch the old oil. Slowly remove the plug and allow the oil to drain out into the container.
While waiting for the sump to drain, you can tackle changing the oil filter. The oil filter can be removed either by using a strange looking tool which consists of a handle with a length of motor chain attached. This wraps around the filter and gives you the grip you need to unscrew the filter. If you don’t have an oil filter remover, you can make do by carefully piercing the old oil filter with a screwdriver and using that to unscrew it from the engine.
Once the filter is removed, you should take the new filter and pour a little of the new oil into it, not forgetting to smear a little oil onto the filter’s seal. Offer up the filter to the engine and tighten it into place. The filter doesn’t need to be super tight, so tighten it hand tight, and then give it a quarter turn more. Do not allow the new filter to be pierced by any tools, or you’ll have oil spurting everywhere.
Once the oil has drained out of the engine, you can refit the sump plug, making sure it is tightened sufficiently. You can now lower the car onto its tyres, and start to refill the engine with oil. Once you’ve filled the engine with new oil up to the correct level on the dipstick, start the engine and let it run to normal running temperature.
The last job to do is to switch off the engine and let the oil settle for ten minutes or so. Check the oil level on the dipstick once more, and top up if necessary, and the job is done.
