Since there is no write up on this that i could find since i needed to know how to do the oil change myself, i thought of making one to contribute something to the forum. I did our second oil change and took pics and so i wanted to make a Write up on this, and im sure there are lots of people who want to know how they can do it them selfs too. Doing the Oil Change yourself can save you 20-40$+ on every oil change, and you will not have to wait so long while your car is getting the Oil Change at a shop like Wal Mart.. I would rate this at a Difficulty of 2.5/5 as 1 being easy and 5 being hard. So here we go:
THINGS YOU WILL NEED:
1) Motor Oil, (Obviously) We used Mobil 1 Extended Performance and it was really good so would recommend it. Make sure to check your Owners Manual to see how many Quarts of oil your car needs and what kind ( like 5w-30, 5w-20, 10w-20 ETC). Always look around for sales on oil and stock up on them, lots of times the big 5 Quart jug is cheaper than 5 individual 1 Qts.
2) Oil Filter, I would recommend Mobil 1 or K&N Oil filter. I have heard Mobil 1 is pretty good and the K&N i have used and was excellent as well. Others such as Napa Gold/Wick, Royal Purple, etc are great too. DO NOT USE FRAM OIL FILTERS, THEY ARE CRAP. Spending a little more for a good filter, will have your car thanking you later on in life. Always look for sales on them too.
3) Oil Pan, to catch the oil of course and may i recommend a 10 Qt pan just in case so that you dont over fill it. This would be just a one time buy and use again and again in future Oil Changes.
4) Gloves, so that you dont get your hands burned by any oil that may get onto you hands.
5) A Jack and Jack stands, (OPTIONAL) Only if you dot have enough clearance under your car. We have an SUV so it had enough clearance to get underneath.
6) A wrench to remove your Oil plug, most likely a 13MM size but it may differ from car to car and could be like a 14-16 size.
7) A Funnel, so you can pour your oil without spill.
HOW TO DO THE OIL CHANGE:
Once you have all your tools and materials you can start your oil change, make sure you have found out which oil you need and how muhc of it too. Before starting the oil change i would recommend you removing your oil cap on the engine so the Oil may flow out faster and so that you dont forget to put oil back in the car after you drain the old one.
Now if you need to jack up your car you can do it now, if not then get underneath your car and look for the Oil plug mostly likely located towards the front of the car under the engine in the middle. You oil filter should be near by it as well and make sure to drain the oil FIRST then remove you old oil filter.
Once you have located your Oil plug take your wrench and start to loosen it slowly, dont take it out yet just loosen it so you can take it out with your hand. Then get you Oil pan ready and put it right under the plug. Make sure to open the oil pan plug on top so that the oil goes inside, and place it under the plug and make sure too look if the oil will shoot out at an angle. If so postion the pan so it will be in the direction the oil comes out to.
Let all the Oil flow out to the last drop.
Once all your oil is drained out put your plug back on, Before putting it on check to make sure the rubber gasket is still on it and in good shape. If it is worn out go to you local auto store like Autozone and they should give you news ones for like a few buck. If the gasket is not on it then look for it on the plug hole, it may have been stuck to it and make sure to take it out so you dont put double the gasket which will cause a leak.
After you plug it back up take a little rag and start to clean up the oil that may have hit things around the plug area.
Now after you plugged you oil plug and cleaned around it, locate you Oil filter and start to twist it out with you hand and make sure to have you Oil catch pan right under it as there will be some oil left to drain out.
Make sure to clean up some of the oil around where the filter goes, and take the new filter and take some of the new oil and put some on the gasket of the new Filter. This should be done so the next time you do an oil change the filter will come out much easier and wont get stuck. You could even pour some oil on and in the filter before puting it on too. your choice.
Now to put the filter back on, DO NOT USE A WRENCH. ONLY HAND TIGHT IT ON. Only hand tight, and do not tighten it very hard so that it will get stuck on the next oil change. The filter should be tight once it has been twisted about 3 full twists. Just make sure it is securly on there hand tighting it.
Nows to do the MOST IMPORTANT step, put in the new oil. Once you have the New Filter on and the Plug back on too, you are almost done. Nows to pour in your oil, dont put the oil in like in the picture, i just put it like that to take the pic but make sure to pour it all in nicely. Make sure to get every drop, cause you did pay for it.
Now put the Oil cap back on and tight and you are done.
Now that you have the fresh oil in there now, start your car and run it for a minute or two so that the oil can circulate through and check for any codes that may have poped up for the oil. If nothing has come up and you ran it for a little bit, you can turn it off and go and check you Oil Dip stick. Check to see that the oil level is fine and well you are done.
Congratulations, Give yourself a pat on the back because you have just done you first Oil Change. And now you should be a pro at this task and should have saved yourself some money and time. Good job. I hope this helps a lot and good luck on future oil changes and thanks to those who helped me out here on the forum on doing my first oil change. Here is a site that i have used as a guide and something i used as a reference for making this thread. How To Change Your Oil
Other notes, make sure to change your oil every 3000 miles. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you use Full Synthetic Oil as it is much better for cars and can last a little bit longer. I would say changing your oil every 5k miles with synthetic or 2500 miles on conventional. But yes use Fulley Synthetick Oil and do not go past 6k miles on the same oil, we did but never again. I dont know how well the oil can do past 6k miles or even past 5k, but make sure to change your oil regularly. Check every month your oil level and make sure it is in the "SAFE" area and does not get too low. Change your oil to some other brand if the oil you use tends to burn a Quart or two after like only 2k-3k miles. Also for your used oil that you have, you can take it to Autozone or any other auto parts store and they will recycle your used oil and oil filter for FREE. Other than that good luck on your oil change and hope this helps all you beginers out there.
Originally Posted by W-Body Store
Same price!
