Staying up on the maintenance for your vehicle is important but one of the simplest and easily over looked is your oil changes.
Have you caught yourself thinking, I have to get that done! …… days, weeks, or months later, still haven’t done it. This very simple yet important maintenance task can go from a simple oil change ($40 average) to $4,000 for a new motor. Plus keeping up on your oil changes make your engine happy and will help it last for many, many years.
This may come naturally to some people. They pay close attention to their vehicles and love them like a member of the family, for others not so much. It’s just something to get them from point A to point B and not much else.
I had someone tell me that you don’t have to change the oil in Toyota’s! Unfortunately that is NOT true. The engine in their vehicle didn’t agree also and gave out a week later. So another week later and $,$$$, they were down the road with a new motor.
For you DIY and non-DIY people, periodically checking your oil level is a simple task everyone should do.
For the DIY folks oil changes are simple and shouldn’t take much longer the 15 or 20 minutes. Afterwards you may be inquired to take on more tasks.
Materials you will need.
- Drain plug gasket
- Oil filter
- Oil
- Funnel
- A catch pan to catch the oil with
- Disposable gloves. You will get oil on you
Tools
- Wrench to remove drain plug
- Oil filter wrench to remove oil filter
Always check your owner’s manual if you don’t know what oil your vehicle takes. Your owner manual will also have a reset procedure if your vehicle is new enough to have an oil change reminder light.
Here's how i do it:
Before you start you want the engine warm. If its been sitting let it run for 5 minutes to warm up. If its very hot, let it cool down for a few minutes. You dont want to get burned!
A Couple Tips;
If your vehicle is low to the ground you may have to jack it up. If you do, remember to put jack stands underneath to support the vehicle.
The engine must be off when checking the oil level.
Use the right size wrench to remove the drain plug.
I will also remove the oil filler cap before i start the oil change.
Locate the drain plug and oil filter. (Above) Here you can see i have loosened the drain plug and some oil is starting to spill out. You can also see the black colored oil filter, upper center of picture.
Put your catch pan underneath the drain plug to catch the oil. Remove the drain plug and let the oil run out till you get a trickle. Put your new drain plug gasket on the drain plug and install the drain plug.
Then move your catch pan under the oil filter and remove the oil filter. (This is were it can get messy) You may need your oil filter wrench to get it loose and some you can loosen with you hand. These are spin on filters.
Lubricate the new oil filter gasket, black rubber ring around the top side of the filter, with some oil. Dip your index finger into your new oil and run it around the oil filter gasket. Then install the new filter.
Put your funnel in the filler hole and pour your new oil in. This is a specific funnel for this vehicle, but any funnel will do! If your not sure how much oil to put in you can add some and check the dipstick. Then keep adding small amounts at a time till it gets to the FULL mark on the dip stick. Everytime you check the oil level remember to remove the dipstick and wipe it clean first. Then stick it back into the dipstick tube and pull it back out. What do you see?
The mark between the (L)-LOW and the (F)-FULL is 1 quart of oil. Some vehicle's will just have a dot for low and a dot for a full. Above you can see a dipstick with no oil on it and one with oil to the (F) mark.
Start up the vehicle, get out, and look underneath for any leaks. If all is in good, shut off the vehicle and check the oil level. Most will find you may have to add a little more oil. This is normal.
A frequent question I get from people is they want to put the latest and greatest oil in their engine and what do I think.
I tell them no. Newer vehicle use oil pressure to control several component’s inside the engine. Putting in something other than the manufacturer’s recommended oil grade can cause these components to operate improperly or fail. You may even see that check engine light come on.
When was the last time the oil was changed on your vehicle?
Till next time,
-Justin