How to Change Car Engine Oil

Regularly changing the oil filter and engine oil is the most important thing to keep your car running smoothly. Over time, the quality of the oil deteriorates and the oil filter becomes clogged with dirt. Depending on your driving habits and the type of vehicle you are driving, the frequency of oil changes varies, it can be as soon as 3 months or 4,800km, sometimes as long as 24 months or 32,000km (refer to the manual for the cycle). maintenance). Fortunately, the oil change is quite easy and the oil price is not expensive, the more timely the oil change, the better the quality of the car.

Table of Contents

Click the Car

Drive into a driveway or open space wide enough to be level with the ground for ease of work.

Turn off the engine for 5-10 minutes to cool the oil down, remember to take precautions when draining hot oil.

Put the vehicle in position P, remove the key and apply the parking brake. Then you can get out of the car.

Place the wheel insert. You should insert the wheels to make sure they don’t move while working.

Locate the jack. If you are not sure where to click, you should refer to the manual for the specific location.

Lift the car up.

You only need to click one side of the car.

Place the jack on the fulcrum on the ground.

Make sure the vehicle is stationary. Use the force of shaking the car to see if it can move.

Place the oil collection tray below the engine.

Let the car rest for 10 minutes to cool down the engine. You have to be careful with the engine or the exhaust as it can get very hot.

Remove the Oil

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Gather the necessary supplies. You must prepare the correct oil filter and new oil for the vehicle.

Remove the oil filler cap. Open the bonnet and locate the oil filler cap on the top of the engine.

Find the oil compartment. You find the bottom of the oil reservoir, which is a flat metal surface that is closer to the engine than the transmission.

Locate the oil drain plug.
It must be correctly determined that it is the oil drain plug of the engine, not the oil drain plug of the transmission mechanism. If you are unsure, you should find the location of the exhaust, because the exhaust is always attached to the engine and it runs from the front of the car to the back. The bottom of the oil chamber and the drain plug are located just below the engine.

Remove the drain plug. Loosen the knob counterclockwise with a wrench or wrench if you have space to turn. If the gasket of the drain plug is made of paper or felt, you should replace it, if it is a metal washer, it can be reused when it is good.

Wait. You have to wait a bit for the oil to drain out, after the oil has stopped flowing you can re-screw the drain plug and replace the new washer if necessary. You need to check and clean the following 3 places: drain hole, stopper and washer.

Change Oil Filter

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Locate the oil filter assembly. Depending on the vehicle, the oil filter is located in different positions, possibly in front, behind or right next to the engine.

Look at your newly purchased filter to see what you’re looking for. Usually they are white, blue or black cylinders, about 10.2-15.2 cm long and about 7.6 cm wide, like soft drink bottles.
Some vehicles such as BMW, Mercedes, and new Vpvos models have a core oil filter, which is different from a simpler circular vortex. With these vehicles, you are forced to open the lid of an interior compartment and lift the filter element.

Remove the filter. First, try to grip the handle tightly and rotate it slowly counter-clockwise. If it is not possible to rotate by hand, you must use a special tool. Be sure to place the oil tray under the filter before removing it completely to prevent oil from spilling onto the floor.

To avoid spilling too much oil when removing the filter, you can wrap a plastic bag around the filter so that it catches the oil that escapes when you remove it. Turn the filter upside down to let the oil drain into the plastic bag after the job is done.
Remember to continue to keep the oil tray under the car to catch any oil trapped in the filter from draining out while you are removing it.

Prepare a new filter. Dip your finger in the newly purchased oil and apply it to the filter gasket, it lubricates the sealing ring and provides a better seal when the new filter is screwed in, but you should tighten it enough so that it can be removed next time.

You should also pour a little new oil into the filter before you install it, so the car doesn’t have to spend a lot of time getting the oil pressure back. If the oil filter is installed in an upright position, you can fill it with almost full of oil, but if the installation is tilted, it will definitely spill a little bit before screwing in.

Carefully screw in the new filter, taking care to avoid screwing the wrong thread. The filter usually says how tight it should be, see the specific instructions listed on the box. In general, you should screw in the filter until it reaches the washer, then tighten by a quarter.

New Oil Filling

Replace with new oil in the engine. You refer to the manual for the amount of oil to change, usually indicated in the “capacity”.

If you hold the bottle in a position with the spout facing forward, the oil will flow out very smoothly without creating waves.
Remember to use the correct oil. Usually 10W-30 engine oil can be used on almost any vehicle when unsure which one to choose, but consult your manual or shop staff to choose the right one that works best for you.
Do not always rely on the dipstick to check the oil level, it can be wrong especially when the car is just running (the rod can indicate a low level because oil is still stuck in the corners of the engine). If you want to use an accurate test strip, you must test it in the morning, park the car on a flat ground while the engine is cold and the vehicle must be stationary.

Close the lid. Check around for tools you might have left in the bonnet.

Look under the vehicle for oil leaks. It’s best to clean up any oil leaks during a change, as it may not pose a danger to the engine cover at the time, but as the engine heats up these oil stains will smoke and frighten you. In addition, the smoke emitted from the oil also causes the interior of the car to have an unpleasant odor.

Start the car engine. Observe until the oil pressure indicator light goes off after starting. Place the vehicle in P or N with the parking brake engaged, carefully inspecting underneath the vehicle to make sure no oil is leaking. If the filter and oil drain plug are not tightened, there is a chance that oil will leak out. Let the engine run for about a minute to increase the oil pressure and to make sure everything is set up correctly.

Optional: Set the oil change indicator light to the original condition. Installation is not the same but depends on the make and model of the vehicle, so you should check the manual for the steps. For example, on most GM cars, you need to turn off the engine and then turn the switch back on, but not start the engine. Next, press the accelerator three times for ten seconds. When the engine is restarted, the oil indicator light will return to the original state.

Check the oil level with the dipstick. After turning off the engine and letting the oil level stabilize for 5 to 10 minutes, check with the dipstick to make sure the oil level is in the required position.

Disposal of Old Oil

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Pour the old oil into an airtight container. After changing the new oil for your car, you need to put the dirty old oil into a container. You can also pour the old oil into the tank of the new oil, this is the safest way. Remember to use a plastic funnel and pour slowly to prevent spillage, then label “old oil” so it won’t be confused with new bottles.

In addition, you can also make use of milk containers, glass cleaning solution jars or plastic bottles. You should be careful when using old food containers, remember to clearly mark them to distinguish them.
Do not pour old oil into containers containing chemicals such as bleach, insecticide, paint or antifreeze. Old oil tanks will contaminate the recycling process.

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Remember to filter out the oil. You can pour this amount of oil (sometimes up to more than 200ml) with the old oil. Oil filters are recyclable so keep them.

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Find a collection point in your area. Usually all auto oil filter stores have information on this issue. Retailers that sell more than 1,000 filters a year are obligated to collect old filters. ^{[1] X Source of Research} Many vehicle maintenance stations that offer an oil change service will also accept old oil, but they will sometimes charge a fee to pick it up.

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Try using recycled oil next time. Old engine oil will be refined until it meets specifications and is certified as new. This refining process does not require as much energy as pumping and refining crude oil to produce new oil, and the use of recycled oil also reduces the need to import oil from abroad. In some cases, recycled oil is even cheaper than “new” oil.

Advice

Consider purchasing an eco-friendly oil absorbent product in case the oil spills out. These products can absorb oil and keep aisles and garages clean. Clay-based products do not work in this case, but you can find many other products online that are effective and environmentally friendly. They are highly absorbable, easy to use and recyclable.
There are a number of oil drain valves on the market that can replace the normal oil drain bolt of the vehicle. They make oil changes easier and less dirty in the work area.
If the filter is too difficult to remove, you should use a hammer and a large screwdriver to “chill” to rotate the filter counterclockwise. Remember: once the filter has been punched, it must be replaced with a new filter before the engine can start.
To prevent oil from entering the arm while removing the drain bolt, push inward (like you are trying to push the bolt back into the hole) when removing. When you know the bolt has been completely unscrewed, you pull it out of the hole quickly, if you are lucky, only a few drops of oil will stick to your hand. Be sure to tie a piece of cloth to your wrist when removing it so that the oil doesn’t run down your arm.
Use biodegradable nitrile rubber gloves. Because old oil contains many toxic wastes that can easily penetrate the skin of the hands.

Warning

Don’t confuse the engine oil filler hole with the transmission oil filler hole. You can damage the transmission if you dump it by mistake.
Take care to avoid burns. The engine, oil in the engine and other parts can be very hot after the engine is turned off, which can completely cause burns.

Things you need

4-6 liters of oil. Be sure to use an oil that meets your vehicle’s API standards. Most vehicles manufactured since 2004 require “SM” grade oil, which is better than the oil produced at the time your vehicle was born.
Detachable head wrench. For Japanese and European-made cars you need a metric wrench set.
Some oil filters have a hand-grip coating that makes tightening easier.
Special wrench for removing filter (optional). There are different sizes of wrenches depending on the diameter of the oil filter, the expensive ones with two swivel joints are the best choice.
The safest way to lift a vehicle off the ground is with a forklift or jack stand.
Oil trays, hoppers, hard boxes to transfer old oil into.
Oil wipes or paper towels.
On some vehicles you will need to remove the bottom or top panels, so additional tools will be required.

Steps