by Lewis Wuest

Created on: March 06, 2007   Last Updated: April 13, 2007

Changing your own oil

Changing the oil on you car or truck is a fairly easy and straight forward maintenance project. Most owners manuals will specify that oil and oil filter changes must occur at least every seventy five hundred miles, though I have found one manual that requires oil changes every five thousand miles so be sure you check your vehicles owners manual for the correct interval. Mechanics will tell you that your oil and filter should be changed every three thousand miles, and that is cheap insurance.

Synthetic oil can permit a longer interval between oil changes due to their resistance to breakdown and shearing. While they do resist this normal breakdown caused by shearing of their molecules they still collect the other contaminants from combustion that regular oils do, so going to much longer probably isn't a good idea. My truck had a seventy five hundred mile service interval, which I usually changed every three thousand miles. When I went to synthetic oil I extended the changes to every five thousand miles and changed the filter every twenty five hundred miles.

If you are not sure when your last oil change was and don't have any way of finding out, it is probably time to change it and get on a regular schedule. Looking at the oil on your dipstick is not a good way to tell if you need an oil change unless the oil is very thick and gooey, then it is long past time for an oil change. If you see metal particles or if the oil frothy and the color of a vanilla shake you have other problems and should be visiting your mechanic.

Before you start there are a few things you need.

1: Oil: Either conventional or synthetic. Your owners' manual will tell you how much oil you will need as well as what weight of oil to use based on the conditions you drive under.
2: New oil filter
3: Catch pan: Some type of pan to catch the old oil. I use a store bought pan made for this purpose, one with a plastic grate over the opening to catch the oil pan plug if it slips out of my hand. Any plastic container that will hold more than five quarts of liquid will do.
4: Proper size wrench to fit your vehicles drain plug. Ideally this would be a box end wrench. A crescent or open end wrench can be used but they can round off the nut easily.
5: Proper oil filter wrench. Just about any type of wrench that can get a grip on your oil filter will work, but many times the oil filter can be particularly hard to get at. So look at where your filter is located and buy a wrench that will allow

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>