How To Save on an Oil Change
If you are trying to save money in various ways, you might consider saving money by doing some maintenance on your vehicle. An oil change is something that you may be able to do on your own.
Spending money on something as simple as an oil change might seem like a waste if you think you are capable of doing it yourself. It is important to know exactly how to do this because you can ruin your engine if you do it incorrectly. If you want to learn to do this on your own you will need some tools and some instructions.
In order to correctly do an oil change you will need a wrench,
drain pan, a jack, latex gloves, and a funnel. You will also need the correct type of oil for your engine, possibly a drain plug washer, and a filter.
You will need to go to your owner's manual so that you know what to look for when purchasing oils as well as knowing the amounts to purchase. An important part of choosing the right oils for your car is making sure you choose one with the correct viscosity.
As you get ready to do an oil change on your vehicle you need to be sure that you did not just run your car for a while leaving it burning hot. It should also not be a cold engine.
If you have an undercover on your vehicle, that will need to be removed. You will then need to find the drain plug and the filter. When you put the pan under the plug, you will want to make sure that you account for both the wind and the angle that the oil will flow out so that you do not make a mess. Removing the filler cap will trigger your memory to refill the fluid when you are done, and it will help it drain faster. You will then need to take out the drain plug. Be sure to have gloves on because some fluid could get on you. You will need to clean the drain plug and replace the washer with a new one unless yours has an O ring that is permanent. You will need to make sure that your drain plug is put on and tightly.
You will next need to remove the filter. When you do this be sure and move the drain pan so that it is under this area. You will want to clean the area and make sure the old O ring is removed. You will want to put on a new O ring making sure to lubricate it with new fluid. Now you will put on the new filter. You will want to turn it until the O ring touches the sealing surface. From there you should tighten it the amount that your car manual says. The last things you will do is add the new fluid and put the cap back on.
It sounds pretty easy written out, but you will want to make sure to do plenty of research by looking at step by step pictures. You will also want to find instructions specific to your vehicle.
