How to Change Your Car's Oil Filter

While changing one's car's oil is something many people leave to a mechanic, many people, like myself, find it cheaper and easier to do it themselves. And, although changing a car's oil is quite an easy process, the would-be oil changer comes across one annoying problem: the oil filter. The following guide will tell you had to change your oil filter without too much trouble.

I should preface this walk through with a statement that I am a college student, not of a mechanic. While I'm describing a relatively foolproof process, I'm not liable for anything dumb you might be about to do to your car.

The oil filter is a small plastic cylinder, about 3 inches across and 4 inches long. It filters the crud out of your engine oil, making your engine last a lot longer than it would otherwise, and occasionally needs to be changed. A good rule of thumb is to change it every other time you change the oil, assuming you're changing your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Gas stations generally change the oil filter every time.

Before you start, you'll need to get new oil filter. Although they are inexpensive, likely costing less than $10.00, make sure you get one that fits your car. Look up in your car's owner's manual what kind of filter it takes, and buy one at an auto parts store.

Once you have your new oil filter in hand, and everything else you'll need to change your car's oil, you are ready to go.

Step 1: Drain the car's oil. It is important to change your oil filter when the system is not full.

Step 2: Locate your car's old oil filter. In most cars, it will be somewhere on the underside, in what you'll likely discovered to be a rather inconvenient location. Using an oil filter wrench, available in any gas station, screw it off.

Step 3: Prime the new oil filter before screwing it on. Fill it about 2/3 of the way full with new oil, and run an oily finger around the rim at the top. This will insure that you get a good seal.

Step 4: Screw the new filter on, taking care to keep it up right in the process. Remember that it is full of oil! Make sure that it is tight, so that no oil leak out, but don't get it so tight that you won't be able to get off next time. Remember that you'll need to repeat this process after another 6,000 miles.

Step 5: Fill the oil reservoir up with new oil, stopping a little way before capacity and checking the dipstick. Make sure that the system is full before you drive away!

Although changing a car's oil filter might be a bit of a hassle, it will save you both time and money. And, after you've done it, you'll be able to drive past the Jiffy Lube and laugh at it.

Tips and things to watch out for:

-When draining your car's old oil, make sure that the collection pan is in the right place! Cleaning up engine oil from the floor of your garage is not fun.
-Make sure everything is screwed on tightly when you are finished. Leaking oil can cause a fire.
-Be sure to get the right size filter! Oil filters are not one-size-fits-all, and you will not be happy if you discover you bought the wrong size.
-Clean up oil with paper towels, but wet them before getting rid of them. This is very important! Dry oily paper towels in hot trash cans have been the cause of a number of fires.