How to Change the Oil in Your Car at Home

Are you tired of paying to have your oil changed? Do want to save a few dollars? Well, here's a guideline for you to use that will help you change oil in your car at home.

Things you will need:
Oil
Oil Filter
Crescent Wrench
Oil Filter Wrench
Oil Drain Pan
Oil Dry
Funnel
Old Rag
Jack

Where to buy it:
I suggest buying everything at Wal-Mart, but you could also get everything from an auto supply store such as Auto Zone, Advanced, NAPA, etc.
Most likely, you already have a jack in your car, but if you don't, I recommend buying a small floor jack which is easy to use. The old rag can be anything that you can throw away after wiping your hands on it, such as an old t-shirt you no longer wear.

The wrenches are easy to choose because they are adjustable to fit many different sizes. The funnel and oil drain pan are just standard items. The oil dry can be any brand and you will need only a small bag of it.

Now the oil and filter will be a little harder to choose. First choose which brand you would like to use. I recommend using the same brand every time you change oil.

Most cars have a tag under the hood that tells you what size engine you have and the quantity and weight of oil that the manufacturer recommends for your vehicle. (If the tag is missing, you can tell the sales associate the year, make and model of your car and they can tell you which oil and filter you need and how many quarts of oil you will need.)

Now that you have everything you need to change oil in your car, follow the steps below.

1. Let engine cool completely. After all, you don't want to get burned on a hot engine part or oil.
2. Jack the car up on the side that the filter and oil drain plug is. Follow the instructions in your owners manual for safely jacking up your vehicle.
3. Put drain pan underneath drain plug and remove plug with crescent wrench. This is where I usually drop the plug into the drain pan. DO NOT drop it unless you want to reach into the bottom of a pan of oil to get it out!
4. Remove the oil filter with the oil filter wrench. Sometimes this can be done from under the car and sometimes you can reach it from under the hood.
5. Lower the car back down with the jack. This will allow the car to be level so most of the oil will drain out. Do not remove jack. You will need it again.
6. Wait 15 minutes. This will give the old oil plenty of time to drain from the engine and oil pan.
7. Jack the car up again. It is now time to start replacing everything.
8. Replace the drain plug. Do not over tighten, just tighten it until it is snug.
9. Coat the oil filter gasket with oil. You can now open a quart of oil, dip your finger in it a couple of times and rub it around the gasket on the oil filter. This will help to seal the filter on.
10. Screw the filter on the engine. DO NOT use the oil filter wrench. The filter only needs to be as tight as you can get it with your hands. The heat of the engine will finish sealing it.
11. Remove the drain pan from under the car. You can decide how to dispose of the old used oil later.
12. Let the jack down and remove it. The worst part of this job is now over!
13. Using the funnel, fill the engine with the recommended amount of oil. Actually, I always leave one quart of oil out until I check the oil level with the dipstick. Sometimes all the oil does not drain out of the oil pan, so you many not need all of the last quart.
14. Clean up your work area. Throw away your empty containers. Use a handful of the oil dry to put on any spots of oil you have dripped on the ground or floor to soak it up.
15. YOU ARE DONE!! Now you can drive your car another 3000 miles or 6 months! (or whatever is recommended by your car's manufacturer before changing oil again)

***Some people like to add an engine oil treatment with every oil change to help protect the engine and hopefully make it last longer. I prefer to use a bottle of Lucas Engine Treatment, but there's several quality brands of engine treatment to choose from. Just remember that if you are going to add an engine treatment, leave the same amount of oil out of the engine so you will have room to add this. Most engine treatments are very thick and will take several minutes to drain into the engine.***