subject: How To Change Your Car's Oil In 7 Simple Steps [print this page] Whilst it may sound like something you should leave to a mechanic, changing your oil is arguably the easiest piece of car maintenance - aside from checking your tyre pressure and water levels - that you can do.
Don't be worried if you've just, for example, bought a new 911 from Porsche dealers, as in almost all instances, changing the oil follows the same basic principles and as long as you take your time, you can't make any major mistakes.
And therefore, rather than paying a garage to do the job, put aside 1 hour on a weekend and do the job yourself, following these 7 simple steps.
1. Go shopping - a few days before you're about to change your oil, get your hands on a container for the old oil to drip into, an adjustable wrench or socket to take the old sump plug out (you may need a specialist tool - check your car's owner or service manual), some tissue or an old cloth, a suitable oil filter and enough high quality oil to fill your car (again, check your car's owner or service manual for details on the type of oil and how much you need).
2. Get everything together - before you start, make sure everything is laid out nearby. It's a simple point, but one that is so easily forgotten.
3. Jack your car up / put it on ramps - if you've got a jack or wheel ramps, use these to get your car to the height you need to be able to work under it. If you've never used a jack or ramps before, ask someone who has to show you how they work - with jacks in particular, you can do more harm than good to your car if you use them incorrectly.
And don't forget to put the handbrake on, keep the car in first gear and remove the keys.
4. Take out the old oil - simple but messy, get under the car and find the sump plug (it usually looks like a nut, but can sometimes be a more specialist socket tool). Put your container for the old oil under the sump plug and loosen it. When you can, turn it by hand and after it's removed, clean it with some paper towel.
To increase the speed at which the oil flows, remove the oil filler cap from the engine block.
5. Check for damaged parts - occasionally, the filler cap and / or sump plug may have become damaged and need replacing. Now is the ideal time to do this and both should be able to be purchased from any car parts store for a few pounds.
6. Change the filter - once the majority of the oil has drained out, take a look for your oil filter (it generally looks like a cylindrical tin and will be located somewhere on or near to the main engine block) and unscrew it.
As a word of warning, the oil filter is likely to have some oil left in, so it's worthwhile putting the container that the old oil is in under where the oil filter is to catch any drips.
Once the old oil filter is out, smear some oil around the top of the new filter and screw it into place.
7. Put in the new oil - after all of the old oil has drained out and the new filter is in place, replace the sump plug and pour in your new oil.
Once done, turn on the ignition and let the engine idle for 2 minutes. After the oil has had chance to get around the warmed up engine, have a look under the car for any leaks from the sump plug. If there are none, great. If there are some, don't worry about it, just turn off the engine and tighten the sump plug more.
