Changing the engine oil in your vehicle is
one of the most important and necessary procedures
to keep your vehicle running and on the road.
Whether you have a car, a truck, a van, or
an SUV, the basic principles are the same
and we're going to show you how to do it yourself.
Why would you want to do it yourself?
You're not going to save a ton of money, but
doing it yourself, you're going to have peace
of mind knowing the job was done right.
Excuse me, sir.
Your oil change is almost done, but we did
notice a few other things.
The steering wheel does get hard to turn at
times and it makes noise, so we could flush
the fluid for you, an extra maybe half an
hour to wait.
We're also running a special this month.
And since we're doing that power steering
fluid flush, we could also include a transmission
fluid flush which will definitely help in-
Yeah, and that's another reason.
Items you're going to need are oil and oil
filter.
Based on your vehicle, you may need an oil
filter socket, cup, or strap wrench.
To get the drain plug off, you're going to
need a wrench or a socket and ratchet.
You're going to need a drain pan and a funnel.
Also, gloves and rags.
And if you can't get under your vehicle, a
jack and jack stands.
If you need any of these tools, check out
1aauto.com.
We're going to want to look at our engine
and determine which side of the engine bay
the engine is on, especially if you have a
front wheel drive vehicle.
The engine is more on the passenger side on
this vehicle, the transmission is on the driver's
side.
So when we're underneath the vehicle we're
going to make sure we drain the oil from the
passenger side.
Don't drain the transmission by accident.
It happens all the time.
We're going to look for the fill cap.
The fill cap is right there and it says what
kind of oil to use, 5W-30 for this vehicle.
So we're going to untwist the fill cap, pull
it up.
If you have a truck or a Jeep or something
that you can get underneath, you don't have
to jack it up.
But if you have a vehicle that's really low,
something like this, you're going to have
to raise it up.
When raising the vehicle, you want to make
sure you use the proper jacking locations
on the vehicle and you want to be on a solid
level surface and you don't want to be in
the dirt.
Make sure you remove the drain plug counterclockwise.
You do not want to tighten it by accident
and damage the pan.
Now we can let the oil drain out completely.
So you're going to want to look at your drain
plug, make sure the threads look pretty good.
And this one looks okay.
And also keep in mind the gasket.
If the gasket looks like it's torn or crushed
at all, you're going to want to replace it.
Sometimes you'll have a metal gasket and it's
a good idea to replace the metal ones every
time.
But with the rubber ones, as long as it looks
okay, you can just reuse it.
You're now going to reinstall the drain plug.
Take our wrench and once the drain plug is
snug, I'm just going to snug it up a little
bit more.
And that's good.
You don't want to over tighten it or you could
damage the oil pan.
Now we're going to locate your oil filter.
Some filters are underneath the car near the
front of the engine, some of them are in the
rear of the engine, and some of them are on
the side near the wheel well.
In this car, the filter is right on top.
There's two types of filters.
You have the canister or twist-on type filter,
or you have the cartridge filter.
With the canister type filter, you're going
to want to make sure you lubricate the seal
on the outside with oil, otherwise it's going
to be very difficult to remove the next time
you remove it.
And when you're installing these types of
filters, once it's snug, you give it another
quarter turn and that's it.
This is where you're going to use your oil
filter removal tool.
You're going to either use the oil filter
socket tool for the cartridge style.
Sometimes you'll need a cup for the cartridge
style.
Also for the canister style, if you have the
correct cup, that will work for that as well,
or a strap wrench.
Now that you've drained the oil and changed
the filter, it's time to add the oil.
You can use conventional or synthetic motor
oil.
I prefer synthetic oil.
Some vehicles require it.
Check your owner's manual for the amount and
the type.
Don't forget to put your cap back on.
That would be bad.
Now we're going to start the car for about
10 to 15 seconds and get the oil where it
needs to go.
After shutting the engine off, let it sit
for about two or three minutes and then we're
going to check the dipstick.
We're going to wipe off the dipstick first,
reinsert the dipstick, and then pull it out,
and we'll check the level.
So you want to make sure the oil level is
in between these hash marks if you just changed
it, and then you want it up closer to the
top of it, which it is.
So we're actually perfect right there.
We don't have to add any.
If the oil level is a little low, you can
add some more and then recheck it.
That's it, your oil change is done.
I hope you enjoyed this video and it gave
you the confidence to do it yourself.
And as always, if you need any parts for your
vehicle, check out 1aauto.com.
