Changing your vehicle’s oil regularly is the single most important thing you can do for your car. Regular oil changes will extend the life of your vehicle and enhance its performance. Because contaminants are regularly deposited into your car’s oil resulting in sludge that decreases your engine’s performance (and that will over time cause engine failure) frequent oil changes are a mandatory maintenance procedure.

Most people know that they should get an oil change approximately every three months or 3,000 miles, but less know that an oil change is something that can be done in their own driveway. Doing so can save about a hundred dollars per year, and is a great way to be active with and knowledgeable about your own transportation.

Oil Change Equipment

Before getting started with your oil change, make sure you have the following materials on hand. Many of these items are sold inexpensively and are great to have handy in any garage.

1. 3/8-drive socket set 2. Combination metric wrench set, including both closed and open ended wrenches. 3. Oil filter wrench 4. Oil receptacle such as a pail or old kitchen pot 5. Two plastic milk containers with screw on caps. 6. Oil funnel 7. Plastic Ziploc bag – 1 quart. 8. Several newspapers / old rags 9. Two pair latex gloves (optional) 10. A few bricks, concrete blocks or boulders. 11. New oil filter (see owner’s manual for specifications) 12. New oil to refill the engine. (The back page of your vehicle’s manual should indicate grade and number of quarts.) Quick Change Oil recommends the use of synthetic oil for oil changes, such as Castrol GTX.

Before you begin, be sure to have a planned method for disposing of your dirty oil. It is illegal to dispose of used motor oil improperly. Most oil change locations will accept dirty oil for disposal free of charge.

Oil Change Step 01: Warming Up

Identify a flat space to work in your drive way or garage for you to perform the oil change once you’ve driven your vehicle for a short distance. Driving around just enough to heat up the engine will liquefy the oil for an easier emptying.

Oil Change Step 02: Stationing

Turn off your engine, put the car in Neutral and set the emergency brake firmly in place. Place several bricks in front of each of the four tires to prevent them from moving.

Oil Change Step 03: Locating the drain plug

If there is not enough room to slide under your vehicle comfortably, you’ll need to jack it up using a hydraulic pump and settle it on jack stands. (Never mount your car on a jack only – you must use jack stands.) While beneath your vehicle, identify the drain plug by searching for the lowest piece to the ground. This piece will most commonly be the nut of the oil drain plug. To avoid confusion with the transmission fluid drain plug, feel the metal around it – the oil plug will usually be much hotter than the transmission plug. In some cases the drain plug is actually labeled. Call a friend or a local oil change company for direction if you’re still unsure.