How to Change Engine Oil ANY Vehicle By Yourself BEST GUIDE

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.