How to Check Your Oil

Checking your engine oil is very important because without oil you will fry your engine. By checking the oil you can detect if you need to replenish the motor oil in time before it's too late. If you know your car is leaking oil you should check your oil level every time before you drive, otherwise every time you get gas is sufficient.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 1 Quart of Motor Oil
• Paper Towels
• Rags

1. Check the oil when the engine is warm. Oil expands when it's hot and contracts when it's cold. Different temperatures will give you different readings.
2. Park the car on a level surface.
3. Turn off the engine.
4. Pull the hood release lever under the dashboard.
5. Walk around the front of the car, reach under the hood, find the latch and squeeze it. As you squeeze the latch, open the hood.
6. Find the dipstick, a long piece of metal sticking out of the engine with a loop at one end, usually located near the spark plugs.
7. Pull on the loop and draw the dipstick all the way out.
8. Wipe the oil off the dipstick with a paper towel or shop rag.
9. Replace the clean dipstick, making sure to push it all the way in, then pull it back out and hold it horizontally in front of you.
10. Look at the pointy end of the dipstick. If the oil on the dipstick is below the line marked "full," add a small amount of oil (less than a quarter of a quart) with a funnel. Many dipsticks simply have 2 lines with a cross hatch design in between. The oil level should be halfway between these 2 lines.
11. Add the oil by unscrewing the oil filler cap, which is about 3 inches in diameter and located on the very top of the engine.
12. Check the oil level with the dipstick after adding oil. Add more if necessary. It's easier to add more oil, but fairly difficult to remove oil if you add too much.
13. Put the oil filler cap back on and secure it tightly.

Tips & Warnings

• Your owner's manual will tell you what type of motor oil your engine requires. If you're in a pinch or you only need to add a little, it's OK to mix types--for example, 10w-40 with 10w-30.
• Always keep 2 quarts of oil in your car.
• The oil lubricating system is a closed system: The oil does not get used up or go anywhere. If it's consistently low, there may be an oil leak. Leaks always get worse, and losing all the engine oil will require expensive repairs and/or replacing the engine.