How to Find Out How Much Oil Your Car Takes Without a Manual
Keeping the oil in a car clean and at the proper level is one of the most important things the owner should do. Finding the exact amount of oil needed without a manual requires a little bit of work, but an oil change can be performed in the process. You can complete this task in about an hour.
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Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses
- Wrench kit
- Oil resistant plastic gloves
- Oil drain pan, 7.5 quarts or larger
- Permanent marker
- Shop rags
Instructions
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1
Pull the release handle inside the car along the bottom of the dash with an icon on it that looks like a car hood, and the hood will partially pop up. Reach into the crack where the hood is partially open and feel for a lever. Pull or push the lever with one hand and lift the hood with the other.
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2
Find a small handle, usually yellow and plastic, on top of the engine compartment. Pull the handle with one hand until it comes out of the engine bringing a long thin rod with it. Read the writing on the handle to make sure it says oil. Put it back if it says transmission and find the one that says oil.
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3
Using a shop rag wipe the long metal rod clean and put it all the way back into the engine. Pull the handle bringing the rod back out of the engine and look at the very end holding it level. Look at the two marks on it and see where the oil residue stops. Record that the oil level is full if the residue is between the marks and one quart low if it is below the bottom mark.
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4
Place the oil drain pan on a level surface and fill it with four quarts of water. Mark the outside of the drain pan with the permanent marker at the water level. Add one more quart of water and mark that level, and repeat the process until the oil drain pan is marked to the seven quart level.
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5
Empty the water out of the oil drain pan and wipe it dry with a shop rag. Transfer the marks to the inside using the permanent marker if the oil drain pan is not translucent.
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6
Crawl under the car and look for the oil pan, which will have a large bolt sticking out of it. Place your marked drain pan on the floor under the engine with the large bolt lined up with the middle of it.
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7
Put on the safety glasses. Put on the oil resistant gloves. Use the wrench kit to unscrew the large bolt by turning it counterclockwise and take it completely out. Wait until the oil draining out of the engine stops. Look at the drain pan you've marked and record the level.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not use the car or start the engine until the oil is replaced and the oil drain bolt is replaced and secure.
References
- Photo Credit sand car engine image by Clarence Alford from Fotolia.com
