Tools for Changing Car Oil

Series Summary

Changing the oil in your car is an essential maintenance duty for every car owner. Keeping a regular oil change and maintenance schedule will ensure good performance of your vehicle, contribute to a long engine life, and will decrease the likelihood that your engine will overheat. Changing your oil may seem like an arduous, confusing, and extremely dirty job. Though it may be a dirty job, changing your engine oil is not as difficult as most people think - all you need is the right information. If you would like to learn how to change your oil, learn for free from one of our experts.

In this free online video series, learn from mechanic Mark Sullivan as he teaches you how to change your car's oil. Learn what supplies and equipment you need to change the engine oil in your car, how to lift your car with a floor jack, how to remove the drain plug of your oil pan and drain the oil out of your engine, how to remove and replace your oil filter, what type of oil to use in your engine, how to replace the oil in your engine, how to circulate new oil in your engine, and how to clean up the mess after you have changed your oil.

Video Transcript

"We are going to show you what you need to change the oil on your vehicle. We are going to start off with the oil. Most passenger cars are going to take 4 to 5 quarts, trucks may take a little bit more. Always make sure you have a little extra so you have enough to do the job. You are also going to need your oil filter that is specific to your vehicle. To take the oil filter out, you are going to want to have an oil filter wrench. This is a very simple, inexpensive oil filter wrench from $5 to $6 from an auto parts store and it works great with 3 adjustable sizes. You are also going to want an oil pan to drain the used oil out of your engine into. They make some with an open top, some with a closed top. This is nice when you have a closed top to keep other dirt and debris out, keep the dog from drinking out of it and you can put your oil filter on top in the spot to let it drain out. You are going to need a jack. A floor jack is one of the easiest ways to jack your vehicle up. The larger the jack, the easier it is to lift your vehicle up. We are also going to use floor jack stands which we are going to show you why we use 4 later to have the entire vehicle in the air. "