How to Change Your Oil.

Prepare the vehicle before you change your oil. Park it on a level surface and turn off engine. If necessary, raise the front of the vehicle by driving it onto a ramp or by jacking it up and supporting it with jack stands.

Step 1: Jacking It Up and Draining the Oil.

Next, you open the hood of your vehicle. Once the hood is open, locate engine oil dipstick and remove. Next, crawl under vehicle and locate engine's oil pan. Locate oil drain plug, which is a long bolt head at bottom of pan. The drain plug allows the oil to drain out of the pan while you change your oil. Now, position an oil catch pan under drain plug. Make sure the catch pan is large enough to hold the volume of oil expected to drain out of the engine. Loosen drain plug using box-end wrench or 6-pt. socket. Carefully remove plug by hand, making sure catch pan is underneath plug hole. Oil will flow rapidly from hole, but allow several minutes for all old oil to drain out. Position oil catch pan under the oil filter to catch any residual oil remaining inside filter. Loosen oil filter or oil filter cap with oil filter wrench, and allow oil to drain from oil filter. Remove oil filter. Check to make sure filter gasket has come off with the filter. If it's still clinging to the engine mounting plate, remove it and any remaining residue.

Step 2:

Once the oil is drained out, wipe the oil pan threads and oil drain plug with a rag and visually inspect the condition of the oil pan and oil drain plug threads and gasket. Buy a replacement drain plug if you have any concerns about the condition of the plug. Once the oil is finished draining, reinstall the oil drain plug and tighten with the correct box-end wrench or 6-pt. socket to the specified torque. Locate oil filter. If the old and new oil filters are not the same, double check the application to be sure you have the correct filter. Place a light coating of new oil you plan to use when you change your oil on the gasket of the new oil filter so it will install smoothly onto engine. Now, install a new oil filter onto the engine by turning in a clockwise. Once the oil filter gasket first contacts the mounting plate gasket surface, tighten filter according to directions for your application. Generally, this is three-quarters to one full turn after the filter gasket contacts the engine.