(To get details of each picture, put your cursor on the box located in the picture.)

The first thing that should be done is to find all the necessary tools and items needed to change the oil of the car. Almost every car is different and each car may have different areas that you will have to work with. (Our Group will be conducting the oil change on a 2005 Mazda RX-8, the part name/number for our group's oil change will be in bold)

**MAKE SURE ALL WORK BEING DONE TO THE VEHICLE IS DONE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS OFF AND COOLED OFF**

When doing an oil change make sure you follow all of the instructions thoroughly, or you can damage your car. Also do the oil change with caution, you will be under a car which is very dangerous. There are also a lot of other things that can go wrong, so proceed with caution.

Step 1: Items You Will Need

Filter(The Filter that the vehicle needs depends on the car itself)

K&N High Performance Oil Filter (Part Number: HP-1008)

Oil filter Wrench

(Some filters are difficult to remove without a oil filter wrench)

Oil

The type of oil need also depends on the type of car
(5 Quarts Royal Purple 5W30)

Funnel

To avoid spills of oil on the engine bay

Oil Pan

To catch the oil from the vehicle

Rags

Clean up any spills

Wrench/Socket

To remove the oil plug located under the car

Service Ramp/Jack/Jack Stand

To hold up the car while you work on it

Container for old oil ( I used my old Royal Purple 5 Quarts container to get rid of the old oil.)

(All of the information above about your car can be found in the owner's manual.)

Gather all of the items above in an open space. Make sure all of the items are intact and that you have the correct parts.

Step 2: Open Your Hood

At this point you can raise the hood of your car. You will need to find your hood latch, ours is located down and to the left of the steering wheel, right by the trunk button. You can find where your hood latch is in your owner’s manual.

You will then need to lift the hood and keep it open by putting it on the hood prop bar.

Step 3: Raising the Vehicle

To have access to the oil drain plug the car will need to be raised. The car can be raised either by jacks or ramps. Make sure you put the jacks and/or ramps in the correct places. Jacks need to go under the metal frame of the car. You can also find other instructions or more information on where to put the jacks in the owner’s manual.

Step 4:

Once the car has been lifted and the jacks have been placed correctly under the car, nudge the car to make sure it is secure. If you feel that the car is secure, then you can begin to work under it.

Locate the oil drain plug, which is under the car, and place the oil pan below it to catch the oil. If you need information on where to find the oil plug look at the owner’s manual. Use the wrench and required socket to loosen the oil plug and stand clear.

Once all the oil has been drained, which will take approximately 20 minutes, you will want to put the oil plug back on, making sure you do not over tighten it. You can now lower the car since you are done working under it.

Step 5:

Now you can change the oil filter. The location of the oil filter can vary with every car. For ours it is located in the engine bay. Once located use the oil wrench to remove the oil filter. It might be hard to remove the old filter, so some people try to remove it with their gloved hand to start. It is also advised to place a little bit of oil on the new filter’s threads so it comes off easier next time you change your oil. Place the new oil filter and tighten it with the oil wrench, but be careful not to over tighten.

Step 6:

Now you can begin to add oil to your car. Find the oil cap located in the engine bay, our oil cap will be yellow, and unscrew it. Then place the funnel upright into the fill hole and begin to pour the oil.

Go over the manual to see the necessary amount of oil for your vehicle. Our Mazda requires 3.7 quarts of oil.

Step 7:

You can check the amount of oil in your car by using the dipstick. You will want to wait a couple of minutes before you put the dipstick in to ensure the oil has settled. Then you will want to clean off the dipstick before you put it in, to ensure any excess oil on it comes off.

The dipstick, in our car, will have two raised lines, the lower one is for low oil, and the higher one is for the high oil line. You can now add or let out more oil if needed. Once you are finished you can take the hood off of the hood prop bar and close it.

Step 8: Old Oil

The final step is to carefully dispose of the old oil. In this oil change I used an old container of oil that was empty from previous uses. I carefully poured all of the old oil in the container.

You can then get rid of this container by taking it to collection site. Some places such as Auto Zones will accept used motor oil for free.