At Home Oil Change – Step by Step Guide

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DIYOilChange #CollectiveBias 

My husbands family is very much into cars. My father in law is an excellent mechanic who is always working on a car either at work or in his own garage.  Growing up my husband learned a lot from his dad.  Theyd do almost all of our mechanical work we need done on our cars. As far as me knowing a lot about cars….I don’t! I think I remember once learning how to change a tire.  My step-dad was great with oil changes and other things, but for the most part I don’t really remember ever working on cars when I was a teenager.  This last month in our church we have been talking a lot about self reliance. When my husband informed me that we needed an oil change I told him “I am going to do it!”  He laughed, but thought it would be fun to see if I would really own up to my own challenge.  An at home oil change was exactly what I was going to do! 

I have always felt intimidated by cars and have let the men in my life take care of everything when it comes to car stuff.  Last year I met a girl, who is actually going to school to become a mechanic!  She totally inspires me. When my husband told me it wasn’t’ too hard to change our own oil, I thought of my friend who is awesome when it comes to doing stuff with her cars!  I knew I could totally do it!  I don’t mind getting dirty at all, and sliding under our jacked up car on a creeper sounded kind of cool!!  I found out that my car takes 5 quarts of oil, so I headed to Walmart and bought 5 quarts of Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic motor oil.  Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic motor oil is a high-quality oil that has been specially designed to give your engine complete protection. Your car is almost a part of the family and needs TLC. Cars need oil changes around every 5,000 miles or so. You can look up what is recommend online by the manufacturers off our car. I also recommend buying the 5 qt bottle + 1qt. You can save a lot of money buying the bigger bottle.  I saved around $20. 

Today I am excited to show you how to do your own At Home Oil Change.  I am not a mechanic, so refer to your owners manual, but it really is simple and easy to do at home. It only took about 30 mins, and it was my first time!  I actually thought it was kind of fun, and a little but scary to be under a car! (My friend told me that’s normal, and we should always be a little nervous to climb under a car, it keeps us aware of our surroundings!) Be careful and use all safety precautions! 

Step by Step Guide to an At Home Oil Change 

Things you Will Need – Oil, Oil Filter, Oil Filter Wrench (optional), Socket Wrench, Drip Pan, Paper Towels, Funnel, Cardboard to go under your vehicle incase of spills, Jack Stands, or Ramps, Creeper (optional)

1. Go to the store and get the right type of oil and filter for your car. The type of oil should be printed on the fill lid on the top of the motor. Your local parts store can help you find the oil filter size, or you can look it up online or in your owners manuel
2. Set the parking break and place cardboard under your car.
3. Raise the vehicle so you can get under it – You can use the jack that comes with your vehicle, drive up on ramps, or use a hoist.  If you have it up on a jack, make sure you use jack stands on both sides of the front tire.
4. Remove the fill cap which is located on top of the engine and set it aside, leave there until you fill it will the new oil.
5. Get under the car and locate the drain plug on the back side of the oil pan.  Turn it left to loosen the screw and pull it off with your hand. (You may want to use gloves because you will get oil on your hands) Also creeper is an easy way to slide under a vehicle.
6. Drain the oil into the drip pan and let it drip until it is slowly dripping.
7. Put the plug back in and make sure that it is snug.
8. Locate the oil filter.  On some newer vehicles the oil filter is on top. Turn it to the left. Once cracked open wait 30 second for the oil to move where it wants to go. If it is under your car it will drip into the drip pan.  
9. Replace the oil filter. If it comes with a rubber gasket, wipe new oil around it to help it fit better. 
10. Get out from under the car and pour in the new oil using a funnel 
11. To find the fill level or the amount of oil you need refer to your owners manuel or google it. Most vehicles take a little over 5 quarts.  
12. Check for any leaks underneath.
13. Start the car and let it run for 1 minute. Turn it off and wait for 30 seconds or so and check the dipstick level and also check to see if there are any leaks under the car. 
14. To check the dipstick level, pull it out, wipe it off with a paper towel and then do it again making sure it comes near the line that says “full”.  

Those 14 steps are super easy! If I can do it, so can you!Here are some quick pictures for reference. As you can see in the picture above that is the oil cap.

This is the oil plug on the backside of the oil pan under the car.  I didn’t know where it was, but it is basically a big box under the car with a screw on the side the you unscrew and where the oil will drain out.  

This is what the oil filter looks like. On our car it was located in front of the oil pan.  I had to use a oil filter wrench to get it off because it was pretty snug! You should have seen me using all my strength to get it off.  My husband thought it was a fun show to watch! 🙂  It’s not a clean job…I should have worn gloves, but it was actually pretty fun to learn how to do, and know that I can do it the next time we need an oil change!

Here is a Step by Step guide to At Home Oil Changes…

Click Step By Step Guide to an At Home Oil Change for a free print off of this.

Also here is a couple great video sponsored by Pennzoil that will show you step by step what to do to change your oil.

So, have I inspired you to try it?  It’s not hard, I promise, and it gives you a great sense of satisfaction that you did something you didn’t ever think you wanted or could do!