| Place your
drain pan under the plug and unscrew the plug
(counter-clockwise) with the wrench. Make sure
you have a good fit and do not round off the drain
plug. If it proves stubborn, get the proper size
socket and ratchet or a 6-point box wrench.
As soon as you completely unscrew the drain plug,
the oil will come out in a rush, so be careful.
Like I said before... chances are the plug will
fall into the pan along with the oil. Don't worry
when it happens.
When all the oil has drained into the pan, fish
out the plug and screw it back in. Tighten it
firmly, but not so hard that you strip the threads.
I don't know how many drain plugs I have had to
repair because people think you need to put 50,000
foot-pounds of torque on a drain plug.
Always change the filter whenever you change
the oil. I could never see the sense in changing
the oil and leaving a quart of dirty oil in the
engine.
You'll be able to get to the old filter from
either above or below the car. Place the oil filter
wrench around the filter's body. There are two
types of oil filter wrench, a cup type and a strap
type. The cup type fits over the end of the filter
like a socket and has a 3/8" or 1/2"
square hole for fitting on a ratchet. The strap
type fits around the body of the filter and will
work on any filter. If you plan on doing all of
your filter changes, invest in the cup type for
your filter. With the strap type, grab the filter
as close to the threaded end as you can. Place
a pan under the filter to catch any leakage as
the filter is removed.
The old filter may be a little tough to crack
loose, but once it does, it will spin right off.
Unscrew it completely and put it aside, it will
be full of oil. Wipe the surface of the oil filter
housing to make sure the old oil filter gasket
did not stick to it and that it is clean and dirt
free.
Take some of the new oil and coat the gasket
of the new filter with it. This insures the new
gasket will slip into place properly.
Install the new filter. In filters that sit straight
up and down, I usually fill with new oil. Tighten
the filter firmly, spin it hand tight and then
another 1/4 turn by hand. Do not tighten it with
the oil filter wrench. All you'll do is distort
the gasket and cause a leak.
On top of the engine locate the oil fill cap.
It will usually say "Oil" or "Oil
Fill" on it. Most of the time it's on top
of a valve cover. Unscrew it and pour in the proper
amount and type of oil recommended for your vehicle.
Look in your owners' manual for the proper type
of oil and the location of the oil fill if it's
not obvious.
After you have the oil in, replace the oil fill
cap and wipe up some of the oil you might have
spilled.
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