Thinking of trying to change your car’s engine oil on your own instead of taking it to the store? If you think you can handle it, here’s an unofficial guide on doing it yourself!

Getting ready

First you need to know the type of engine oil and how much of it your car needs, which can be found out by a quick online search or going through your car’s user manual, where you can find details such as the rating of engine oil you need. Remember to also purchase a replacement oil filter for your car.

Then you can proceed to purchase a sufficient amount of engine oil either by going to physical stores or through online platforms. But if you are purchasing it online, make sure to only buy from reputable or official sellers so that you don’t get scammed into buying fake products that will be bad for your car.

Next you will also need a tray to fill the old engine oil drained out of your car, and some rugs to clean up any engine oil that spills out. A funnel will also make it easier for you to pour in the old engine oil. You can also opt for some hand gloves to make it easier for your hands.

Changing your engine oil

First, make sure your car is completely stationary and the engine is cold, checking if the handbrake is fully engaged, and putting a brick or stopper behind your car’s tyres as an additional precaution. If you have jacks, you can jack up your car to make it easier for you to operate, or if your car is too low to work under.

Next, prepare your tray to fill the old engine oil, then loosen the drain plug under your car, where your engine oil will start to drain out, making sure you keep the drain plug in a safe place, and tighten it back when the oil has finished draining.

During this, you can also replace the oil filter on your car, which depending on where it’s located, can be easy or hard to access. But replacement is relatively easy, when your engine oil is drained, just unscrew and remove the old filter, and be ready for some oil to leak out of the filter, then just screw in the new filter and you’re done.

Afterwards, you can go back to the top of the engine, and remove the oil filler cap, and start to pour your new engine oil inside with the help of a funnel, and when you’ve almost poured in the amount of engine oil your car takes, you can stop and check your engine oil dipstick if the engine oil level is between the minimum and maximum range, and pour more in if it’s not enough.

Additional Information

You can take the old engine oil to be recycled for other uses, instead of disposing of it. If you’re unsure of how to do it, you can always monitor how they do it at car workshops, and if they allow, you can maybe have a go at it.

There might also be extra engine oil left over when you’re done refilling, but you can keep it to be reused the next time you want to change your engine oil, so you don’t waste it.