Oil Changing Tips for Your Car

Getting your car regularly serviced is one of the most effective ways to ensure that it has an increased lifespan. There are many aspects of your vehicle that require maintenance, from the tires to the engine. Oil within your car is essential to the function of the engine, which means that you can enhance the performance of your vehicle by making sure that the oil is changed regularly. It is possible for you to change the oil in your car on your own if you are aware of the most helpful tips.

Drive

It is best that you do not change the oil in your car after your car has been sitting for a long period of time. It is actually recommended that you take your car on a short drive right before you are ready to change the oil. You should then wait a little less than a half hour before you change the oil. You want the oil to be cooled slightly so that it is not hot to the touch. The reason that you need to drive the car in advance of changing the oil is because cold oil does not drain easily from the engine.

Drain

After the car is properly jacked and secure, when you have the pan in place to catch the draining oil, you can remove the drain plug by using a wrench. The oil should drain easily once the drain plug is removed, but you need to give it time. This means that you should allow the oil to drain for about a half an hour. This is a sufficient amount of time to ensure that all oil has drained from your engine. If you do not wait long enough for all the oil to drain from the engine, it will result in the heaviest and dirtiest oil being left behind within the engine. This means that you should not be in a hurry when draining the oil. Having old oil within the engine will only contaminate the new oil that you add and will lower the quality, which hampers engine performance.

Inspect

After the oil filter has been replaced, you can then add the new oil into the engine using a funnel. Using a funnel will help you to avoid spilling. It is important that you fill the oil up to the required point. Once you have the new oil in the engine, you can then start the car. You need to evaluate your work by looking for a leak. If the drain plug was not put in properly, you might notice oil leaking from the plug.

For any other car service tips, contact a representative from an auto repair shop.


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