Oil is an integral part of any engine. Without lubrication, the motor can catch a wedge. That is why it is important to change and monitor its level on time. This component relates to consumables and requires periodic replacement. Ignoring this procedure is fraught with increased wear of the parts of the crank mechanism. For the engine to be stable and trouble-free, you should know how to properly change the oil in the car engine. We will talk about this in our article today.
Where can I change the engine oil?
There are several options. This operation can be performed at the service station or with your own hands. The first method is suitable for those who have little free time or the car is under warranty. Indeed, in the case of ignoring MOT, the dealer may refuse subsequent repair.
A self-replacement cannot be confirmed by anyone. How much does it cost to replace engine oil ? Typically, this procedure at the service station is performed for 500-1000 rubles, depending on the make and model of the car. But if you have available an hour of free time and the car is no longer under warranty, you can fill the engine with your own hands.
Replacement Schedule
How often do you need to perform this operation? The replacement periods for all cars are different. The exact number can be found in the service book or in the operating instructions. Also note that the regulation depends on what oil is poured into the engine. So, synthetic is changing on a run of 12 thousand kilometers. Semi-synthetic - after 10 thousand. But mineral oils need to be changed every 6-8 thousand. These are the cheapest of all available. What kind of oil to pour into the engine? Experts recommend the use of synthetic or semi-synthetic products. They are distinguished by good performance.
Please note that when buying a car in the secondary market, this operation must be done immediately. The only exceptions are cases when the replacement has been made in the service and there is appropriate evidence for this. In other situations, you should change the oil immediately after the purchase, even if the seller assured that he did it the other day.
Note that if the car is operated in harsh conditions, the regulation should be reduced by about 20-30 percent. These conditions include:
- Large temperature differences.
- The terrain.
- Aggressive driving style.
- Frequent traffic jams.
Tools and materials
First of all, for a successful replacement, we need to prepare the oil itself. Manufacturers may be different. The main thing is that the product complies with the tolerances that are in the instruction manual. In terms of viscosity, products from 0w30 to 15w40 are suitable for most regions.
The next thing to prepare is the oil filter. Among the quality manufacturers it is worth noting:
But there are a lot of fakes on the market. These filters are not cheap. Also, to remove the old element, you will need a puller. You can’t do without it. This is a special gear wrench. Its cost is about 300-400 rubles.
Prepare a container for draining the mining. If you plan to change the oil in the engine without a pit, the tank should be as flat as possible. As such, you can use the old oil canister by cutting out its side. The volume of the tank should be about four to five liters. Still need tools to unscrew the cork. The latter may have a different shape. Depending on the brand, you may need a key for 17, 19 or a tetrahedron. Additionally, you need a watering can and a piece of clean rags.
How much oil to get?
For most cars with an engine capacity of up to two liters, one four-liter canister is enough. For SUVs and crossovers, you should buy a five-liter capacity. But if the engine "eats up" oil (which is important for cars with high mileage), you can buy a product with a margin. For example, for a 2.0 motor, purchase a five-liter canister, from which one liter will be spent on topping up.
Preliminary work
Before you change the engine oil yourself, you need to change its viscosity. To do this, let the machine idle for about three minutes. The oil warms up and becomes more liquid. This procedure is especially relevant if the operation is performed in the winter.
Getting to work
So, having prepared all the tools and warming up the car, we get to work. How to replace engine oil ? First, we drive the car into the inspection hole. If not, you can improvise a small flyover. To do this, you need a couple of boards about a meter long, bricks or cinder block. Having driven the car to this structure, we will get more space for work. However, be extremely careful.
Most cars are equipped with metal engine protection. Sometimes it has holes for a drain plug. But if there is none, you will have to remove the entire protection. Usually this is done with the key at 13. Next, we will have free access to the drain neck. The latter also needs to be unscrewed. As we said earlier, for this you need ring spanners of different sizes, “torxes” (if the bolt is in the shape of an asterisk) or a tetrahedron.
First, under the hole you need to put a container for mining. Then we unscrew the bolt, holding it with the other hand. It is important not to lose it, because it is not possible to find a similar one in the garage. Moreover, many plugs have a special o-ring. It is made of metal or rubber. We put the cork in a clean and dry place (you can put it on a prepared rag). Then we wait until all the oil has drained from the engine. To speed up this process, it is necessary to unscrew the filler plastic cover at the top of the motor. So we eliminate the effect of vacuum. As a rule, for the oil to leave the engine completely, it will take 15-20 minutes.
Filter
The next step is to unscrew the old oil filter. Depending on the layout of the engine, access to it is from above or below. But in any case, to remove it, you will need a puller, which we talked about above. Grabbing the teeth at the edge of the housing, unscrew the filter counterclockwise. Then it can be unscrewed simply by hand. But be careful - about three hundred milliliters of oil can pour out from under it. Hold this filter with a glass down.
What to do if the puller was not at hand? Manually unscrewing such a filter is very difficult. You can grab it with a clean rag and, squeezing it tightly, try to turn it counterclockwise. If this does not help, there is a more cardinal method. This will require a long screwdriver. With it we pierce the filter housing. A screwdriver will become a kind of lever that will facilitate our efforts. But henceforth, it is recommended to purchase a specialized puller, especially since it is inexpensive.
What next?
At the next stage, pick up a clean rag and wipe the landing hole for the filter from old oil. Then we proceed to install a new cleaning element, but first it needs to be filled with oil. How much to pour into it? Enough 2/3 of the total volume of the body, so that at the first start the motor does not experience oil starvation. It is also recommended to lubricate the rubber ring itself. Covering it with a thin oil film, we get a more snug fit of the element and eliminate premature wear. Filter installation is performed without additional tools. It is enough to screw it with the force of the hand. There is no need to tighten the structure much, otherwise even a puller will not help with the subsequent replacement.
Fill new
How to replace the engine oil further? After draining, some part of the mining will remain in the engine. So that it does not mix with the new grease, you need to spill it a little. Enough 200 milliliters. Having poured this volume into the engine, you will see black sludge flow from the drain hole. Thanks to this operation, we will free the engine from old oil as much as possible. After that, screw in the plug. Do not use force, as there is not much pressure in the crankcase. It is enough to twist the key with the force of one hand. Otherwise, the cork will stick and it will be problematic to remove it later. After we install the protection itself (if any).
Then again we get to the engine compartment. Set the watering can and start adding new grease. Unlike the cooling system and antifreeze, there will be no air traffic jams - you can pour without pauses. Empty the 3.75 liter canister and look at the level gauge. The oil should reach an average mark or be slightly above it. If this is not the case, add the desired volume to the motor and tighten the lid.
Check
How to replace the engine oil further? The next step is to start the car. Please note that in the first seconds after starting, the emergency oil level lamp will light on the instrument panel. Do not worry - it immediately goes out. Then you should warm up the engine to at least 60 degrees and turn it off. Next, check the probe.
The oil level, as a rule, will decrease slightly (most will go to the filter itself). Therefore, the lubricant must be added again. What level should be? Experts say that the ideal value is "above average" or close to maximum. After three thousand kilometers, you need to check this level once again. If necessary, renew it.
Interesting fact
After changing the oil, the car starts to work quieter. Studies show that the noise level of the engine falls by about five decibels. However, this effect is short-lived. After one or two thousand kilometers, the noise will increase again.
Recommendations
Experts give some tips on the issue of replacing engine oil:
- Do not ignore the regulations recommended by the manufacturer. It is allowed to change the oil earlier by one or two thousand, but not later. The longer it is operated beyond the prescribed period, the less useful additives remain in it. The benefits of having such a product will be no. Oil will lose its lubricating and protective abilities.
- During operation, it is important to monitor the level. This is especially true for cars that are bought in the secondary market. No matter how the seller assures that the car does not take oil, driving with a dry dipstick is fraught with consequences. It is also worth looking at the color of the grease itself. The presence of a characteristic smell of burning and black indicates that the product has overheated and needs to be replaced.
- Do not buy cheap oils. Such products have a low life and can harm the engine, since they do not have a basic set of additives. Typically, a fake can be recognized by the characteristic seams on the canister and the curved marking.
- Do not save on oil filters. By installing cheap cleaning elements, you risk substantially. Often at such filters the bypass valve burst, and the remnants of it penetrated directly into the engine.
- Do not use additional additives and additives. Remember that a good oil already has a set of all the necessary additives. Using third-party products can harm the engine, while the positive effect will be only short-lived.
Also, when draining the oil, you can check the condition of the front suspension. Inspect ball joints, silent blocks of levers, steering tips, rods and anthers CV joints. So we can timely identify a possible malfunction and reduce the waiting time to drain mining.
Conclusion
So, we figured out how to change the engine oil. As you can see, this procedure can be done with your own hands. To complete the work you will need a minimal set of tools and a filter puller. In time, this operation will take from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on dexterity and the presence of ICE protection. In order for the engine to last for a long time, it is worth choosing high-quality engine oil for the engine and not buying cheap filters. After all, it is the latter that impede the penetration of chips and other products of production into the friction pairs of ICE.