How do you change oil in a car?

Im thinking about changing my own oil.I need to know what i need to get and how to do it.Is there somewhere you need to take the old oil because I heard you cant throw it awayHow do you change oil in a car?
iTS WAY EASIER TO JUST TAKE IT TO AN OIL CHANGE SPECIALIST. THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF THE OIL RECLAMATION CHARGE AND YOUR OIL WILL BE CHANGED THE CORRECT WAY.How do you change oil in a car?
Get under the car, unscrew the plug at the bottom of oil pan, drain the old oil into some container, screw the plug back in, unscrew the oil filter (or, if it's a cartridge filter in you car, take it out,) install new filter, open 5 or 6 (whatever the your car needs) cans of oil, pour it in.


Take the old oil to a recycling place (many gas stations take old oil or look on the net for a place near you.)


Doing it yourself you'll save about $10. Is it worth it?
Yes, you need to dispose of the oil at a recycling station or most shops would take it free, or at least the shops that burn it for heat in the winter.





To be honest, for what most good shops charge to change the oil, its best and easier to have them do it.
If you can't fit under the car, jack up the car. Get a pan to catch the oil in. Then you loosen the oil pan bolt, and let the oil drain. Then take out the old oil filter and let the oil drain from there (go to autozone.com to see where the filter and the drain plug are on your vehicle). Put the drain plug back in. Put on the new oil filter. Then add the new oil. Make sure you know how much oil your vehicle needs. You can take the used oil to autozone also and they'll dispose of it for free.
You'll need an oil filter, oil (and try to get the correct amount recommended by the manufacture), your oil pan plug should be changed every 2-4 oil changes( not a big deal though)


Place the use oil in a container and take it to Advance auto store(discount auto) or any other parts store that allow you to discard the oil (usually free).





First drain the oil( requires a oil drain pan cost about $5-$10), then remove and replace the filter.....finally pour the new oil in the engine. Make sure to close the oil pan plug properly but not too tight, same goes for the oil filter.
You need:





Oil drain pan (to catch the oil as it pours out of the oil pan)


1 new oil filter


4-5 quarts of oil (depending on your cars needs - check the back of your owners manual for capacities)


An oil wrench if you can't get the oil filter off by hand


A wrench or ratchet to remove the oil pan bolt.





First, open your hood:-)


Remove your oil fill cap.


place the oil drain pan under your oil pan's bolt.


Make sure you are removing the oil bolt and not the transmission pan drain bolt!!!!


Remove the oil pan bolt and allow to drain.


Put the oil pan bol back into place and tighten.


Movethe oil drain pan under the oil filter.


Remove the oil filter.


Place the new oil filter on and tighten once it catches turn it an additional 3/4 turn.


Put your oil in the oil fill receptacle.


Replace your oil fill cap.


Start the car and let run for 2-3 minutes.








Put the oil in a container - milk/water jug water and take it to AutoZone or Advance Auto - they will take the oil and recycle it.





Nothin to it - takes about 15 minutes once you get used to it.
You will need oil (most cars take 5 quarts) and an oil filter for sure. You can buy a container with a lid to drain the old oil in to (most auto parts stores will dispose of it free of charge, I use Autozone). You may want to buy an oil filter wrench and a good set of ramps. Once you have all of that, you only need to buy the oil and filter next time. Place the ramps in front of the front tires (on a level surface), and drive up until the tires are resting in the wells. Put on your emergency brake and block the back tires to prevent the car from rolling down. Place the container under the oil pan and remove the bolt (watch out, the oil will come out fast). Then remove the oil filter (if you don't have a filter wrench, you can pierce it with a screwdriver to loosen it, but the wrench is much easier and much safer) and dump the excess oil from the filter into the oil from the oil pan. Using clean oil, lube the gasket on the new filter and fill with oil before putting it on. Once the new filter is in place and the drain bolt back in the oil pan, you are done under the car. Put the remaining oil in the car, and you are done. It's really not that hard, but can be messy sometimes. Good luck.
There are a a number of steps before you get started, but the procedure is pretty simple when you are prepared. The first step is to determine the quantity of oil and the viscosity that you need. Quantity is obvious, somewhere between 4 and 9 quarts generally, and it will usually tell you the amount with and without the filter. Viscosity is represent by numbers like 5w20, 10w30, etc. The manufacturers have a recommended viscosity that should be followed unless there are special circumstances, like extreme cold. Next determine if you want to use a regular, synthetic blend, or pure synthetic oil. These are priced low to highest, with greater benefits with synthetic. Some manufacturers require or recommend full synthetic, and some of the advantages would be better fuel economy, fewer impurities in the oil, greater horsepower etc. These advantages are nominal, and may not be worth the cost, however. The next step is to determine what type of filter you need. Most cars have spin on filters, but some cars, (like BMW), have a dry sump system where the filter is dropped into a container inside the engine compartment. In the case of spin on filters, find what the orientation of the filter is in relation to the engine. If the filter is completely vertical, you will be able to pre-oil the filter with clean oil before you spin on the filter. This keeps the engine from having momentary oil starvation on start-up, since the engine will not have to fill the new filter before the oil circulates. In any event you will want to put some oil into the filter to minimize this effect unless the filter is completely inverted. Also most spin on filters have you put a thin coat of new oil on the gasket to assist with the seal. Anyway I'm getting ahead. You will need to determine if you can reach the drain plug and or filter under the engine without raising the vehicle. If you can, great. If not, use either ramps, or jack the car up and put the car on jack-stands. DO NOT rely on the jack alone! If the vehicle falls off the jack, or if the jack suffers a failure, you can be crushed, making for a really bad day. Once you have determined the location of the oil filter and drain plug, you will need wrenches for both. Use a socket or a box end wrench for the drain plug, otherwise you can and probably will round off the bolt. For the filter, there are any number of types of wrenches, the location of the filter dictates which is the proper type for your application. The last item is the drain pan, get one that has a greater capacity than that of the vehicle. OK, warm up the engine, this will make the oil flow, and will evacuate more of the impurities that are in your engine. At this point use whatever method you determined was proper to get to the filter and drain plug. Turn off the engine, raise the hood, remove the dipstick, and remove the oil filter cap. Get under the vehicle and place the drain pan so that it will catch the flow of oil Remove the drain plug, the oil will be hot, so have rags and gloves on. Once the oil flow goes to a drip, wipe the drain plug off, and replace it back into the pan. Be careful not to cross thread the bolt. If you do, it will leak, and will require repair. Once the bolt is back in and tightened to snug, move the drain pan to catch the oil from the filter. Loosen the filter with the wrench, then remove the rest of the way by hand. Make sure the gasket surface on the block is clean, then spin the filter on the engine. Follow the directions on the filter for the amount the filter needs to be tightened. At this point put all of the new oil minus 1 quart into the engine. Put the clean dipstick back in, and tighten the oil filler cap. Start the vehicle, and let it run for a minute or 2. While it is running, check to make sure you do not have any leaks. If you do, stop the engine and make sure everything is tight or re-tighten Repeat this until there aren't any leaks. Turn the vehicle off, then wait a couple of minutes for the oil to drain back into the pan. Check the oil, and then add the last quart. Take the used oil to an Autozone or other auto parts place that accepts it.





Good luck!
When you are changing your own oil on your car, it REALLY depends on which type of car you have, some are ALOT easier then other, if your car is an import (BMW,Volvo, Volkswagen, etc) its much much more difficult to do it on your own..but first you need to get a filter, and call your local autopart store to figure out which oil filter and oil you need for you car, again every car is different..some cars need more high tech or expensive fluid..but then you drain your old oil and what i would do it funnel it back into the empty oil container after you use the new oil, and then what i do is drop it off at any car repair shop and ask them to put it with their waste oil, because usually they have a company that comes and picks up the waster oil like every week or so..but you can choose to get rid of it, but you just can't pour it into the ground..after you drain the old oil, then you have to change the filter..locate the filter then take the old one out and put in the new one..then look up how much oil your car takes and put new oil into it threw where the dipstick is under the hood..shouldn't be that hard, but again it depends alot on your type of vehicle..I would just pay the 20 bucks and get someone else to do it, lol