 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oil Change |
|
|
|
Well its been about 3000 miles or 3 months, if not more and that means you need to change that oil. For those that don't feel like gettin' down and dirty, they can always drive to their nearest Jiffy Lube and have the nice folks there do it for them. If they offer you their new Oil-System flush, say no! This may sound like a good idea but it may leave behind big sludge particles in your motor, and it also leaves behind mineral oil that can thin out your motor oil. For those that would like to cross on to the other side, I explain the simple and easy process of changing your oil by yourself. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
SAFETY/INFO |
|
|
|
|
|
We first start by positioning our vehicle on some sort of an incline. This will serve a dual purpose, first it will allow your motor to run and heat up the oil, and secondly it will allow you more room to work under your car. I will usually go around for a drive and allow the oil to heat up to maximum operating temperature. This will make the oil as thin as possible, causing it to drain out quicker, and it will let more of the dirty oil to drain. |
|
|
|
|
|
CAUTION: You will be working around/near the exhuast system of the vehicle. The exhuast piping near the engine can be extremely hot! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pop open the hatch and locate the Dipstick/Oil Filler Cap (seen here in yellow) and remove both the stick and cap. |
|
|
|
|
|
Now that our vehicle is in position and the oil is nice and warm, we proceed by having a look-see under the vehicle. First we locate the oil pan (yellow X) and then find the oil drain plug (red circle). The blue X is the front axle of the vehicle (4WD vehicles) and the green X is the transmission. We then position a drain pan under the plug (make sure it can hold up to 6 quarts). Then we take an appropriate wrench and losen the plug by turning to the left. Righty-Tighty, Lefty-Loosey. Once the plug is loose enough to be able to spin off with your fingers, we make sure the drian pan is positioned correctly and spin the plug off. Make sure you don't drop the plug into the drain pan, unless you want to get messy. Now we make sure that we've pulled out the dipstick and uncovered the oil fil hole. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The oil pan (yellow X), located under the fron end of the vehicle. |
|
|
|
|
| Once the flow of oil has become just a drip, we move back to the engine compartment and open up our new oil. Pour about a quarter of a quart of new oil into the oil filler hole. This will rinse out some of the dirty oil from the block. Then we locate our oil filter, which in this case is located on the right side of the engine block. The filter is attached to the block on a screw-on tread. Position another smaller drain pan or bucket directly under the filter, and proceed to unscrew the filter from the port (an oil filter wrench will be handy here). Some dirty oil will spill out of the filter so postion the bucket/container carefully. Once we remove the filter, we wrap it up in a plastic grocery bag to prevent accidently spilling. Then clean the filter port with a clean lint-free cloth or paper towels. Also, make sure that the old filter gasket did not stick to the filter port. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Oil filter port (yellow), the filter is attached to it by screwing on. |
|
|
|
|
We then apply clean oil to the new gasket of the oil filter, with our fingers. Then carefully screw it on, until it reaches the base of the port. Once it does we hand tighten the filter 3/4 a turn, and then were done. We go back under the vehicle, and clean the drain plug with a clean lint free cloth, and then screw it back into the oil pan of the vehicle. Since oil is non-polar, it will never all completely drain from the block. So just make sure that its clean when it drips from the pan. (Check owners manual for correct torque rating for oil plug). Make sure you cleaned and replaced the cap/dipstick, and removed any loose tools from the engine area. Since the 4.0L holds about 6 quarts of oil, I fill it up with 5 quarts and start up the motor and park the vehicle (this allows it to fill up the filter with oil). Then I wait at least a full 5-minutes and recheck the oil level and fill it accordingly. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
New filter, smear some clean oil on the new gasket surface (red area) to help it seat properly on the filter port. |
|
|
|
|
|
Back |
|
|
|