How To Properly Drain Oil From Engine Block?

Many people think that it is complicated to service cars. In reality, people who have limited knowledge on the inner-working of the car could perform some basic tasks. We will only need a willingness to try and real practical sense. We should try to service the car ourselves, this could be among the best cost-saving activities we may do. Changing oil in our car should be quite easy. There are a few things that we need to prepare. We should get fresh motor oil and it needs to be rated for our engine. We could check Owner’s Manual to check the type of oil that we need.

We may also need to change the oil filter and this will allow the engine to run cleaner for the whole life of the lubricant. Adjustable wrench is also necessary and it could help us remove the drain plug. Drain plug gasket is needed and we should check with our car parts sellers. Some cars don’t need gasket and their engines could use tapered gaskets. The first time we remove the drain plug of our car, we should check it properly. Instead of a simple bucket, we should use a special oil catcher. It could be designed to hold up to 5 gallons of used lubricants, if we have a large vehicle.

A simple kitchen funnel can be used to concentrate the poured oil into the engine. Oil does spill, so we need rags to clean up the mess. Even if our working environment is bright, there would be some corners under the hood that are still dark. We may need a good, compact flashlight to help us see. One basic principle is that oil is thinner when it is hotter.

It means that we need to start the car for about five minutes. This will allow the lubricant to flow and it will bring the goop and muck along into the oil catcher. The drain plug under the engine usually has a big nut. We could use a wrench to unscrew it and we could wait until the last drop of oil comes out.

Whatever we do, we should try to prevent the spillover. The tray should be positioned slightly forward relative to the drain plug and we could slowly remove the plug. If the plug is quite hot, we could let it drop into the oil catcher. If the oil is hot, it is recommended to wear a glove and eye protector. The next step is to replace the oil filter.

Look for a cap in the oil filler located at the top of the engine block. We should be able to find the filter and we could unscrew it by hand. We may need to use a rag if the filter is a bit too tight. Some cars require special filter wrench, because it will be beyond our arm strength. We need to screw the fresh oil filter and start with the step to refill the engine block with fresh oil.