Changing Your Oil

Thanks Box'd Out for your comment and suggestion for this topic. First, let's talk about the different types of oil on the market for your vehicle. Basically you have organic oil refined from the earth better known as conventional oil, then there is synthetic oil which is synthesized or made. From these main types a brand called synthetic blend is derived by mixing the two. So in order of quality you could consider synthetic the best, synthetic blend next in line, then conventional. I am surprised that there are a lot of people that don't know what oil to put in their vehicle so I will try to clear this up a little bit. I know it's confusing when you go in a store to buy some oil and you have several brands and service types (i.e. regular conventional, synthetic blend, full synthetic, high mileage, high rpm, 4X4, bla, bla, bla, etc., etc., etc.). Ok let's start with your vehicle. Do you have an owner's manual? If so look up oil change recommendations and you should see a chart or something showing some arrows or lines that show different weights of oil such as(0w-40, 5w-20,5w-30, 10w-30,10w-40,15w-40). This chart is basically telling you that you can use these different weights depending on what type of climate you are in however it should recommend one of these for normal temperatures. Using the lower number next to the "w" in cold climates and higher number in hotter climates would be the basic rule-of-thumb for this chart.You should also see a circle with letters in it or just letters this should be your engine's specification requirement. If you see the letters SF, SG, SL,SM,or SN or something along this line just match what is in your manual to the back of a bottle of oil and this should be the right oil for your vehicle. This is the most important part in choosing the right oil everything else is "bells and whistles". If you don't have an owner's manual or just can't find it under all that stuff in your glove compartment or console try to look under your hood at your oil cap where you fill your oil and you may be lucky enough to have the recommended oil stamped on the cap or even on your dipstick.

There are still some variables to deciding on the right oil like if your engine has over 75,000 miles on it consider using high mileage oil, or if your engine burns oil consider a thicker oil especially in a hotter climate. If you live in a seasonal climate and you do use a thicker oil make sure you go thinner in the winter and always try to stick with the same brand and type. To decide what type of oil to use ask yourself some questions; How much do you care about your vehicle? How long do you plan to keep your vehicle? How much driving do you do before you can honestly change your oil? Can you keep up with the maintenance schedule of changing your oil every 3,000 miles? To offer a suggestion to these questions is the good, better, best concept when choosing a type of oil to use. Personally I buy the best for my vehicle with over 250,000 miles on it not just oil but all my fluids and parts I replace. I depend on this vehicle and need it to start every time. Although cheaper products claim to meet specifications I side with choosing the best.

Now that you can select your oil you need to change your oil filter. Again there are now different service type filters on the market there is the regular oil filter, high mileage filter, the tough filter, extreme, high performance, etc.. Ask yourself the same questions I stated when selecting your oil. If you haven't already make sure you can gain access to your oil filter and oil drain plug before tackling this job. You may need a good oil filter wrench and the skill of a contortionist on some vehicles to get to your oil filter. Seriously though if you plan to keep this vehicle for a long time I would suggest using a motor flush when you change your oil. This product will help you get a cleaner drain of the old oil and can possibly help clean your crankcase over time. If none of this helps you and you decide to have your oil changed somewhere else just make sure they use the oil and filter you want so that you know whats in your engine and if you have to add oil later you can put the same type in it. If you would like more help and technical information about oil see link in the right side bar for a downloadable handbook.