How to Change Your Car's Oil Filter

While changing one's car's oil is something many people leave to a mechanic, many people, like myself, find it cheaper and easier to do it themselves. And, although changing a car's oil is quite an easy process, the would-be oil changer comes across one annoying problem: the oil filter. The following guide will tell you had to change your oil filter without too much trouble.

I should preface this walk through with a statement that I am a college student, not of a mechanic. While I'm describing a relatively foolproof process, I'm not liable for anything dumb you might be about to do to your car.

The oil filter is a small plastic cylinder, about 3 inches across and 4 inches long. It filters the crud out of your engine oil, making your engine last a lot longer than it would otherwise, and occasionally needs to be changed. A good rule of thumb is to change it every other time you change the oil, assuming you're changing your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Gas stations generally change the oil filter every time.

Before you start, you'll need to get new oil filter. Although they are inexpensive, likely costing less than $10.00, make sure you get one that fits your car. Look up in your car's owner's manual what kind of filter it takes, and buy one at an auto parts store.

Once you have your new oil filter in hand, and everything else you'll need to change your car's oil, you are ready to go.

Step 1: Drain the car's oil. It is important to change your oil filter when the system is not full.

Step 2: Locate your car's old oil filter. In most cars, it will be somewhere on the underside, in what you'll likely discovered to be a rather inconvenient location. Using an oil filter wrench, available in any gas station, screw it off.

Step 3: Prime the new oil filter before screwing it on. Fill it about 2/3 of the way full with new oil, and run an oily finger around the rim at the top. This will insure that you get a good seal.