Car Care: Change Your Oil

Changing the oil in your car can seem like finding the answer to world peace, but it's not hard at all! Driving a car with dirty oil results in reduced gas mileage and promotes engine damage. Clean oil will keep the engine's parts moving, reduce friction between parts, and picks up dirt that would otherwise wear out your engine.

The first step, in knowing how to change your oil, is to locate the dipstick. No, not your best mate or spouse. The dipstick is where you check exactly how much oil your car has. Often, it has a plastic T-shape handle with, the words "oil dipstick" stamped on top in white letters. Two smaller dipsticks are located in the general area, but we don't need those. One is for power steering and the other is for the transmission. The longest dipstick is the one we're looking for.

Now that we've determined the dipstick location. Turn off your engine, if it isn't off already. When the engine is running, oil will splash up the dipstick making an accurate reading impossible. Next, pull out the dipstick and wipe it with a clean towel. Preferably, not with the fancy towels your spouse bought to decorate the bathroom with. Grab an old, holy, miserable looking towel fro oil changes.

After wiping the dipstick clean, put it back into the hole you just pulled it out of. Yes, there is a purpose to this. Every dipstick has a mark to indicate the proper level your car's oil should be at. Under the line indicator is a section etched in a crisscross pattern. Don't worry almost there. Below the crisscross pattern is the word "add" which is, of course, telling you to add more oil. When you can see the word "add" above the oil line, the engine is one quart low. This is the only time you need to add more oil! No measuring required, just purchase a standard-size container from the store and pour it in.