10 Easy Steps To Knowing How Much Oil your Car Needs And Changing Engine Oil

How Much Oil your Car Needs?

Buying a car is exciting, but when it comes to maintaining the car, it can be a little daunting to maintain the car. so in this article i hill highlight how much oil your car needs, steps you need to take to service your car and how to find the relevant information on maintaining your new car. 

Oil change occurs when the oil has reached and passed its lifespan, thereby making it lose the necessary qualities that will enhance your vehicle’s performance. 

You shouldn’t try to guess the amount of oil you need to put in your car, or else you’ll do things wrongly. We will show several ways to go about this — you can find relevant information on how much oil your car needs in the following ways: 

1. Owner’s manual

Every new vehicle comes with an owner’s manual, and the information you need will be inside it. However, most people would have lost their manual, and if you fall into this category, you can try finding a copy of it online. If you don’t see it online, then try out the other three ways below. 

2. Visit the dealership

400;”>Car dealerships usually have experts that can help you out with information of this kind. They will inspect your car and answer  to—oil many transmissions oil your vehicle needs for maximum performance. 

3. Visit the manufacturer website

Manufacturers of vehicles sometimes have very detailed info on the cars they produce. Visit the website, then search for the section where cars’ features are reviewed or listed. The only downside about this is that most car manufacturers don’t offer detailed info on their vehicles.

4. Check the dipstick

If you pull out the dipstick, there are two markings you’ll see. One of the markings shows you the minimum oil required, and the other indicates the maximum required. You should try to aim for the middle of the two markings. You should know that if the oil is too much, it can damage your engine, and if it’s too little, it can also damage it. 

5. Ask a professional

You can ask a professional mechanic in your neighborhood or online. They might not know it at that moment, but they usually know resources they can consult to give you an accurate answer.

How To Change The oil 

Before you go about changing the oil in your car, you must be able to tell if the oil has gone wrong and need a change or if the oil is low and needs a refill instead. If the oil has gone wrong, here are some symptoms you’ll notice — excess exhaust, increased engine noise, falling oil level, low oil level, irregular oil texture, ticking sound when starting, shaking when idling. 

If you notice any of these, then you can follow the steps below to change the oil safely —

1.  Raise your car 
2. Loosen the undertray
3. Position the drain pan 
4. Loosen the drain plug 
5. Remove the oil filter 
6. Remove the oil filter gasket 
7. Install the drain plug
8. Install a new oil filter
9. Pour in new oil
10. Check the oil level

these steps are explained below.

1. Raise your car 

You’ll have to jack your car up so you can get to work    under it. You can make use of jack stands, ramps, or hoists. The important thing is that you should raise the car securely and safely.  

Note: You shouldn’t raise your car for safety reasons and work underneath it with just a floor jack. 

2. Loosen the undertray 

If your car is modern, it will be designed with an undertray that protects vital components and improves aerodynamics. 

You’ll have to loosen the undertray. It will either be fastened worth plastic clips, bolts, screws, or a mixture of the three or two. Essential hand tools will do the loosening job perfectly. 

3. Position the drain pan 

You can get a drain pan at an auto parts store. If you want, you can also use a bucket or any container that is wide and big. You’ll be draining the old oil out of your car into the drain pan, and the oil could be about a gallon.  

You’ll place the drain pan underneath the drain plug. 

4. Loosen the drain plug 

You’ll hold the drain plug, then turn it counterclockwise with a wrench so that it will loosen. Once you remove it, the oil will start flowing out into the drain pan. Let the oil keep pouring out until it is trickling. This could take about 5 mins.  

5. Remove the oil filter 

To spot the oil filter, look for a small-sized component with a cylindrical shape. You’ll need an oil filter wrench to use in loosening it (depending on your car, you might be able to use your hand). 

To loosen it, you’ll turn it counterclockwise. Oil will start flowing out, so you can pause with the unscrewing. After the flow has reduced, you can continue loosen the oil filter until it comes off You must remove

6. Remove the oil filter gasket 

It’s important you remove the old oil filter gasket before installing a new oil filter because if you don’t remove it, the new oil filter won’t sit well, and the oil in your car will start leaking. 

7. Install the drain plug 

You’ll return the drain plug into its place and tighten it, but not too tight because it can damage it. You can also try getting the manufacturer’s recommended torque spec with the help of a torque wrench. However, do it carefully, so you don’t rip off the drain plug head. 

If your car has a washer behind the drain plug, you’ll need to check your owner’s manual to know if it needs to be replaced as well. 

8. Install a new oil filter

You can get the oil filter at an auto parts store. You’ll have to apply a light coating of oil around the rubber gasket sitting at the top of the oil filter, so it will seal properly when tightening the filter. 

Just like you shouldn’t overtighten the drain plug, you shouldn’t overtighten the oil filter too. Just tighten it to a snug fit.  

9. Pour in new oil 

Now that you have replaced both the drain plug and oil filter, you can fix back the undertray and lower your car. You’ll open the hood of your vehicle, then remove the oil cap. Place a funnel in the hole, then fill it with the amount of oil specified by the manufacturer. 

10. Check the oil level 

After pouring the oil, let it settle for a few minutes, then remove the dipstick to know if the oil is at the right level. When you pull the dipstick, use a paper towel to wipe off the oil, reinsert it and remove it. Now, you can check to see if the oil is around the complete marking. 

You can now start your car but leave it for a few minutes so it will warm up. Then check for leaks around the oil filter underneath the vehicle. 

What are the types of engine oils?

Engine oils are made with a mixture of different base oils enhanced with dispersants, additives, detergents, and other chemicals. To give the oil better viscosity, especially multi-grade oil, polymers are used to adapt quickly to extreme temperatures. 

Before choosing the type of engine oil to pour in your car, you need to consider certain things, and they are —

• Knowing your vehicle maker recommendations and if the oil meets the recommendation
• Knowing if the oil is designed for petrol or diesel vehicles
• Knowing the engine oil’s performance level 

Now, we will break down the types of oils for you into four categories, and here they are — 

1. Conventional oil 

If you’re looking for a type of oil with different viscosity grades, then it is the conventional oil you’ll opt for. However, to use it, you must make sure your car has a simple engine design and must be a driver with a conservative/safe driving style. 

Note: Other oils have different viscosity grades too, but conventional oil has the most grades. 

2. Synthetic oil 

This type of oil has been engineered chemically so it can perform better than conventional oils. Moreover, it functions well in extreme temperatures (both low and high temperatures). 

3. Synthetic blend oil 

If you drive an SUV or a pickup truck, then this is the type you’ll likely opt for because of its popularity among drivers of such vehicles. Its popularity is because it gives added protection to such vehicles known for carrying heavy loads. Other additional benefits of this oil are how well it performs in cold temperatures, provides more gas mileage, and prevents cars from oxidation. 

This type of oil is a mixture of two different types of oil (organic and synthetic oil). 

4. High mileage oil

If you’re driving a new car model, then this type of oil is designed for you. There are unique additives added to enhance it, so oil leaks and oil burn-off will be minimal. 

How many quarts in a litre?

A US quart is slightly larger in volume than a litre (1 litre = 1.0567 liquid US quarts). 

However, there are two other recognized quart measurements available — U.K. quart and dry U.S. quart. These two quarts are slightly smaller in volume than a litre. 

(1 liter = 0.879877 UK quarts)

(1 liter = 0.91 dry US quarts) 

FAQs

Question: If I use synthetic oil, will using conventional oil spoil my engine?

Answers: No, it won’t spoil your engine. You might have heard it around from different people, however, do not fret because this is a misconception. Besides, oil manufacturers have an oil type called “synthetic oil blend,” which combines the two. So you can see that there is nothing to worry about. 

Question: Does synthetic oil cause oil leaks and ruin your engine? 

Answer: No, it won’t ruin your engine. Most people believe this because in some older machines, the oil will fill the gaps of engine seals, so it was thought the oil residue broke through the seals and clogged them. If your car uses an old engine and has any leaks, using synthetic oil will make you know there is a leak because of its advanced cleansing agent. You shouldn’t be worried about synthetic oil causing a leak that wasn’t there before. 

Question: What is the difference between an oil change light and an oil warning light? 

Answer: An oil change light and oil warning light are both on the dashboard but mean different things. If your car is an old model, you might not have an oil change light, but you’ll have an oil warning light. It might be hard to tell the difference between both, so refer to your vehicle owner’s manual as a guide to tell the difference between both lights. 

The oil change light turns on when your vehicle needs an oil change due to the oil going bad. Once you change the oil, the light will reset then it will only come on over time when the oil needs to be changed again. If your car is very modern, then you’ll most likely be alerted via the computer display. 

The oil warning light turns on when the oil in your car has reduced to the point that is unacceptable because it is not enough to give your vehicle optimum performance. You won’t need to change the oil filter and pour out your old oil; all you’ll do is check the engine’s dipstick to know the oil’s level. 

Question: When should I get my motor oil changed? 

Answer: If you’re driving a recent car, it will be designed with Engine Oil Life Monitoring (OLM) System. This system will keep track of your engine temperate, vehicle speed, and it will monitor the operating conditions, which it will use to determine when you need an oil change. 

Question: What type of oil should I use in my vehicle? 

Answer: Never do guesswork; instead, refer to the owner’s manual and see what the manufacturer has recommended. Even though it’s believed that synthetic blend oil is preferable for specific kinds of cars (SUVs and pickup trucks), and the same yardstick is applied to other types of oil. Nevertheless, you should always refer to the owner’s manual nonetheless. However, if you no longer have your owner’s manual, then ask a professional. 

Question: What are the risks of oil burning in the engine?

Answer: If oil burning occurs, then that means you’ll have zero lubrication for your engine, thereby leading to an overheating engine, and then wear and tear will appear because metals will be coming in contact with themselves at a high friction level. Not fixing this on time will cause severe damage to the engine. 

Conclusion

Now that I have answered your question of how much oil my car needs, and I have shown you how to change the oil,  you can now start enjoying your car to the fullest as you did before needing an oil change. I made everything easy to understand so you can do this by yourself safely.