Yesterday I changed the oil for the first time on my "new to me" SS. It was also the first time that I have ever changed the oil myself on any car. So needless to say, it was an adventure for me. Here are a few things that I learned:

-"Righty tighty-lefty loosey" can be confusing when you are on your back under your car. I went from confused to angry to thinking I need to start hitting the weights a little harder.

-The oil shoots out a lot farther than the drain pain you have sitting under to catch said oil and then makes a big mess.

-When all of the oil is drained out and you go to grab the oil plug to put back in you realize that it is in the bottom of the drain pan in the old oil.

After all of that I asked myself "why in the world have I been paying someone to do this for me all these years? That was fun!"

Now, off to go buy a whole new box of rags......

-Justin

 

It's more rewarding when you do it yourself.

Also, I set out a tarp under mine when I go to do an oil change. That way, if you miss the pan with some of the oil, you can funnel it in there anyway, and burn the rest off on a rag in a fire. And make sure to keep one handy for the plug when you get it out.

As well, make sure you are ready with the oil pan. When you start getting a drizzle coming straight down, get one hand on it, and be ready to slide it back some to catch the stream. ( I feel like I am coaching a kid on how to pee the first time. )

As well, use a dab of the old oil to seal the new Oil Filter in, and make sure when you are putting the plug back in NOT to over tighten it.. It's not pretty when you do.

 

The "right hand" rule. Make a fist with your right hand with your thumb pointing to the sky. Imagine an arrow on your index finger pointing toward the nail. If you turn the screw in the direction of the arrow it will move in the direction your thumb is pointing.

 

I am about to start potty training my son so maybe your advice is more helpful than you know. Hahaha.

Working on your own car is very gratifying. My wife had an '02 Cavalier that eventually became mine and I unfortunately had to do a lot of stuff to it, but never changed the oil myself.

Thanks for the advice LawDog88! I appreciate it.

 

I have found that those little spills of oil are easily absorbed by s little kitty litter , I keep a pail of it in the shop just for that reason!

 

Yep. Thanks. I called my dad to ask if there was some trick to get the plug out and he asked, "are you turning it the right way?" Yeah I scoffed at him. I had to suck it up and call him back after I was done to let him know that again, he was right.

 

I guess I should add that the left hand rule also applies to left handed threads.

May also help to imagine holding a screw driver in you right hand with arrows painted on your thumb and fore finger. I have seen young mechanics actually have arrows on their fingers.

This also works for figuring out which way a ceiling fan is blowing. Right is up.

 

Congrats on a job well done. just remember to check for leaks when all done and most importantly don't forget to put the new oil in.

It sounds funny but I have seen many technicians focusing on getting the job done and just plain forget to add the new oil once they bring the can down.

For some an oil change is such a routine job they forget if it's done wrong it can cost thousands of dollars in repairs.

 

I'm old (64+) and I've never forgotten to put the oil in after an oil change. If I ever reach that point, I'd have someone else change it. It probably won't matter anyway because I probably wouldn't be driving anyway at that point.

 

I have seen techs forget to put the drain plug in or forget to tighten it. I have seen double gaskets on oil filters many times and I have seen techs just plain forget to put oil back in when they were done.

My point is that major damage can be done if someone gets careless and don't pay attention to details when they are doing routine service.

I have seen these failures with professionals I'm not including the minim trained mechanics at the oil change express shops.

I believe that if you drive a car you should learn how to do some services but I also encourage those same people that is doing there own service to ask question if there are not sure so as not to cause major damage to there car.