Oil Change

The engine oil lubricates, cleans and cools critical parts of the engine.  Changing the oil and filter will keep your engine clean.  Low or dirty oil (or low and dirty oil) hurts engine efficiency and may increase harmful emissions. Check the dipstick regularly and change the oil as recommended by your owner's manual and driving behavior (usually between every 3,000 to 5,000 miles or three to six months).

Americans use more than a billion gallons of motor oil each year. Over a quarter of that oil is discarded into places where it doesn't belong, like lakes, streams, wetlands, backyards, storm sewers, open fields and road shoulders. Not a good idea - a single gallon of used oil, if improperly managed, has the potential to contaminate up to one million gallons of drinking water!

If you are changing the oil yourself, use the correct weight and class of oil for your car.  Oil "class" such as SG is important as more recent oil classes lubricate better and may improve fuel efficiency.  This information is usually found in the owner's manual and on the fill cover.  If you are changing your own oil, follow the steps below to properly dispose of used oil.

Most automotive service centers recycle used oil. With a minimum of reprocessing, oil can be used again in cars or burned as a high-energy industrial fuel.

Another thing to think about you change your oil yourself is the oil filter.  The oil filter sifts out contaminants, allowing clean oil to flow through the engine, reducing friction between moving parts.  This prolongs engine life and may increase fuel efficiency.  For best results, consult your owner's manual but it's usually best to change the oil filter when you change the oil.

Do-it-yourself oil changers can follow four simple steps:

1. Drain the oil into a pan large enough to hold as many quarts as your vehicle's crankcase. (The average car uses about five quarts.) The pan should be clean, and not have been used for paint, solvents, antifreeze or anything else that might contaminate the oil.

2. Using a funnel, pour the oil from the pan into leak-proof containers with lids - clean plastic gallon milk jugs work well. Don't mix that oil with anything else. If you change the filter, empty the old filter by inverting it over the pan and letting it drain overnight. Plug the hole of the old filter with paper towels, and put it in the box the new filter came in. Put on the new filter, put in the drain plug (very important) and add the new oil to the crankcase.

3. Bring the old oil and the old filter to a used oil collection site. It may be at a service station, auto parts store, quick oil change business, oil retailer, or city or county vehicle maintenance shop. For the site nearest you, contact your county or town public works department.

4. Pour the oil in the collection tank, properly discard the old filter, cap your containers, save them for the next change, and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

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