Changing the oil...
 

maybe the dumbest Q. but how do i change the oil? im a very very quick learner at the things i wanna know and i know it is prolly easy. what do i need and what are the steps to do it? i needed a quart of oil 5,000 miles ago and i put it in and never did anythig since then. :eek:

http://mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/oilc1.htm

piece of cake to do.

yeah i saw that. i didnt know if that was the exact things to do. what do i need to buy?

just pull the oil cap off the valve cover and turn the mustang over untill the oil stops draining.

duh....

Go to autozone or something and get 5 quarts of oil and an oil filter.
You are gonna need to jack up the car a bit in the front. The directions on that site are great.

howcome it only costs me $20 to get it changed at the dealership i got it from? if i go buy oil and etc wont it be more than 20 dollars?

yeah it probably would.

Yer average joe in the past would just dump the oil in the ground, causes lots of problems, i would imagine that dealerships and lube shops probably get some sort of a tax break of they offer oil changes at a low rate since they actually dispose of the oil properly.

plus they buy the oil in bulk, and probably get whole sale costs on filters.

i answered this before in one of your threads. https://mustangboards.com/pictures/2...tml#post317659

and actually the motorcraft oil and filter they use only costs around 12-15 bucks at wal-mart

+1. Get them from walmart. Get the motorcraft 5 quart and the filter. Cost me $12 a couple weeks ago.

so all i need is 5quarts of oil and a filter? thats it? and find something to drain the old oil in... lol.

Yeah I have an oil drip pan. Let the oil drip in that. Then once you empty the 5 quarts of new oil into your car, pour your old oil from the drip pan into the now empty 5 quart jug. Easy clean up.;)

You'll also probally need a filter grip that you can attach to a ratchet like this one:
http://www.solomotoparts.com/image.php?productid=26781

Or a universal one:

http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6180210.jpg

Makes it easier to tighten and loosen the filter.

so where is the bolt or whatever i need to take out to let the oil out? underneath the car? i havnt looked under there lol. also it says to loosen the oil cap and should i turn the car on to warm up the oil?

No, don't wanna take the chance and burn yourself if some gets on you. I never have loosen the oil cap.

I just jack the car up. Go under take off the old filter and let the shit drain in the pan till the flow is gone and it is a drip every now and then. Lube up the gasket on the new one. Get like a paper towel and wipe any possible dirt from the rim of where you screwing the filter onto. Then put it hand tight, then tighten it a tad bit more with the filter ratchet. Then i go under the oil pan, and the bolt is on the passenger side of the car. Unscrew it slowly and try to keep hold of it as it comes out and let all the oil drain in the pan again (if you drop the bolt its no big deal just a pain in the ass to retrieve it out of the pan and having to clean it.) Then tighten the bolt back in place. Lower the car back down. Then i unscrew the oil cap fill it back up with the new oil.

The clean up is the worst part. Pour the old oil into the empty bottle and wipe down the oil pan. Then your done!

i have heard that letting your car warm up a bit is helpful. last time i did it, i let my temp, gauge slightly move up on my dash then i shut it off. supposedly the warm oil will drain more because the heat has thinned the oil a bit. when it drained, it was warm to the touch and drained quickly. nothin that could burn me. (im not claiming responsibility for u getting burned!:cool:)

I warm it up few a min or so then shut it off open the fill cap and do work.

dont get caught dumping your oil down the sewer :P thats a HUGE fine up here.
doin your own oil is good to get to know your car but its just as much of a hassle as bringing it in. your guna need a catch pan and you gotta bring your oil to the dump to dispose of your waste. personally everyone in my family just goes in to get it done and we pay the few extra bucks.

You should get a Haynes or Chilton's book (or equivalent) and read up on your car. There are many things that you'll be able to do on your own but you want to do it right.

lets see if i got the right stuff.

i got a oil filter it says FL-400S

and 5W-20 oil. 5qts

Shit i think i should have gotten the motorcraft : FL-820S filter. should of i?

It should say in your owners manual probably in your glove box what type of filter. Mine is the 400S. You might need an extra quart of oil too. Add 5 quarts, check the oil level, add more if needed. Wait a couple days, check it again, add if needed. Then you're good for 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first.

where the drain screw/bolt at? lol i looked under the car and foudn the filter but idk where the drain screw is at.

wheres the drain bolt? thats the only thing i need and im good. lol

Look and see where your oil pan is. It's a pretty obvious bolt when you look under the car. I always go with synthetic oil myself. You can get a 5 quart jug at Wal-Mart for $22 and then $10 for a K&N oil filter at Kragen, or wherever you go. If you have a Kragen or whatever there affiliate is, you can take your oil there and dispose of it.

found it! :D

got it done. very easy :D

congrats...now you're ready for anything

The oil will last alot longer then 3 months or 3,000 miles. Changing your oil at 3k is something the oil companies told people to get more money out of you. Even regular non synthetic oil will last to 5-7k miles with good protection still there. Most of the car manufacturers that have the oil change light have them set for 7k miles with regular oil. You should go longer and save your money. I go 7-10k miles now on synthetic when not spraying nitrous and 5-7k when i spray nitrous alot as it can get passed the rings and contaminate the oil with gasoline which breaks it down faster.

damn man thanx for this info cuz i was about to change my oil this weekend but know i know ill just wait for a couple of more months :D but maybe until i get my rear main seal replace then by then ill change my oil

ok idk how it is where you live but we have some crook dealiers and lube shops around here. I work at a texaco quick lube and we do about 50-80 cars a day between 4-5 guys and we've seen some shit in or day. For example we saw a ford explorer brand new with 22k on it and been taking it to our local dealer for the oil changes regularly and then came to us but yet had the FACTORY INSTALLED(you can tell by a black marking on the filter) filter still on it. same with the walmart quick lube people the switch between us and them because they are cheeper but you get what you paid for because after going to them they will come back with our filter still on it. So i recomend if you take your car to a quick lube or dealership crawl underneath and mark your shit with a sharpie to make shure they drain it and check you oil level and cleaness after you leave because somtimes they will just change the filter.

i take mine to walmart or a muffler shop, n at the muffler shop i always watch them whenever they put on my oil filter anywayz they should put a new one cuz i always buy the K&N filter, even whenever i go to walmart i take a oil filter n yes they always put the new oil filter on, n i always watch them too threw the glass cuz there i cant be there. but that does suck whenever they dont put new ones on n then they charge u for a new one.