The Engine Oil Change - Part 1

The first thing you need to know is the type of engine oil recommended for your car. Using fully synthetic Mobil 1 engine oil on your 20 year old Saga is not going to make it go like a rocket. It is only going to burn a hole in your wallet. Engine oil has several functions in your engine. Apart from lubricating the moving components in the engine, it also serves to a certain extent as a cooling agent. So therefore, go to your manufacturers manual and look it up. For reference purposes, we'll look at the oil used for my 7 year old Proton Iswara.

I've always used a 20W-50. This denotes the viscosity or in layman terms, the thickness of the oil. The higher the number before the 'W' is, the thicker the oil will be. So, 40W is thicker than 20W. I have always been a Castrol fan since the early 90's but got a little fed-up one year when they went up in price twice. I've switched to Pennzoil and have not looked back since. I've found it to be smoother and quieter on the engine

Now that you have decided on the engine oil, then its time to go down to your friendly neighborhood spare-parts dealer and purchase the oil and oil filter. The next step is to get an old engine oil container and convert it into a basin to catch all the oil that you're draining out like below:-

The Engine Oil Change

Yes, it has been almost 6 months since my last post. And no, while I've been procrastinating (what else is new?), I am not yet sounding the Last Post just yet.

Today, it gives me great joy to share with you one of the more basic of maintenance procedures you can carry out on your car- Changing the engine oil. You can actually save a lot of money doing this simple procedure yourself, just remember to follow this few simple rules, and you'll be able to save enough for an extra pair of shoes or two.

1. Always dispose of used engine oil responsibly. The earth (all of it) belongs to us and while we do not consciously litter in our own houses, it is also good that we do not do it on other peoples turf. I usually pour the used oil into a container and dispose of it at a nearby workshop. They sell the used oil to the re-cyclers so there will be no issues.

2. Safety should always be on the top of your priorities. As I go along, I will explain the safety procedures you should take heed of. So what are we waiting for? Lets go...