{ "formatVersion": 1, "title": "Engine Oil & Filter Change", "description": "Drain the old oil, replace the filter, refill to the correct capacity, and log the mileage. Written generically so it applies to almost any car or light truck. The three numbers that differ between vehicles (capacity, viscosity, drain plug torque) are looked up in step 1 rather than guessed at.", "category": "maintenance", "subcategory": "Engine oil", "difficulty": "beginner", "tags": ["oil change", "maintenance", "fluids", "beginner-friendly", "45-minute job"], "language": "en", "estimatedMinutes": 60, "estimatedCost": 48.0, "currency": "USD", "author": { "name": "Trackara", "bio": "Official Trackara blueprint template", "url": "https://trackara.app/blueprints" }, "vehicleCompatibility": [ { "make": "Any", "notes": "The procedure is the same on virtually every gasoline or diesel car and light truck with a sump-mounted drain plug. Oil capacity, oil viscosity/specification and drain plug torque are vehicle-specific and are NOT stated in this blueprint on purpose. Look them up for your exact engine in step 1." } ], "requiredTools": [ "Floor jack", "Jack stands (2)", "Wheel chocks", "Socket set", "Oil filter wrench (cap-type or strap-type to suit your filter)", "Drain pan, 6 quart / 6 litre or larger", "Funnel", "Torque wrench", "Nitrile gloves", "Shop rags" ], "parts": [ { "name": "Engine oil", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 34.0, "notes": "Buy the viscosity AND the specification/approval listed in your owner's manual, not just the viscosity. Quantity here means one full fill. Confirm your capacity before you buy, since it ranges from roughly 4 to 9 quarts across common engines." }, { "name": "Engine oil filter", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "partNumber": null, "estimatedCost": 9.0, "notes": "The part number is specific to your year and engine. Look it up for your vehicle and write it in here once you have it. Never copy a filter number from a different car, even the same model with a different engine." }, { "name": "Drain plug crush washer or gasket", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 1.5, "notes": "A dollar part that is the usual cause of a slow drip at the plug. Some vehicles use a reusable O-ring or a plug with a bonded seal instead. Check which yours has." }, { "name": "Cartridge filter housing O-ring", "kind": "optional", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 3.0, "notes": "Only applies if your engine uses a cartridge (paper element in a reusable housing) filter rather than a spin-on canister. It is normally supplied in the filter box." }, { "name": "Nitrile gloves", "kind": "consumable", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 1.0 }, { "name": "Shop towels", "kind": "consumable", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 2.0 }, { "name": "Brake and parts cleaner", "kind": "consumable", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 5.0, "notes": "For cleaning the filter mounting surface and any spills. Keep it off the new filter's rubber gasket." } ], "steps": [ { "stepNumber": 1, "title": "Look up your three numbers before you buy anything", "description": "From the owner's manual or a service manual, write down: (1) oil capacity WITH a filter change, (2) the oil viscosity grade and the manufacturer specification or approval, and (3) the drain plug torque. All three vary by engine. Guessing at any of them is how a routine service turns into a repair.", "estimatedMinutes": 5, "tools": [], "parts": [], "warnings": [], "tips": [ "Capacity 'with filter' and 'without filter' are two different numbers. You want the with-filter figure.", "If the manual is long gone, a dealer parts counter or the manufacturer's own service information will give you all three for free." ], "checklist": [ "Oil capacity with filter written down", "Viscosity and specification written down", "Drain plug torque written down", "Filter part number confirmed for this exact engine" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 2, "title": "Warm the engine briefly, then park level and shut off", "description": "Run the engine two or three minutes so the oil is thin enough to carry the suspended dirt out with it, then shut it off and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Park on level ground so the sump drains fully and the dipstick reads true.", "estimatedMinutes": 5, "tools": [], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Warm oil drains far better than cold oil, but hot oil burns. A short idle is enough. Do not drain straight off a highway run." ], "tips": [ "Skipping the warm-up entirely still works; it just leaves more of the old oil and more of the dirt behind." ], "checklist": [], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 3, "title": "Chock, lift, and secure the vehicle", "description": "Set the parking brake, chock the wheels that stay on the ground, then lift at the manufacturer's designated jacking point and lower the vehicle onto jack stands at the rated lift points. Shove the vehicle firmly at one corner before you go anywhere near it. It should not shift.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": ["Floor jack", "Jack stands (2)", "Wheel chocks"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Never put any part of your body under a vehicle supported only by a jack. A jack is a lifting device, not a holding device.", "Ramps are an acceptable alternative, but only with the parking brake on and the rear wheels chocked." ], "tips": [ "If your vehicle has enough clearance to reach the drain plug and the filter without lifting, skip this step entirely." ], "checklist": [ "Parking brake set", "Wheels chocked", "Jack stands seated on the rated lift points", "Vehicle pushed at a corner and confirmed stable" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 4, "title": "Drain the old oil", "description": "Remove the oil filler cap first so the sump vents and drains cleanly. Position the pan, break the drain plug loose with a socket, then spin it out by hand so you can feel the last thread and pull the plug straight away from the stream. Let it drain until it slows to an occasional drip.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": ["Socket set", "Drain pan, 6 quart / 6 litre or larger", "Nitrile gloves"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "The plug and the oil are hot enough to burn. Gloves on.", "If you drop the plug in the pan, fish it out now rather than discovering it is missing at refill time." ], "tips": [ "Oil arcs sideways when the plug first comes out. Put the pan slightly forward of the plug, not directly beneath it, and slide it back as the stream weakens.", "Look at what comes out. Metallic glitter, coolant-like milkiness or a fuel smell are all worth investigating before you refill." ], "checklist": ["Filler cap removed", "Drain slowed to a drip", "Old plug washer accounted for"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 5, "title": "Remove the old filter and clean the sealing surface", "description": "For a spin-on canister, back it off with the filter wrench and tilt the open end upward as it clears, because it is full of oil. For a cartridge type, unscrew the housing cap, lift out the paper element, and note which way up it sat. Wipe the mounting face clean and dry.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": ["Oil filter wrench (cap-type or strap-type to suit your filter)", "Shop rags", "Brake and parts cleaner"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Confirm the old filter's rubber gasket came away WITH the filter. If it stayed stuck to the engine and you install the new filter on top of it, the doubled gasket will blow out and dump your oil pressure within a minute of starting." ], "tips": [ "A filter that will not budge usually gives up to a cap-type wrench and a breaker bar. As a last resort, drive a long screwdriver through the canister and use it as a handle. Messy, but effective.", "On a cartridge filter, replace the housing O-ring every time and lubricate it with clean oil." ], "checklist": [ "Old gasket confirmed removed with the old filter", "Mounting surface wiped clean and dry" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 6, "title": "Fit the new filter", "description": "Wipe a film of clean new oil around the new filter's rubber gasket. Thread it on by hand until the gasket just contacts the mounting face, then tighten it by the instruction printed on the filter itself. Spin-on filters carry their own tightening instruction on the canister or the box, and that instruction is the authority.", "estimatedMinutes": 5, "tools": ["Nitrile gloves"], "parts": [ { "name": "Engine oil filter", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "notes": "The one you looked up in step 1." } ], "warnings": [ "Hand tools only for installation. A filter wrench makes it very easy to overtighten a spin-on filter, which crushes the gasket and makes the next change miserable." ], "tips": [ "Never install a filter with a dry gasket. A dry gasket grabs, rolls and tears as it seats.", "Some people pre-fill the filter with oil. It only works on filters that mount open-end-up, and it is optional. A few extra seconds of idle does the same job." ], "checklist": ["Gasket oiled", "Filter tightened per the instruction printed on it"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 7, "title": "Reinstall the drain plug with a new washer, torqued to spec", "description": "Fit the new crush washer, start the plug by hand for several turns to be certain it is not cross-threaded, then torque it to the figure you wrote down in step 1.", "estimatedMinutes": 5, "tools": ["Socket set", "Torque wrench"], "parts": [ { "name": "Drain plug crush washer or gasket", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1 } ], "warnings": [ "Do not guess this torque and do not go by feel. Overtightening strips the threads in an aluminium oil pan, which turns a $50 service into a several-hundred-dollar repair.", "If the plug spins freely without ever getting tight, stop. The threads are already damaged. Do not run the engine." ], "tips": [ "If you cannot find a torque figure anywhere, snug plus a very small amount is far safer than heaving on it." ], "checklist": ["New washer fitted", "Plug started by hand", "Torqued to the documented spec"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 8, "title": "Refill with new oil", "description": "Lower the vehicle off the stands first so the dipstick reads accurately. Add about half a quart less than the with-filter capacity you wrote down, then check the dipstick and bring it up to the full mark in small pours, waiting a minute between readings for the oil to drain down.", "estimatedMinutes": 5, "tools": ["Funnel"], "parts": [ { "name": "Engine oil", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1 } ], "warnings": [ "Overfilling is worse than being slightly under. Excess oil gets whipped by the crankshaft, foams, and foam does not carry pressure." ], "tips": [ "Deliberately underfill, then top up. It is far easier than extracting oil you should not have added." ], "checklist": ["Vehicle lowered", "Level at or just below full", "Filler cap refitted"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 9, "title": "Start, check for leaks, recheck the level", "description": "Start the engine and watch the oil pressure warning light. It should go out within a few seconds. Let it idle a minute, then look under the vehicle at the filter and the drain plug for any drip. Shut it off, wait five minutes for the oil to drain back, and check the dipstick one more time.", "estimatedMinutes": 3, "tools": [], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "If the oil pressure light stays on for more than a few seconds, shut the engine off immediately. Do not 'give it another moment'. That is when damage happens." ], "tips": [ "The level always reads slightly lower after the first run, because the new filter has filled. Top up to full at this point, not before." ], "checklist": [ "Oil pressure light out within a few seconds", "No drip at the filter", "No drip at the drain plug", "Level at full after settling" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 10, "title": "Log it and recycle the old oil", "description": "Record the odometer reading, the date, the oil and filter you used, and what you paid, so the next interval is calculated from a real number instead of memory. Pour the drained oil into a sealed container and take it, plus the old filter, to an auto parts store or municipal recycling centre. Most accept used oil free of charge.", "estimatedMinutes": 2, "tools": [], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Never pour used oil on the ground, down a drain, or into household trash. One oil change contaminates an enormous amount of water." ], "tips": [ "Bag the old filter after letting it drain overnight, open end down, into the pan." ], "checklist": ["Odometer and date logged", "Oil and filter used recorded", "Old oil and filter set aside for recycling"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null } ], "coverImageUrl": null }