draining the car oil, refilling the car oil and changing oil filter

[EK1]

do you guys drain the car oil from the bottom, refill the oil and change the oil filter yourself or do you let the mechanics do it. which is best do you reckon. imo doing it ourself is better because when my dad took it to the mechanics they usually ripped us off by not changing/draining the oil or putting old oil in.

[lateralus]

the search button does wonders.

i'm pretty sure 99.99% of people on this forum do it themselves. why pay an extra $40 labour on top of parts for a mechanic to do it?

and you must have gone to a really dodgy mechanic for them to use old oil. anybody can pick up on that.

Edited December 30, 2009 by lateralus

[DJKOR]

For a car of that age, I'd definitely be doing it myself. For a new car under warranty, I'd let a mechanic take care of the major services, and I'd do the minor services (eg. mid major service oil change) myself.

[Shidas]

I change my oil every 5,000km and my filter every 10,000km so I do mine myself, I agree with DJKOR if it is under warrenty it is best to take it to toyota's certified mechanics

[K8Canb]

I change my oil every 5,000km and my filter every 10,000km so I do mine myself, I agree with DJKOR if it is under warrenty it is best to take it to toyota's certified mechanics

There will be dirty oil left in the filter, if you don't change your filter, you would be mixing bit of dirty oil with your new oil.

It is a good practice to change oil filter with every oil change.

K8Canb

[purple61]

One question : How does one dispose off the used engine oil?

[DJKOR]

One question : How does one dispose off the used engine oil?

Your local tip should have an area where you can dispose of old oil.

[eviltwin]

*Servicing the car yourself is a good way to get to know it , and learn new skills as new things need to be fitted and maintained. I will only take my current daily driven car ( 2003 Corolla ) to the mechanic every 10,000km for it's service as i want my book stamped so that the history is good for sales purposes in the future. I provide my own oil , filter and anything else required that service.

*The oil filter should be changed with the oil , changing the oil every 5k and the filter every 10k is pointless as your filter takes very little time to become dirty. ( especially in an older car with a high(er) mileage engine.

*Try going to a resturant or somewhere such as a bakery where oil , vinegar and many other products are kept in 5L and above drums, this is a good way to house the used oil until the drum is full. Once ready take it to your local tip and you will find that by law now they all must provide a specific area for waste oil.

[prometheus]

Changing the oil yourself is a great way to save cash and learn about your car , and it's pretty damn easy.

The only issue I have had is being able to get access underneath the car.

What do you guys use to get under the car ?

A jack and stands ?

Ramps ? if so , what type do you find works best for you

or do you go about it some other way ?

[DJKOR]

What do you guys use to get under the car ?

A jack and stands ?

A hydraulic jack and two jack stands. Just jack the front, rear, either side up with the jack then put the stands in.

Prior to that, I was lifting the car with the jack in the boot then putting the stands on, but as this got more and more annoying, I eventually picked up a hydraulic jack.

[Guest]

What do you guys use to get under the car ?

A jack and stands ?

A hydraulic jack and two jack stands. Just jack the front, rear, either side up with the jack then put the stands in.

Prior to that, I was lifting the car with the jack in the boot then putting the stands on, but as this got more and more annoying, I eventually picked up a hydraulic jack.

this.

or, in the case of the yaris, just reach under to empty the sump and undo the filter.

[prometheus]

A hydraulic jack and two jack stands. Just jack the front, rear, either side up with the jack then put the stands in.

Prior to that, I was lifting the car with the jack in the boot then putting the stands on, but as this got more and more annoying, I eventually picked up a hydraulic jack.

That sounds like you are jacking your car up and then using the stands on the one side of the car , front and back ?

Or are you jacking the car up and placing the stands on either side of the front end of the car ?

At which point of the car are you jacking and where are you placing the stands?

.... just being pedantic.

p.s. A mate of mine that works in the concrete industry was telling me how apparently in the garage of many new houses these days the concrete stab is quite thin ( some 8cm thick , from memory) , so if you were to jack up a heavy car , there is potential for the jack to break through the concrete under the weight of the car !

True or urban myth ? who knows.

[Hiro]

A hydraulic jack and two jack stands. Just jack the front, rear, either side up with the jack then put the stands in.

Prior to that, I was lifting the car with the jack in the boot then putting the stands on, but as this got more and more annoying, I eventually picked up a hydraulic jack.

That sounds like you are jacking your car up and then using the stands on the one side of the car , front and back ?

Or are you jacking the car up and placing the stands on either side of the front end of the car ?

At which point of the car are you jacking and where are you placing the stands?

.... just being pedantic.

p.s. A mate of mine that works in the concrete industry was telling me how apparently in the garage of many new houses these days the concrete stab is quite thin ( some 8cm thick , from memory) , so if you were to jack up a heavy car , there is potential for the jack to break through the concrete under the weight of the car !

True or urban myth ? who knows.

You'd be putting a stand under each side of the front of the car, to completely lift the front of the car off the ground.

I call B/S on the concrete myth - the footprint of a scissor/screw jack isn't much less than the contact patch of a tyre, so you're barely going to be increasing loads. And for trolley-jacks, the wheels on them would crush (either nylon or rubber) before the concrete would fail. Whilst thinner than most slabs, 8cm is still a decent amount of concrete (recommended minimum is 10cm, and will still be on a bed or sand/soil etc, plus would have to have some kind of safety factor) - 8cm of wood on a solid bed would still be able to support the weight of a car.

Edited January 6, 2010 by Hiro Protagonist

[redracer]

It is true that some new homes have a thin layer of concrete...it's called a waffle slab....not sure though if a car Jack could do much thou but there is a small possibility that it could happen...

[DJKOR]

That sounds like you are jacking your car up and then using the stands on the one side of the car , front and back ?

Or are you jacking the car up and placing the stands on either side of the front end of the car ?

Depends on what I need to do. If I'm doing a wheel rotation (front to back, back to front), I will jack the car up and place one stand at the front side, and the other on the rear side. If I need space around the underside of the engine, I will jack up the front sides and place the stands on the front sides so just the front is off the ground. If I need to get in under the exhaust, I just do the opposite.

At which point of the car are you jacking and where are you placing the stands?

I guess I will have to take photos later, but if I am using the boot jack, I just use the standard jack points, and if I use the hydraulic jack, I use points on the underbody that are thicker in support than other parts. I place the jack stand in a strong looking position along the side beams where the boot jack goes... just on the flat part.

I'm not good with describing it. Just common sense and experience is what I use to figure things like this out.

[{{HoTtWaXx}}]

if ur worried about breaking thru the concrete just put a long bit of wood under the jack to spread the weight, but i do agree, you really shouldnt have to worry bout it i dont think, there would have to be some regulation on strength and safety.

[Martin_W]

One question : How does one dispose off the used engine oil?

Your local tip should have an area where you can dispose of old oil.

I pour mine on the weeds along the fence :D

[Martin_W]

do you guys drain the car oil from the bottom, refill the oil and change the oil filter yourself or do you let the mechanics do it. which is best do you reckon. imo doing it ourself is better because when my dad took it to the mechanics they usually ripped us off by not changing/draining the oil or putting old oil in.

I have a friend who used to work at the Toyota service center in Artarmon and he informed me that it definitely better if you do it yourself.

There are regular cases where dirty oil is reused during a service.

My mother has fallen victim to this after getting her car serviced in Castle Hill.