D.I.Y. Oil Change with Pennzoil

This d.i.y. post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. Words and opinions all my own. #DIYOilChange #CollectiveBias

I like to think of my husband as a man’s man. He fixes anything that breaks around here, is the best Dad in the world, and can build me anything I ask with his two hands (and an array of power tools). Sometimes I like to follow his manly-man self around and watch what he’s doing, which last weekend was changing our truck’s oil. Now, I grew up in a family where you weren’t allowed to drive a car at 16 without having a full knowledge of how to maintain that car, but being the youngest, and a girl, I got away with somehow never changing my own oil. When I got married I just fully expected that my husband would know how and would do it for me, and lucked out that he does, though my sister gets the most props because she always changed her own oil and even did it in the parking lot of her apartment through college. That’s pretty legit right there, but changing oil isn’t really all that hard and it’s a great way to maintain your car yourself. Since I was following Brandon around while he was doing it, here’s his how-to on easy, quick, d.i.y oil changes and it really does only take three steps, but before you start, make sure you use standard safety procedures and always refer to your vehicles manual before changing your oil.

The first step in this task, is shopping. Refer to your car manual to find out what kind of oil and oil filter you need, and then check out all the options. We went to Auto Zone and Brandon chose Pennzoil’s Platinum full synthetic oil. For those new to the world of  motor oil, that’s like the Chick-fil-a Lemonade of oil: it’s the best. It keeps pistons cleaner than other industry standards, It’s backed by a 10 year/300,000 mile lubrication warranty, and it’s what BMW recommends for their engines, so you know it’s good. 

Step 2: Get up under that car. Careful if you’re using ramps, make sure those tires are chocked. Locate the oil plug, and grab a wrench and oil pan. Do your best to get that oil pan underneath the plug so you don’t spill any oil (Brandon says be careful because it can shoot further than you think); make sure the caps are on your oil pan and then turn that sucker as hard as you can until you can spin it out and let that oil come right out into the pan. Once it’s empty, put the plug back in, but make sure it’s tight.

Step 3: Find where your oil filter is located (you can find out in your manual). You’re going to need to remove the old dirty one and put in the new one you bought. Put your oil pan under the old one (some oil might leak out) and unscrew it, it’s just screwed in. If it’s really stuck, you might need an oil filter wrench. You can empty all the oil out of it into your pan too. Before you put in the new filter, Brandon says to make sure you lube up the new one with some of the oil that is on the old one. He simply rubbed his pinky around the rim of the old filter, and then ran it along the rim of the new one four or five times. Once you’ve done that, you can screw the new one in. It’s a good idea to use an oil filter wrench and give it a couple cranks to make sure it’s really in there.

Step 4: Time to put in the new, clean oil. Pop open the hood, locate your oil cap, take it off and start filling. Make sure you only pour in as much as you need (can be found in the manual). It’s much easier if you use a funnel, and extra easier if you have a cute little helper to bring one to you. Once you’ve put the correct amount in, you’re done! The manly man husband suggest waiting thirty minutes and then checking your oil levels after it’s settled to make sure you put in enough.

I was surprised how fast it was, and if I weren’t 9 months pregnant, I’d get up under there and show you myself. Maybe next time. Your old oil can be disposed of at most auto stores. The Autozone that we shopped at has a disposal bin you can pour it in.

My husband would probably like me to point out that I made him pose like that. He doesn’t normally end his oil changes by giving himself a thumbs up, but if you want to when you’re done, you totally deserve it so go for it.

Just in case you prefer a video or want to get a pro’s advice, there’s a great youtube video below showing how to change your oil and here’s Pennzoil’s site with more info. I think once I have this baby, I’ll give it a go. It just seems like it’s one of those things that if someone ask, I want to be able to say that I’ve changed my own oil before. Have you?