Check Your Oil

AUTHOR

rmcexmgx

Added 1651 story

STORY PHOTOS

You don't have to feel like a dipstick when you go to check your oil; here's how to do it like a pro.

Check the oil when the engine is warm. Oil expands when it's hot and contracts when it's cold; different temperatures will give you different readings. Also you should Park the car on a level surface. Turn off the engine. Pull the hood release lever under the dashboard. By step:

Walk around the front of the car, reach under the hood, find the latch and squeeze it. As you squeeze the latch, open the hood.

Find the dipstick, a long piece of metal sticking out of the engine with a loop at one end, usually located near the spark plugs.

Pull on the loop and draw the dipstick all the way out. Wipe the oil off the dipstick with a paper towel or shop rag.

Then, Replace the clean dipstick, making sure to push it all the way in, then pull it back out and hold it horizontally in front of you.

Look at the pointy end of the dipstick. If the oil on the dipstick is below the line marked "full," add a small amount of oil. Many dipsticks simply have two lines with a cross hatch design in between. The oil level should be halfway between these two lines.

Add the oil by unscrewing the oil filler cap, which is about 3 inches in diameter and located on the very top of the engine.

Check the oil level with the dipstick after adding oil. Add more if necessary. Remember that it’s easier to add more oil but fairly difficult to remove oil if you add too much. Put the oil filler cap back on and secure it tightly.

Few more advices: Always keep two quarts of oil in your car. The oil lubricating system is a closed system: The oil does not get used up or go anywhere. If it's consistently low, there may be an oil leak. Leaks always get worse, and losing all the engine oil will require expensive repairs and/or replacing the engine.

Added on 09-07-2005 by rmcexmgx