HOW TO CHECK AND CHANGE YOUR ENGINE OIL

Your engine oil needs to be kept to a minimum level to maintain the health of your engine so it is important to know how to check your oil level and how to top it up.

What you’ll need:

• Top up Oil
• Cloth

Method:

1. First of all, you’ll need to wait until your engine has cooled down for at least half an hour after you have finished driving. It will be too hot to the touch and you won’t get an accurate result due to the oil being thinner when it is warm.
2. Open your bonnet and remove the dipstick from the engine.
3. Take your cloth and wipe the dipstick on the cloth to remove the oil residue.
4. Once you have wiped off the oil, push the dipstick back into the engine.
5. Then remove it once again and inspect the min/max lines at towards the end of the dipstick.
6. Make sure your oil is between those two levels and comfortably higher than the minimum line.
7. If it isn’t, take off the oil cap on the engine and pour some of your top-up oil into it.
8. Check the oil level using your dipstick once again and push back into the engine.
9. When you are happy with the level of you engine oil, screw the cap back onto the engine, close up your bonnet and you’re ready to go.

Find out what viscosity level you need from your car’s handbook- or use the Motul oil selector on the Club Motul website. Just enter your registration and it will tell you what you need.

Get your high-quality top up oil here.

After a while though, you will need to change your oil.

Your OEM will specify oil change intervals for both time and mileage to keep your engine running smoothly and healthily.

So how do you change your oil?

Method:

1. You need to raise your car high enough to be able to work underneath it. This needs to be on a ramp or jack stands- never use a floor jack to hold your car up if you are working underneath it. You do not want your car to land on you so make sure you are 100% when doing this.
2. If you are working on a modern car, it is more than likely that there will be a plastic undertray to protect components and improve aerodynamics. This will have to be removed before you can change your oil. It’s likely to be held on by screws, clips or bolts and you will be able to remove it with standard hand tools.
3. Make sure you have a five-gallon bucket or tray to catch the old oil from your engine.
4. There will be a lot of oil and it can make a mess so make sure you are prepared for this.
5. Remove the drain plug by loosening with an oil plug drain wrench and hold onto the plug. Leave the oil to drain into the bucket for around five minutes and the oil flow has slowed.
6. Next is the oil filter. It’s important to change your oil filter as it removes harmful metal fragments and debris to keep your engine running smoothly.
7. Making sure the oil bucket is placed below the oil filter, unscrew the oil filter slightly to allow the oil run down the side of the filter.
8. Once the flow slows down, unscrew the oil filter fully and prepare to fit your new oil filter.
9. Make sure the old oil-filter gasket (thin rubber O-ring) is not left behind as the new filter won’t seal properly and this will end in an oil leak.
10. Take your finger with a very small amount of fresh oil and rub it around the rubber O-ring before screwing in the new oil filter as this will help to create a proper seal. Hand screw the oil filter back in and not too tightly.
11. Now it is time to replace the drain plug. Screw it back in but not too tightly as this can damage the plug and the oil pan.
12. Now it’s time to fill the engine back up with fresh oil.
13. Check your vehicle handbook for the volume of oil that your engine takes so you know you have enough- this will normally be between 4 and 6 litres.
14. You will also need to check with your vehicle handbook to check the oil viscosity you need or use the Motul oil selector on the Club Motul website.
15. Once you have filled up your engine with oil, you will need to check that you have filled it to the correct level using our ‘how to’.
16. Check for leaks before you take your car off the jack stands.
17. You are now left with waste oil and it is important to dispose of that in a responsible way.
18. You can search for your local oil recycling facility online.

Make sure you get high-quality Motul oil from the Club Motul website and get free UK delivery over £50.