[BigTex]

Assuming you own a car or other ICE transportation, do you change your own oil?

I do.

Just thought I would see what kind of ratio of DIYers to non-DIYers we have here.

If you DIY, check out the Fumoto drain valve and the Filter-Mag oil filter magnet (pulls tiny metallic particles out of oil that would not be captured in filter media--I've cut open used filter and seen for myself). Those are a couple of items that I have had very good luck with.

The Walmart-only 5 quart jugs of oil are also pretty handy.

[comprehensive]

Sure, easy to do, just through the used oil into the gas tank a quart at a time, get better gas mileage.

[Benzin]

I change the oil in my car. It's a pain in the ass but you only know if it's done right if you DIY. The few times I've taken it to places they either add too much oil or too little. They also put the filter and oil pan bolt on too damn tight so I have to struggle with it.

[BigTex]

Another tip I have good luck with is using one of those pot-holder sized rubberized jar lid openers to hand tighten the filter when you put it on.

For those not familiar with the Fumoto drain valve, it replaces the oil pan plug with a valve that you can open and close with your finger. No, it doesn't leak.

[Cloud9]

I do.

[Roy]

[evilgenius]

Me too. I like to do everything myself, unless I am truly overwhelmed by the task.

I use a synthetic blend when I change. I just bought a used Acura and might add a quart of full synthetic to the blend when I change the oil next. It is okay to mix synthetic and non-synthetic, I have heard, as long as you stick always to the same viscosity ratings.

[drew]

Should change it more than I do!

Drew

[kpeavey]

I used to change my own oil. Used to work on the car as well. Nowadays I don't do any work on the truck. I take it to a local guy, he loans me a vehicle-usually something really cool. I don't have time to do it all, have little interest smashing my hands or getting oil all over the driveway. I have the ability but have no interest in working on engines. It is not a skill I wish to develop at this point, does not offer much use in the future. It is one less thing to worry about, one less thing to occupy my time.

[Laurasia]

Used to do when I was single and driving a little Yugo. Now marital status and vehicle have changed.

Regards.

L.

[wisconsin_cur]

I change it in the summer and pay someone else to do it in the winter. I have a garage but with everything else in there in the winter (firewood, garden tractor etc) it is hard to make room. So it is worth a few extra dollars to pay someone when it is below zero.

[patience]

Always have changed my own, since I was a kid and helping on the farm, doing the tractor, truck, car, mower, etc.. I find it helpful to learn about the engine's condition, sort of like a farmer walking his fields to learn what problems he has there.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', 'A')ssuming you own a car or other ICE transportation, do you change your own oil?

I do.

[Heineken]

Until last year I had a 1993 F-150; most of the time I changed the oil on it myself. Last year I bought a slightly used 2007 F-150, and the oil filter is now located in a very difficult place to get at. So I have the local garage do it. I haven't studied the problem closely, though. Probably, with a little effort, I could figure out how to do it myself. But the cash savings are so marginal it hardly seems worth it. And I have higher priorities.

Typically I do get a strong feeling of satisfaction from doing something myself that most people hire others to do.

[BigTex]

Heiny, I used to have one of those kind and I would take a one gallon ziplock bag and once I had loosened the filter a little I would put the bag around the filter as I finished unscrewing it, which allowed the oil to drain into the bag rather than down the side of the engine. Also, when I got the filter off I would just let it drop into the bag and fish the whole bag up from the side of the engine.

Worked pretty well.

Paying to have it done works okay too.

[strider3700]

I like doing everything myself but when it comes to oil changes the hassle totally isn't worth it for the savings. I have no idea where I can even return used oil to these days. add in the time, the mess, the general annoyance and it's easier to hit jiffy lube or whatever on the way home from work and get a coffee and newspaper while someone else does it.

[skeptik]

Nope. My scooter is last years model, 4 stroke, microprocessor controlled fuel injection and has a fairly long service interval. I let Paco at the bike shop do it when it's serviced. The oil gets recycled.

Wiring a plug is about the limit of my mechanical abilities -even then I have to look up the colour coding for the wires as I can never remember it. The internal combustion engine is just another black box ,like my computer as far as I'm concerned. Not really interested in that sort of stuff.

[MarkJ]

Our fleet mechanics change most of our oil, but I change the oil in all my personal vehicles and toys. My wife doesn't trust anyone other than me to change her oil and/or perform various mechanical repairs.

We burn the used oil in our waste oil furnaces which helps heat the buildings.

[BigTex]

A few more tips:

1. You don't need ramps to change your own oil. Just drive the car up onto a curb and you will usually have plenty of clearance (redneck maybe, but who cares). Make sure the car is tilted toward the side of the oil pan with the plug.

2. The best place to keep used oil is in a five gallon bucket with a lid. Easy to pour the oil into and doesn't need to be dumped but every four or five oil changes.

3. Fumoto drain valve makes drain plug problems a thing of the past.

4. The best filter wrench is a device shaped like a pair of pliers but designed for oil filter grabbing. They have them at all the stores. It will defeat any filter.

5. Buy the five quart jugs of your favorite oil at Walmart and you will only have to deal with one container of oil for the oil change.

6. If your car has an "A" and "B" trip odometer, use the "B" odometer to measure your oil change intervals. Much easier than using a sticker.

7. Use a rubber pad designed to open tight jar lids to hand tighten the new filter when you put it on.

8. Clean your funnel well after each use and store it in a large ziplock bag so that it is clean when you need to use it again.

My oil changes take 30 minutes.