Checking Your Oil

Checking your oil is probably one of the quickest and most basic maintenance tasks that any car owner can do. What is surprising is that most people will go months before they do this simple 5 minute check. The only time that it ever takes longer than that is when you actually have to add oil to your engine.

Materials:

• Automotive Engine Oil
• Rags
• Funnel
• Adjustable wrench

Steps:

1. Engine. Most often you are going to be checking your engine's oil shortly after you have shut off the vehicle. Because of this, you should be aware that the temperature can be extremely hot, and you might burn yourself if you are not careful. Park your car on level surface, like when you are getting gas, and turn off the engine.
2. Locate. Pop the hood so that you can access the engine and actually check the oil. The dipstick is typically located near the sparkplugs in your engine. The dipstick is usually around a foot in length, so as you are pulling it out, be sure that you are careful not to flick any oil onto your clothes or skin. As stated earlier, the engine and oil are going to be at the least warm, so be careful.
3. Check. Remove the dipstick, and wipe it off with a rag. Reinsert the dipstick into its holder, pushing it in all the way. Remove the dipstick again and take a look at it. You should be able to see a marking on it that says "hot." This is the max amount of oil you should have in your vehicle when it is running. If you cannot see it, then chances are you have too much oil in your car. While it won't necessarily cause any major damage to your engine to overfill, you are more likely to have oil leaks when this happens. If when you check the oil, you see both a hot and a cold marking, then you are seriously low.
4. Fill. Locate the engine oil filler cap (should be roughly three inches in diameter and at the top of the vehicle's engine) and remove it. Use your funnel and pour as much oil as needed to raise the level to the appropriate level.
5. Check. Don't be afraid to check the oil level a few times as you are adding more oil. Doing this helps to ensure that you have reached the proper amount of oil as specified by the manufacturer. Simply repeat steps 2–5 as needed.
6. Clean. Once you have filled your engine oil to the proper level, you are basically finished with checking your oil. All that is left is some minor clean up. Clean off the funnel with a rag, as well as any spills that may have occurred. Properly dispose of any empty oil bottles, and rags.