The simple guide to servicing your own car with Simply Brands
You’ve put it off for long enough and it’s probably one of your most valuable assets you can own (apart from your home) … it’s time to service your car. Yes, it can be time-consuming and a little expensive but it doesn’t mean you have to call up your local garage for the next slot, why not have a go yourself and save yourself some of your hard-earned cash?
With a little help of Simply Brands products, your local car parts store, and some YouTube research, we’re going to show you how to do a basic service (oil, oil filter and air filter) by yourself.
A well-maintained vehicle, is going to love you back. It may seem a chore or an unnecessary expense but we promise, if you look after your motor, your vehicle is going to look after you. On top of that, there are some key benefits to servicing your car regularly.
It maintains the warranty
It keeps the engine healthy, running smooth and using less fuel
It protects your car value
Where to start – your shopping list
You need to pick up a few bits to complete the service
Engine oil
Oil filter
Air filter
Funnel and oil drain pan
Screw Drivers (Ranges between slotted, phillips, hex and posidriv)
Rags/blue roll
We have a few products perfect for the job…
In regards to purchasing the correct oil, oil filter and air filter, you need to buy the right oil, volume and filter for your vehicle. In the UK you can either purchase these parts directly via the dealer parts department but for a more advantageous price reach out to your local automotive parts distributor. In the UK there is plenty to choose from – Halfords, Euro Car Parts, Parts Alliance and Motor Parts Direct to name a few. They will be able to guide you to the right oil/parts for your car.
The next best thing you can do to prepare as “newbie” to oil changes, is Youtube. You may just be in luck and find a pre-existing video of another user showing you how to change the oil on the exact same car.
Let’s start
To start, we need to get your car off the ground, high enough to get under the car. Depending on the weight of your vehicle you will need to source a suitable car jack and axel stands. For the majority of cars and 4x4’s, a 4-tonne jack will be more than enough.
In regards to getting your car off the ground, you need to be sourcing the correct jack points. These can be found in your vehicles user manual or sometimes marked on the bottom of the side skirt. Here’s a useful video on how to jack your car up, safely and correctly.
Changing the oil
Get your disposable gloves, your oil drain pan and your wrench & sockets (usually a 10mm socket). Shuffle your way under the engine to the engine oil drain plug. This will be situated at the bottom of the engine and will have (most commonly) a 10mm bolt situated at the bottom or to the side. With your wrench/spanner, untighten the bolt but before you do so completely, consider which way the oil will poor out and what direction. Position your oil drain pain in a suitable position and carefully remove the bolt by hand, as soon as suitable. Key tip – When you get to the end of the bolt unscrewing out, move quickly so you don’t get covered in oil.
Let the oil drain out completely in to the pan before refitting the oil drain plug. You may need to mop up and spillages before proceeding. Here’s a handy video on removing the oil drain plug.
Replace the oil filter
Firstly, you need to locate the oil filter. That can be situated at the top in the engine bay, or underneath the engine again. If you are totally clueless, try searching online to locate where it is situated on the particular make and model of your car. The oil filters job is to continuously filter the oil that pumps around your engine as any contamination can be fatal to the engine.
These can be tricky to remove as the can stick in place with all the heating and cooling of the engine. You will need a suitable oil wrench tool, like our Oil Filter Cup Set, to remove the oil filter.
There will most likely be oil still in the filter so again, consider the position of your oil pan or having something to mob up the excess spillage. Before you screw on the new filter, clean up the filter house to ensure it’s clean, and then use some oil to reluricate the rubber gasket on the new filter. Here’s a great video on how to replace the oil filter of your engine.
Poor in the oil
Go the to engine bay, unscrew the oil cap and place a suitable funnel in its place. This will help causing an unnecessary spillages over your engine bay. Most car engines require 5l of oil or more, but be sure confirm how much your particular vehicle requires.
Using the correct grade oil your automotive store or dealership advised you to use, pour in the necessary quantity. Before you jump ahead to the dip stick to make sure you’ve got enough oil, you need let it settle and then run the engine for a minute. This can cause oil levels to adjust so once you’ve let it settle for a couple of minutes, check the oil levels on the dip stick and top up as necessary.
Remember, it’s always easier to add more oil than to take it away. Over filling your engine past the requested markings can cause major issues with your engine so make sure you take your time. Here’s a great video to recap the last 3 points
Once you’re happy with your levels, refit the oil cap, dispose of your used oil correctly and get the car back on the ground.
Change the air filter
Air + Fuel + Spark = combustion, so it’s important that your car gets clean filtered air into the engine. If any sediment or debris get into the combustion chamber, it can be game over engine. So with every service, as well as the oil and oil filter, you want to change the air filter.
You will have your suitable air filter and now you just need to locate the air box and replace the old for the new. Again, if you’re unsure about where this is in your engine bay, try searching your user manual or browsing online to find where it is situated on the particular make and model of your car.
You may need to remove some supporting clips, intake hoses or bolts to get the air box, and then need to remove screws, bolts or clips to access the filter. This is why it is handy to have a socket set, screwdriver collection or spanner set to make sure you have the right variety of tools and fittings for the job.
The filter should simply pull out and be easily replaced. You do not want to damage, bend or tear your new filter as this can compromise the quality and performance of the filter. Once you’ve changed the filter, work backwards in refitting the necessary clips, screws and hoses. Here is a useful video on how to change your engine air filter.
And there you have it, simple as that.
Now if this sounds completely overwhelming to you, we wouldn’t advise you to try this yourself. The sake of saving a few $’s isn’t worth the risk of potentially damaging yourself or your vehicle, and in this case would suggest you seek professional advice from a Mechanic or Dealership. But, we hope this is of use to some of our customers and someone can benefit from this handy “how to guide”.
