Changing Oil on 1995 Ranger

I am new to DIY car maintenance and have already changed the fuel filter and flushed the cooling system on my 1995 Ford Ranger. My next project will be to change the oil and refill it with fill synthetic. Is there anything I need to know before I get under the truck this weekend? I know how to change the oil in concept, but this will be my first time doing it myself. Gotta start somewhere right?

Thanks for any help. Cheers,

Matt Asheville, North Carolina

Reply to
NCMattJ
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Matt, There is no big trick to changing oil. Just make sure the engine is warmed up to normal operating temperature before draining the oil. You will need the proper sized oil filter wrench. It is difficult to use the band type oil filter wrench on the 4.0 engine. I recommend you wear a pair of rubber gloves when handling the oil. Helps keep hands cleaner. Currently, I am using Royal Purple synthetic oil (5w30) and a Mobil 1 oil filter.

Reply to
Clay

Just do it!

I like to change the oil with the engine hot, theory is that more of the inevitable goo that collects in the bottom of the oil pan will be washed out. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's the theory.

If you do it this way, make very sure to not situate your arm so that when removing the drain plug you get a nice stream of 200-degree 10W30 in your armpit. There are things that suck worse than that, but most people don't encounter them on a daily basis. Just let the drain plug drop into the oil pan and fish it out with a magnet later; or better yet, get one of those containers with a screen on top that lets you transport the oil back to your FLAPS for recycling (and also conveniently catches the hot drain plug so you're not tempted to try to hold onto it.)

Make sure you use a good quality filter like Wix or Purolator. None of that orange can crap! You'll need a filter wrench to get the old one loose; I like the ones that look like great big Channellock pliers. Just install the new filter with your bare hands and follow the installation directions on the package (usually something like "1/2 turn after gasket contacts base") overtorquing the filter accomplishes nothing other than making it harder to remove next time around.

If your engine allows, prefilling the oil filter with oil will help the engine fill with oil much faster on the first startup. This only works on engines where the oil filter is mounted base-up or close to it however.

If your drain plug uses a gasket, you may want to get a new one. I generally just flip them over and reuse, but you're *supposed* to use a new one every time, and who knows how long someone like me has been changing your oil And then there's the idiot factor... I ran a piece cut from a cardboard box top as the gasket on the drain plug of my Porsche for the first sump full of oil it had in my care... because the PO had no gasket on there at all! I guess that explains the stain in the driveway... (pik-a-nut box tops actually work surprisingly well for emergency gasket paper. No, that isn't an actual recommendation or endorsement. Yes, I have done some "fixes" I'm not proud of.)

If you've already successfully flushed the cooling system an oil change should actually be less challenging.

good luck,

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

yeah, synthetic is good to use, that is what i use in my engine, but if you really want to see full results with the synthetic oils, the engine is just one part of the drivetrain, so you might think of synthetic oils for the differential and transmission too. so with new oil, you should change the filter too, and before you screw the new filter to the engine, fill it up about halfway with the clean oil so oil can get right to where it needs to be in less time that just having it all in the pan, and also, to make sure you have a good seal on the oil filter, use your finger, and spread a little oil on the gasket, thats about it! very easy ~Mike

Reply to
Mike

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