Checking the oil in your car is just one of the many regular car maintenance steps that all car owners should do. Checking your engine oil should be done when the car is cooled off. You?ll open the car hood, and see a spot where there is a small handle to pull up what?s called a dipstick. The dipstick should be pulled out, wiped off, put back into the hole and pulled out easily. This will give you a reading on the stick to show if your car oil is low or just right. You?ll see marks on the end of the dipstick to signify what the oil level is at.
If you?ve checked your car oil and find that it?s low, well then you?ll need to put some oil in the car using the area on top of your engine. The cap is usually a screw cap, you will unscrew it and place the proper oil type in your car engine. You may need to put one full quart in or a partial quart, depending on how low your car oil is. The readings on the side of your quart of oil will help you determine where you?re at when putting the oil in your engine.
While this is great, knowing how to check and put oil in your car, some car owners struggle to remember what kind of oil their car needs. It?s important to use the same type of oil in your car at all times. It?s also important to use the recommended kind of oil that?s best for your engine. When you go to an auto dealership to have your car oil changed, they can easily determine what?s needed. When you?re at home just looking to top off the car oil, well then you?ll need to know the following tips to know what kind of oil your car needs.
The first place to look for knowing what kind of oil your car needs is to read the owner?s manual. The owner?s manual will have an area that tells you what weight oil the car needs. The owner?s manual for your car will tell you the weight of oil that?s recommended. The engine oil weight listed is what you?ll see on the packaging of motor oil in the auto aisle of your local shopping center. At this point, all you?ll have to do is select a brand and use that brand every time you add or change the oil in your car.
Now that you know the basics for knowing how to tell what kind of oil your car needs, be sure to check your engine oil once every month. Oil shouldn?t leak often but it may get low from time to time from normal driving. If you find that you?re going through a lot of engine oil, then you will want to visit an auto dealership to have them check for leaks.
