For you non-mechanical types that are too timid to ask many upkeep questions I'll post this quick guide to a do it yourself oil change. You will need a 13mm boxend wrench, an 18'' or so drain pan, an oil filter cup wrench( or strap wrench or filter pliers), a good funnel and a couple of large clean rags. At the back side of the oil pan is the 13mm( 1/2'') drain plug. Hang the wrench straight down off the head of the drain plug. Position the drain pan to where the front edge is just below the wrench. This will insure that when you pull the plug the oil will hit the center of the drain pan, NOT your floor or drive. As the oil stream loses force push the drain pan forward slightly so when the last of the oil drains out it will hit the center of the drain pan. Drain for 5 minutes or so, when you are down to a couple of drips or so, wipe the pan surface and the drain plug clean and reinstall. Recall the amount of force used when removing the plug and duplicate it when reinstalling. Now push your drain pan forward until it is centered under the oil filter. Taking your filter wrench break loose the filter by turning counterclockwise. You can then remove it with your hand and drop it into the drain pan. I lean over the radiator and do this from above, but you can do it from below if you prefer. Drain the oil completely from the filter mount,and then take your new filter and pour about 1/2 a filter full of oil in it. Take a little new oil on your fingertip and wipe the new filter gasket coating it evenly. Then wipe the oil filter mount flange clean and spin on the new filter. HAND TIGHTEN ONLY 3/4 to 1 turn past the point where the gasket first contacts the filter mount surface. Now wipe the old oil from your front axle housing. Pull the dipstick and clean the entire length and reinstall. Remove the oil filler cap and clean the flange of the opening carefully, include the cap also. Now wipe the inside and outside of your funnel clean and install. Pour the balance of your SIX QUARTS of whatever weight oil you prefer into the engine. Reinstall the cap!!!!!Lean inside the jeep and start, let it idle for 3 or 4 minutes. LOOK underneath at the drain plug and filter and check for leaks. If it looks okay, shut her down and check the oil level on your dipstick. Remember to recycle your oil, any service center is required by law to accept your used oil at no charge. Record your mileage so you'll know when to change it next. The large circular thing on the back of my oil pan is a large speaker magnet I use to trap any possible metal particles in my oil. EDIT NOTICE- On your filter pre-fill: Don't put over 50% of a fill in your new filter, then let it soak into the media- then install. This way no mess. Also- running a half quart over on your fill won't hurt a thing. On the old cars that took a quart in the filter nobody thought about any overfill. Since the filter size shrank to teacup size about 20 years ago I've run all my vehicles either at the full mark or 1/2 quart over to make up for the reduced filter capacity. Gross overfilling will cause catalytic converter failure and crankshaft foaming of the oil. The reason to run 6 quarts of oil instead of 5 is heat transfer- the bearings and crankshaft in any engine are cooled by the oil circulating in the engine, not the radiator. The coolant water jackets run only around the cylinder bores and combustion chambers in the heads. Chrysler spent the money on 6 quarts of oil for this engine application for ONE reason- LONGEVITY. Maybe you can get by with 5 quarts, maybe NOT. For 5-7 dollars difference in the cost of an oil change why chance it?

 

good write up. make it a stickey.

 

I also pour oil into the new filter before installation. A neighbor told me he has never done this and has change his own oil his whole life. What is he doing to his motor by not doing this?

 

I don't pour oil into the filter, I just rub some oil on the gasket to help it seal. I've never poured oil into the filter, and have never had a problem with any of my vehicles.

JD

 

I live in Texas and mainly use my Jeep as a daily street driver right now. Any recommendations as to what weight oil to use?

 

You can prefill an oil filter if the filter is mounted vertically. But the Jeep filter is horizontal. All you will do is pour it out and make a mess. It's not going to harm the engine if you don't prefill the filter.

Always run a flim of CLEAN oil around the gasket. This helps in removal at the next change.

Factory specs call for SAE 5W-20. Use only an oil with the API seal on the back of the bottle.

Dino or synthetic is your choice.

 

Running air through the oil passages in the head for maybe 1 second @ best till filter fills itself.
Just as it does to the heads every single time you start your engine.

So nothing.

I also just use a little oil on the rubber seal and be done with it mess free.

 

Partially filling the filter is a habit I've done since the 60's. A horizontal filter can obviously be prefilled about 40% or you will have a mess. It probably doesn't make a hill of beans but when I changed my vertical mounted filters I felt better about my initial startup not being dry for a second. I've changed the oil in my cars hundreds of times and have had no oil-related failures, this makes old habits hard to break.... Here in Virginia in the summer it gets hotter than hell, I was raised in Texas, I personally won't use anything lighter than 10W30 in the summer. During the coldest months I will use 5W20, but in 12000 miles I'll keep it at 10W30 year round. Just MY personal opinion, everyone has one on the oil issue, I'm not posting for debate. By the way, the weight of oil used at your dealership is based on the cheapest cost to the parts department. If their tank can be filled with 10W30 cheaper than 5W20 then GUESS WHAT you get when getting your oil changed.....

 

Darn right. Partially filling a filter is good insurance. It assures there will be no loss of oil pressure to the crank bearings. Over the road trucks require it because the size of their oil filters is such that they would run for long periods with zero oil pressure while the filter was being filled by the oil pump. Since the oil is new, there's no need for it to run through the filter to be cleaned, so dumping some in it doesn't hurt a thing. I highly recommend it. The only thing that I would add is this. Make darn SURE that the old oil filter O-ring comes off with the old filter. Some are notorious for sticking to the oil filter flange area on the engine. If you tighten a new filter down on an old O-ring, it will leak like a stuck pig when you start it up.

 

I always have, and still do pre-fill the filter some and give it a few turns to wick into the element.