DIY Oil changes or have it done?

[AndyMan]

I change my own also - two cars, a motorcycle plus all the various small engines. You are right in that there don't seem to be many people signing the log. I wonder how much of the used oil is ending up in the landfill...

 

[JDgreen]

I change my own also - two cars, a motorcycle plus all the various small engines. You are right in that there don't seem to be many people signing the log. I wonder how much of the used oil is ending up in the landfill...

Yes, that is what concerns me most of all, that a lot of used oil is ending up in the landfills, or worse yet, being dumped on the ground. Thanks for your input.

 

[grnspot110]

I change my own in the tractors & small engines, but not the car & pickup. They're best done on a hoist, for me!

My old oil goes to a local muffler shop to be burned as heating fuel. ~~ grnspot110

 

[Mean Machine]

I'm mechanically inclined, so it's easy for me. I do all the oil changes for all our vehicles and equipment. I keep a couple of two gallon paint buckets with lids handy. As soon as one is full, I pop the lid on and take it to the county solid waste facility.

 

[JDgreen]

I'm mechanically inclined, so it's easy for me. I do all the oil changes for all our vehicles and equipment. I keep a couple of two gallon paint buckets with lids handy. As soon as one is full, I pop the lid on and take it to the county solid waste facility.

I use Mobil 5w-30 in my GMC and our 2 cars, Wally world sells that oil in a 5 quart jug for $11.50, buying one quart sets you back $2.65 so you basically get that 5th quart at a real discount (90 cents). One car takes 4.5 quarts, one takes 5, the GMC takes 6...so I end up with almost the exact amount of oil after buying 3 jugs. The jugs are super for recycling old oil, the mouth is extra large and easy to fill with old oil, and although most places limit you to 5 gallons of oil, most places don't realize the jugs are 5 quarts instead of 4, so I can recycle an extra gallon of oil every time. :wink:

 

[jet62095]

I always change my own. I enjoy doing it, and I like knowing how things are done. My mother took her vehicle to WalMart for oil changes, they charged $35 for 6Qts of Pennzoil and a NON-OEM(even though they stock Motorcraft) filter. I started doing the changes in June of this year, to find a missing bolt in the skid plating, and a near stripped drain plug. This vehicle is a 2008, and there's no way the drain plug should be almost stripped at this point. There is NO excuse for the missing bold in the skid plating. I get 6qts of Mobil 1 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter for $34.xx . Savings, Peace of Mind and a quality job for sure. I am a seasonal small engine mechanic, and I charge $65 for a spring tune-up for lawn tractors. On my mowing tractors, the cost for an oil change (one filter and one without) is $12.00 and $19.00, using Mobil 1 in both. I change the oil in everything I own, Push Mowers, Hinomoto (compact tractor), Other Tractors, etc.

 

[KennyV]

...No way the drain plug should be almost stripped at this point. There is NO excuse for the missing bold in the skid plating..

You are RIGHT
DIY and know it is right and you also know the person doing the work actually cares about the end results of the job... :smile:KennyV

 

[JDgreen]

I always change my own. I enjoy doing it, and I like knowing how things are done. My mother took her vehicle to WalMart for oil changes, they charged $35 for 6Qts of Pennzoil and a NON-OEM(even though they stock Motorcraft) filter. I started doing the changes in June of this year, to find a missing bolt in the skid plating, and a near stripped drain plug. This vehicle is a 2008, and there's no way the drain plug should be almost stripped at this point. There is NO excuse for the missing bold in the skid plating. I get 6qts of Mobil 1 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter for $34.xx . Savings, Peace of Mind and a quality job for sure. I am a seasonal small engine mechanic, and I charge $65 for a spring tune-up for lawn tractors. On my mowing tractors, the cost for an oil change (one filter and one without) is $12.00 and $19.00, using Mobil 1 in both. I change the oil in everything I own, Push Mowers, Hinomoto (compact tractor), Other Tractors, etc.

I service my JD, my GMC, our three cars, two ATV's, a 34 foot MH, all my 4-cycle power equipment and enjoy doing it myself...this way you control both the quality of the materials you use and the labor yourself. I question the capability and knowledge of the techs at the drive thru places. Recently a senior editor for our local newspaper wrote in his blog he asked the drive thru oil change place to replace a fuse in his Explorer, he said he tipped the guy TEN BUCKS to do it as it was beyond the scope of the oil changers "responsibilities". Are people so mechanically hopeless there days they cannot even change a FUSE???