Change Your Own Oil and Save Some Cash

There was a time when everybody changed their own oil. Now just nearly half of U.S. vehicle owners do their own repair and maintenance. By learning to change your own oil, you can save roughly a hundred dollars a year and maybe more.

Before you get started, there are important oil disposal laws you must understand otherwise you could be fined by the EPA fines that go as high as six figures. The days of digging a hole in the back yard and pouring dirty oil into it are long gone. Environmental authorities suggest you pour old oil into a clean plastic container and take it to a service dealer or facility that offers oil-collection services. Call your state or local used-oil program for locations of collection centers. Call 1-800-424-9346 for a list of state oil-recycling contacts or write to Resource Conservation and Recovery Docket, 401 M St., S.W., Washington, DC 20460.

Now, if you're still interested in tackling this task yourself, Edmunds has created a Do-It Yourself List. To start, here is a list of tools and things you'll need to perform this procedure:

* a 3/8-drive socket set (metric will work for both)
* a combination wrench set (closed- and open-ended, metric)
* an oil filter wrench
* something to catch the old oil -- an oil pan, a used kitchen basin, a kid's pail
* a couple of empty one gallon milk containers with screw-on lids.
* a funnel and a one quart Ziploc baggie
* a lot of old newspapers and several dirty rags
* presoiled work clothes and, if you have long hair, a baseball cap
* two pair surgical gloves (optional; no, we won't ask you to cough)
* a new oil filter (see vehicle's owner's manual for requirements)
* enough oil to refill the engine (check back page of owner's manual for grade and number of quarts); we recommend name brands, such as Valvoline, Castrol, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Mobil, etc.

STEP ONE: Before you do anything, pick out a flat spot on your driveway. Now take your car for a drive around the neighborhood. We do this to heat the oil and make it nice and thin, so it will drain more completely from the engine block. Drive the vehicle far enough and long enough so that the temperature gauge begins to register. If you don't have a temp gauge, or if you have gauges but they're broken, turn on the heater and drive until your feet get toasty. The engine is now warm. Park it in your pre-chosen spot.

STEP TWO: Turn off the engine, put the car in gear, and set the parking brake firmly. For safety, block the tires with several bricks or large rocks. Go in the house and put on your dirty clothes and cap. Come out and line up your tools.

Now slide under the car and locate the oil drain plug. If there isn't enough room to slide under, you may have to jack up the car to get beneath it. Raise the car with a hydraulic pump and settle it on jackstands. CAUTION: Never get under a car held aloft only by a jack. Always use jackstands.

O.K., now locate the drain plug. It should be about the closest thing to the ground, a fairly large nut with a slim washer under it. Sometimes it will even be labeled "drain plug." (Caution: Make sure you're not looking at the transmission drain plug. It's usually a larger nut. If not sure, feel the metal around it. The metal around the engine oil plug should be a lot hotter than around the trans plug. If still not sure, call a friend.) Find your socket set and pull out several sockets that look about the same size as the nut until you find one that fits over it.

STEP THREE: If you have them, put on your surgical gloves to keep your hands clean. Grab the socket wrench and put the correct-sized socket on it. Place it over the nut and turn it counter-clockwise. It won't budge? Try again -- really put some force into it this time. If it still won't dislodge after several tries, locate the same sized closed-end wrench and use that instead. After you get the nut cracked, work it slightly loose with your fingers. Not too loose, though -- you don't want oil all over the place.

STEP FOUR: Now take the newspaper and spread it under the car. Make sure to cover where the oil filter sticks out, because it drips after removal. Look up into the engine. See the oil filter? It looks like a miniature, upside-down version of the mountain from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Get the drain pan (or kitchen basin, or kid's pail) and slide it under the drain plug. Position it so the stream hits it just right (if the plug points to the side and not straight down, the oil will shoot out sideways like from a fire hydrant). Loosen the plug and set it aside. Most of the oil will drain in about two minutes.

STEP FIVE: Locate the oil filter wrench. Take the socket off the socket wrench and set it next to the drain plug. Slip the oil filter wrench onto the socket wrench. You'll probably want to use the short extension, too. The oil filter wrench is like a round dog collar that only chokes in one direction. Set it up to "grab" or "choke" counterclockwise. Slip it over the oil filter and give it a tug. It shouldn't be that tight. When you feel it give, loosen it a little more, then slide the wrench off and do the rest by hand. Careful -- it has hot oil in it! Make sure your face is not under it. Remove it all the way and pour the contents into the drain pan. Set the used oil filter right-side-up on the newspaper.

STEP SIX: Slide out, open the hood (if you haven't already) and remove the oil filler cap. Set it aside. This will help the oil drain a little easier. O.K., take a breather.

Now, here's the deal. If you're in a hurry, you can dive right in and finish the oil change. But think about it. Drops of dirty oil are still dripping down. Personally, we like to give it a good hour to drain completely. They don't do that in the quick-lube places. If you have the time, peel off your gloves and take a break. Grab a bite, drink some soda, watch the tube.

STEP SEVEN: O.K., you're back. Put your gloves on and get to work. Before you thread the new oil filter in place, dip a finger into the drain pan and coat the rubber gasket on the bottom of the filter with oil, and set it aside. This will help it seat better against the engine block. With a clean rag, wipe off the round metal circle on the engine where the oil filter fits, then thread the new filter onto the post. When it's finger-tight, either tighten it by hand if you're strong enough (it takes about one-half to three-quarters of a turn, no more: read the instructions on the filter), or flip the oil filter wrench over on the socket wrench and tighten it that way.

STEP EIGHT: We recommend using a new sealing washer on the drain plug. Put the washer in place and thread the drain plug back into its hole. Scooch it up tight with the socket set, but not so tight that you can't get it off the next time (remember your struggles earlier; better to have it snug but not stripped.) Now take the oil drain pan and the empty milk bottle and the funnel. If you have a friend, have him hold the bottle while you pour the oil into it. When most of the oil has found the bottom of the bottle, seal it with the lid, then wipe out the inside of the funnel with a clean rag. (We sometimes prop the drain pan against a wall and let it continue to drip into the bottle while we do the next step. You'll need an extra funnel to do this.)

STEP NINE: Set the cleaned funnel into the oil filler hole and pour in as many quarts as the manufacturer recommends. As the oil fills, begin cleaning up. Throw the newspapers in the trash and wipe down all your tools. Discard the empty oil containers in a recycling bin. After the oil is all in, twist the oil cap back on and check the dipstick for oil level, just to make sure. Take the old oil filter, place it in the Ziploc bag, and seal it.

STEP TEN: Start the engine and let it idle for about five minutes, looking for leaks. Place the milk container and the Ziploc bag in a box, and set it somewhere in the car where it can't tip over. Drive to the nearest oil recycling center (as we discussed, most of the national chains, such as Econo Lube N' Tune, Jiffylube, Grease Monkey, etc., will take your old oil and filters). Take a last look underneath for leaks.

Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.

Large Trucks Modified for Aerodynamics

With gas prices fluctuating and the oil supply decreasing, engineers are working on ways to make large trucks more fuel-efficient.

What does that mean for the average person? With large truck usage accounting for 19 percent of the overall fuel consumption, this translates into 39 billion gallons of diesel each year needed. Numbers like this really dig into the fuel supply.

So engineers are looking at ways to make trucks more aerodynamic so that they have less drag and therefore better gas mileage. To date, engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have discovered that retrofitting the back of the truck cab with small rounded panels and using a system that blows compressed air to redirect airflow over the back of the trailer, can reduce drag by up to 32 percent and fuel economy by 11 to 12 percent. This adds up to savings of 2.4 billion gallons of diesel a year.

With numbers like this, the U.S. Department of Energy has been behind the project and has been so since the late 1990s. Initial tests used simple scale model tractor-trailers in a GTRI’s low-speed wind tunnel. Results seemed good until full-scale trucks were used and this is when the results fell short of expectations. Researchers then went back to their wind tunnel with another truck design.

After rolling edges on the body of the truck’s trailer along with a few other modifications, tractor-trailers were tested again by running them through several different 45-mile runs around a 7.5-mile oval at highway speeds of 65 and 75 miles per hour. To make sure the modifications worked, a control truck that did not have the aerodynamic improvements or pneumatic control system as a modified truck was operated under the same conditions. Comparisons were made and sure enough, the engineering worked.

Another added benefit discovered during testing was that the differential blowing unit improved control of trailers in crosswinds by helping compensate for the wind direction.

So why isn’t every new large truck being made modified with the new design? Before the new pneumatic control system can be widely used, researchers will have to choose the best source of compressed air for the blowing system. Options include a diesel-powered motor installed in the trailer like current refrigeration units, bleeding pressurized air from the truck’s supercharger, or a simple chain drive to turn air blowers from the trailer’s wheels. Aerodynamic drag becomes dominant only at higher speeds, so the blowing would be turned off when the trucks were idling or operating at low speeds.

The addition of air blowers will require more power, therefore, researchers have to balance out the units additional pull with the savings. The final issue researchers are testing is the protection of the pneumatic surfaces from damage during docking.

Once researchers have finalized their studies, we may see a whole new fleet of big trucks on the road that get more miles per gallon, a reduction in carbon emissions and are more easily controlled when it is windy.

Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.

Cleaner Diesel Engines Wooing Americans

Most Americans have a bad impression of diesel cars. We recall the days when diesel engines smelled terrible, were difficult to start and were known to be terrible polluters. But things are changing.

Today, diesel powertrains are on the map again, for both car manufacturers and efficiency-minded drivers. The technology could be here to stay as it is giving even hybrids a run for their money. As for the emissions problems, well, those are of the past also. Today’s new diesel engine is running smoother and cleaner. Having modified diesel fuel helps in this arena. In response to 2006 EPA mandates, oil refineries are now producing what’s called ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD). By definition, this “clean diesel” has sulfur concentrations of no more than 15 parts per million (ppm). That’s 98.5 percent cleaner than diesel gas of the past. The cut in sulfur means that less sulfur dioxide goes into the atmosphere, where it can combine with water to produce sulfuric acid—and thus, acid rain.

In addition, sulfur clogs emission-control devices in diesel-powered cars the same way lead impeded catalytic converters in gasoline systems. Removing the lead from gasoline enabled engineers to develop a new generation of emission-control technologies that helped reduce noxious exhaust emissions by 98 to 99 percent.

With this, carmakers have already started building exhaust-scrubbing systems for engines that burn ULSD.

So to sum up what the new diesel engine will provide:

1. Advanced electronic engine control modules that regulate functions, from fuel injection to timing, more precisely than old mechanical control systems, further minimizing emissions and maximizing fuel economy.
2. Turbochargers that pump more air into the engines, helping to overcome diesel’s former sluggishness at higher rpm.
3. Improved engine isolation strategies, such as the incorporation of active mounts, has quieted the knocking noises typically associated with diesel-powered vehicles.
4. Running a vehicle on a fuel that contains more energy per unit volume than gasoline. Each time the mixture in a diesel engine’s cylinder ignites; the car gets a slightly bigger push than it would in a gasoline engine. That means it takes less fuel to move the car down the road. It also means that the engine generates a lot of power even when it isn’t cycling fast.

Will Americans be willing to trade in their regular cars for something that runs on diesel? Price and availability may determine that answer followed by those who are willing to give diesel another shot.

Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.

Fuel Made Of Straw and Wood

The race for a new fuel is on. Scientists around the world are testing products of every type in order to create a fuel of the future. What is the latest? How about a product called Bioliq?

Bioliq stems from biomass technology, which isn’t new in regards to taking masses of a substance and converting it to energy. But turning those masses into diesel fuel is something that is new. How does it work? To start, all one needs are the agricultural leftovers from farms or even the trees thinned from forests. Once gathered, the straw or wood is put through an intense heating process that changes the product into a new substance. This substance is then converted to fuel. Why is this important? For environmentalists, this means a fuel that doesn’t have to be extracted from a limited supply buried beneath the earth but is created from a renewable byproduct.

Still don’t understand how straw becomes fuel? This is how it works. First, the plant material, in the absence of air, is heated to around 500°C, a process known as pyrolysis. This produces a thick oily liquid containing solid particles of coke termed biosyncrude. The biosyncrude is then vaporized by exposing it to a stream of oxygen gas, before being heated at high pressures to a temperature of around 1400°C. known as gasification. This process transforms the liquid biosyncrude into a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen termed syngas.

After any impurities are removed from this syngas, it can be catalytically converted into a range of different chemicals and fuels, including methanol, hydrogen and a synthetic version of diesel.

Members of the Karlsruhe research center have estimated that their processing could bring the costs of producing liquid biofuels down around $2.65 per gallon.

Bioliq is now taking its first steps towards commercialization. In conjunction with the German process engineering company Lurgi, the construction of a pilot plant based on the bioliq technology should be fully completed in 2012. Once the plant has been built, large amounts of fuel can then be created. The question will then be how best to distribute this new fuel in large scale so that it can effectively compete with fossil fuels. As fossil fuels decrease in supply and increase in price, tax incentives have been discussed as the answer.

So what will be the new fuel of the future? It is hard to tell at this point, but many good ideas are being tried and tested, which means hopefully they will soon be available to the whole public for use.


Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.