Now that you have learned how to check your engine’s oils level and why it is so important, (here), let’s assume that you do need to add oil to your vehicle! Before you just pour any oil into your vehicle, you need to make sure you are adding the correct product to your engine. Every engine has a specific weight of oil it requires in order to work properly. Check your owner’s manual to find what weight oil your engine needs.
Oil weights, types, and what it all means
Oils come in synthetic to blends and in a wide range of weight numbers that can get a little confusing. When someone refers to oil in weights they are meaning how thick the oil is. So when someone says a “heavier” oil they are referring to a thicker oil. Oils are typically listed as a number with a “W” after it followed by another number. The first number represents the oils viscosity at low temperatures, so how thick the oil is at lower temperatures. The “W” always stands for winter, and the second number refers to the oils viscosity at higher temperatures.
Oils also come in many different types including synthetic, non-synthetic and synthetic blend. Synthetic oil is not only refined, like non-synthetic but it is also distilled, purified and broken down into its basic molecules. This process removes more impurities from the crude oil and enables individual molecules in the oil to be tailored to meet the demands of modern engines.
It is important that if you are adding oil that you know if you have synthetic or non-synthetic oil. We will talk more about oil types in a different article.
How to
Check your oil level (7 Steps to Checking Your Engine Oil) and if you need to add oil follow these simple steps:
- To add oil you need to locate the Oil fill cap on your vehicle. Usually a black or yellow cap on the engine that will read oil.
- Using a funnel you will want to slowly pour oil into the engine.
Charlene Tip: The space between the Add and Full lines is roughly equally to one quart of fluid so if your vehicle only shows oil to add line or within the word add it is safe to say you will need a quart of fluid. However it is always recommend to add oil slowly and check it as you top it off so that you do not overfill the engine. Overfilling the engine can cause unneeded pressure on gaskets and seals.
- Replace the oil cap as soon as you are done filling it, and wipe off any oil that might have spilled
- Make sure the dipstick is back in place, close your hood and your are good to go!
Charlene Tip: If you pay a shop to do your oil changes many of them offer a free top off service. This means that they will check and top off your oil if low for free!
Author: Ladies Offroad Network Team
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