- Summertime is Summer Tire Check Time: 7 Tips To Combat 11,000+ Tire-Related Accidents Annually — and Keep Tires Rolling for Longer
- 10 DIY Tips to Add Years to a Vehicle’s Life & Minimize Expensive Repairs
- Defensive Driving Tips to Avoid Costly Repairs As Wintery Driving Conditions Continue to Plague Roads
- AutoPartsWarehouse.com 2013 Child Passenger Safety Tips and Resource Guide
- Top Five Parts to Make Your Vehicle More Fuel Efficient
My First Oil Change
Project: Valvoline Oil Change
Vehicle: Chevrolet Suburban
Owner: Steve and Gavin Maloof
My son Gavin has been very helpful in the garage and interested in the workings of our cars and motorcycles. He has also taken a keen interest in the restoration of my ’67 Nova over the last five years. Now that he is ten, we agreed that it is time to teach him about the importance of regular maintenance on our engines. We started with the basics; an oil change and air filter replacement on Mom’s Suburban. He did all the work while I coached him. He said it was fun!
I was brought up on Valvoline and we use it in all of our vehicles. We have found the Five Quart jug to be a cleaner and neater way to refill the crank case. Since the Suburban takes six quarts, we buy two jugs and have surplus for top offs between changes.
As you can see, I put Gavin to work and he launched into draining the oil and removing the oil filter and replacing it with a fresh Fram filter. Fortunately, Gavin is very meticulous and didn’t want to spill one drop of oil on the floor so he took his time refilling the fresh 10W-30.
While he was refilling, we talked about the importance of clean oil and making sure that the engine was topped off but not overfilled. We discussed recycling and where we would go to safely drop off the old oil for recycling. I also reminded him that changing oil is one of the easiest ways to check the overall health of a vehicle since you can look all over the engine compartment and also check the condition of the chassis and underside while completing the service.
Gavin said he enjoyed learning how to change oil and replace the air filter and is looking forward to our next project on Mom’s car-replacing the brakes. I admit it’s great to have some help in the garage!
More photos of the Valvoline oil change: