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baregreg
04-18-2009, 12:14 PM
Oil Change instructions for Women:

1) Pull up to Jiffy Lube when the mileage reaches 3000 miles since the last oil change.

2) Drink a cup of coffee.

3) 15 minutes later, pay with credit card and leave with a properly maintained vehicle.

Money spent:
Oil Change: $20.00
Coffee: $1.00
Total: $21.00

Oil Change instructions for Men:

1) Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and a scented tree, pay with credit card for $50.00.

2) Stop by 7/11 and buy a case of beer, pay with card $20, drive home.

3) Open a beer and drink it.

4) Jack car up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.

5) Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.

6) In frustration, open another beer and drink it.

7) Place drain pan under engine.

8) Look for 9/16 box end wrench.

9) Give up and use crescent wrench.

10) Unscrew drain plug.

11) Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on you in process. Cuss.

12) Crawl out from under car to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.

13) Have another beer while watching oil drain.

14) Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.

15) Give up; crawl under car and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.

16) Crawl out from under car with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties. Drink a beer.

17) Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.

18) Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.

19) Remember drain plug from step 11.

20) Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.

21) Drink beer.

22) Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.

23) Get drain plug back in with only a minor spill. Drink beer.

24) Crawl under car getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame removing any excess skin between knuckles and frame.

25) Begin cussing fit.

26) Throw stupid crescent wrench.

27) Cuss for additional 5 minutes because wrench hit bowling trophy.

28) Beer.

29) Clean up hands and bandage as required to stop blood flow.

30) Beer.

31) Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.

32) Beer.

33) Lower car from jack stands.

34) Move car back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during any missed steps.

35) Beer.

36) Test drive car.

37) Get pulled over: arrested for driving under the influence.

38) Car gets impounded.

39) Call loving wife, make bail.

40) 12 hours later, get car from impound yard.

Money spent:
Parts: $50.00
DUI: $2500.00
Impound fee: $75.00
Bail: $1500.00
Beer: $20.00
Total: $4,145.00 : But you know the job was done right!

Home Nudist
04-18-2009, 12:33 PM
And people wonder why all I care to know about my car is:

the ignition,
the steering wheel,
the brake,
and the radio! :driving:

betterman
04-18-2009, 01:56 PM
And people wonder why all I care to know about my car is:

the ignition,
the steering wheel,
the brake,
and the radio! :driving:

i had always paid for oil changes...then....

i changed my own oil 1 time...had an isuzu rodeo, rented a stall at the base "hobby shop", lifted it on the hydraulic lift, used the proper oil catch/recycle bucket they provided, got like a dollar or so off the price of oil when i bought 5 qt at the base auto parts store...thought things were going good, till i realized i had about 1/2 inch each way i could turn the oil filter wrench, took about 5 minutes to get it off, ended up with oil down my arm, yadda yadda yadda i've paid for someone to do my oil change ever since!

barelybob
04-19-2009, 08:06 AM
Well, since I have a well equipped shop, including lift, I have no problems. Although, a few years back a friend brought his VW bus over, and by the time we got through screwing with everything, we had taken six hours to change the oil. Yes, there were massive quantities of beer "liberated".

NudeAl
04-19-2009, 08:41 AM
Yes, I know I am a dinosaur I still change my own oil.

I no longer work on them like I used to too comlicated with computers and the emissions devices. I hope to have passed this on to my son, it's a dying art doing things yourself, I consider it part of being a guy. My dad did everything himself and still does at age 70 he is putting in a new bathroom and replacing the furnace in his house. As to the beer, I motivate myself to get the job done by telling myself business before pleasure get the job done first.

SaltNPepper
04-19-2009, 11:02 AM
I used to change my own oil... until one nasty wintry day. It was a new S10 Blazer and I just didn't feel like climbing under it (no lift) and get all dirty and wet. When I watched the oil change shop crawl over the front tire with a really long socket extension and saw this was the process to change the oil filter, I decided then and there someone else would be changing my oil!

BTW, where can you get it done for $20.00?

Salt

betterman
04-19-2009, 11:37 AM
BTW, where can you get it done for $20.00?

Salt

for one, here in the dfw area, the ford dealership where my fiance got her car has a $20 "out the door" (includes tax, etc) oil change.

Naturist Mark
04-19-2009, 03:06 PM
BTW, where can you get it done for $20.00?

Salt

That is pretty much the standard "discount" price around here. All of the "quick service" chains and many of the regular auto shops offer it at that price. It typically includes the basic Lube, Oil and Filter - but you'll pay extra for anything else.

I have a shop that will come to where I work, take my car to their shop, do the oil change, and bring it back for $25. Which since they are also the place that does my other service work means I get a free 'test ride' checkup included.

usuallylurk
04-19-2009, 05:09 PM
When I was a youngster, I used to change my own oil -- this was in the late 1960s-early 1970s.

We never thought "Green".

You could buy an oil filter for around a buck. You could buy a five-quart can of oil -- for around $1.50, $2.00, $2.50, depending on the type of oil you were going to use (single-weight re-refined? Or Quaker State Super 10W-40??? Or whatever? ).

His next door neighbor had a high granite curb, a driveway, and a storm drain right below the curb... we'd pull up and crawl under, the oil went down the storm drain -- and, we presumed, eventually into the harbor. We didn't think or worry about it at the time. Hey, the city was dumping its sewage out there anyway, right?

naturalmanwa
04-20-2009, 06:46 AM
I have been changing my own oil and doing most other things such as brakes and changing engines and transmissions for many years. I started when I was in my early teens and continued into adult life. I am not a mechanic by trade, but have many tools and an excellent place to work. On occasion, I have paid for oil changes and brake work when I did not have the time due to work and other reasons. At nearly 66, I still take of my own equipment and due all of my house repairs, including laying a hardwood floor and painting.