Creating A Better Car

Checking Your Car's Oil Is Easy

by Logan Peck

Your car is important to you. It's a large investment and it helps you get from place to place. That means that you want to keep it in good shape and running as long as you can. There are a lot of things that you can do to make sure that your care is in good shape. One of those things includes checking your oil on a regular basis. Oil is important to your car. That's because it acts as a lubricant and a coolant. Metal bits rubbing against other metal bits creates a lot of heat and friction. That will wear away and the metal bits will start to degrade or seize up. Oil keeps that from happening and keeps everything running smoothly. Checking the oil will make sure that your car has enough oil to function properly. 

Necessary Materials

Unlike some car maintenance jobs, you really only need to have one thing to check your oil. That thing is a cloth to clean off the dipstick when you pull it out of its tube. 

Dipstick

You are looking for a dipstick that will likely be towards the front of your car. The easiest way to find it is to look for a pull ring or handle. Pull it out and look at the fluid on it. Your oil can be anything from dark black to a golden amber color, depending on how old your oil is. 

Process

After you have pulled out the dipstick, clean it off with your cloth. Then you should put the dipstick back into the tube you drew it out from, let it sit there for a moment, then pull it back out. Your dipstick should have markings on it that will tell you where the appropriate level is. Look at the oil and make sure that it falls within that range. If it is too low, then it's time to add some oil to your engine. If it's in that range, then you are just fine. In order to get the best reading, you are going to want to make sure that your engine is cold. If you are worried about a leak, then you should check it out every week or so. That will let you track if the oil level is dropping quickly. 

Making sure that your car has enough oil in it is important. Checking your car's oil is easy and something that you can do on your own. If you are worried, then you can always take it into an auto repair shop, like Wolfe's Foreign Auto, and ask them to check it for you. 

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