I want to get it straight in my head before I go doing something stupid and breaking something
Spoilsport, how arw we all supposed to learn from other peoples mistakes, if you stop making them...:lol:lol
Well, here is how not to do it... so you can learn from my mistakes....:thumbs
Personally, I run the car to get it warm, normally taking my wife to the train station. Get back, and park it up.
Take out the dip stick, and take off the filler cap.
Then I sort out all the bits I need, allowing the engine a bit of time to cool, so it is not scalding oil coming out.
I then crack the sump plug, put the drain bowl under, and then finish removing the sump plug. (Latex gloves are great here...) I then drop the sump plug in the hot oil, without fail, despite always saying I won't do it the next time.
At this time, a huge gust of wind, regardless of what the weather forecast says, will come up, and blow under the car, splashing the sump, engine, suspension components, me and the drive way with unrealistic amounts of hot oil..
While it is draining, and blowing every where, I remover the oil filter, again spilling a load down the side of the engine, over the remaining nearside suspension and drive components. I then remember the tarp in it's wrapper, in the garage, I purchased cheap, for the next time I did an oil change!
once the oil is down to just a drip, I put an old towel down, while I remove the drain bowl, and go and get the Extending magnetic thingamajig, and fish in the warm oil for the sump plug, which is surprisingly hard to find, considering it is such a small bowl. Having recovered the sump plug, I clean it up, change the washer (sometimes) and then wipe the bottom of the engine, and re-insert the plug.
Half fill the oil filter with new oil, more than that, and I just add new oil to all the old oil down the side of the engine. smear some oil on the filter O ring, and after having a feel where the oil filter will be going, to make sure nothing feels amiss, like the old oil seal stayed there, or some such, I re-attach the new filter, doing it up hand tight. I then wipe my hands, and the oil covered oil filter, and get enough grip to do it up a bit more!
Being anal, I then re-check I have put the sump plug back in, and tightened it..
I then start to re-fill the engine, just as another wind storm gets up, blowing the new oil as it pours all over the top of the engine and me... After I have put in about 6 litres, I start to check the oil level with the dip stick.
Eventually, when it is just a little over full, I clean things up, and start the engine, I normally do not wait for the glow plug light to go out, as I want her to turn over a few times before she starts, to help splash and pump the oil round. Once started, I do not rev her, or anything, I ust let her run until the oil light go's out, 5 seconds max, and I turn her back off, and recheck everything, including dipstick, sump plug, and oil filter, to make sure there are no immediate leaks.
I then spray lots of engine de-greaser over the engine and hose it off, move the car, to somewhere clean, and then do the drive way, clean up the oil covered tools, bowls, towels, magnetic thingamajig....
Then I re-check the car for leaks, park it back in the drive, but the other way round, so it is clean under it, and go and have a bath to remove all the oil from me.
Simples....