Draining Engine Oil Worksheet

Draining engine oilWorkshop activity sheetDraining engine oilObjective:Safely drain engine oil.This activity sheet contains:• Step-by-step instructions for completing the workshop procedure.Safety check:• Make sure that you understand and observe all legislative and personal safety procedures when carrying out thefollowing tasks. If you are unsure of what these are, ask your supervisor.Points to note:• If the engine has been running, be careful not to burn your hand or arm on the exhaust manifold or any other hotpart of the engine when reaching for the dipstick. The dipstick and the oil on it will also be hot.• Although fresh oil is translucent, and oil that needs to be replaced looks black and dirty, it is often difficult toassess the condition of engine oil simply by its color. Oil loses its clean, fresh look very quickly and yet may stillbe serviceable. The best guide to changing oil is knowing the vehicle’s mileage and period of time since the lastoil change.• If the oil on the dipstick is not blackish in color but looks milky grey, this could indicate that there is some water(or coolant) being mixed into the oil. There may be a serious problem somewhere in the engine, such as leakinghead gasket, and you should report this to your supervisor immediately.© 2005 DVP Licensing Pty Ltd page 1

Draining engine oilWorkshop activity sheet1. Prepare the work areaBefore you begin, you will need tomop up any oil spills,you must have ready a containerlarge enough to hold all the oil fromthe engine you are about to drain,and have enough new oil of thecorrect type to refill the engine later.2. Identify drain plug and removal toolIn some vehicles, the engine willdrain more easily if the filler capat the top of the engine has beenremoved, so do this before the caris lifted.Always use the Service Manualto help you locate and identifycomponents if you are notcompletely sure of their location.The oil drain plug is foundunderneath the oil pan, which holdsall the oil in the engine.(continued over...)© 2005 DVP Licensing Pty Ltd page 2

Draining engine oilWorkshop activity sheet2. Identify drain plug and removal tool (continued)Some vehicles have two drainplugs, draining separate sumpareas.3. Remove drain bolt and inspectTo minimize the possibility ofdamage to the head of the bolt, youwill need a box wrench or socketwrench to remove and replace thedrain bolt. Be very careful that youdo not remove the transmissiondrain plug by mistake.4. Drain the oilWhen you have removed the drainbolt separate the sump plug gasketfrom the bolt and clean the threads.If the threads are damaged then thebolt may need to be replaced.Look for solid metal particles stuckto the bolt and report these to yoursupervisor. They may indicate anundiagnosed problem with theengine.The oil will drain more efficientlyfrom the engine if it is hot, so runthe engine for a few minutes beforedraining.But if the oil is hot it can burnyou, so be VERY careful when youremove the plug so that the oil doesnot spill onto your hand.(continued over...)© 2005 DVP Licensing Pty Ltd page 3

Draining engine oilWorkshop activity sheet4. Drain the oil (continued)If the engine is cold you will needto allow much longer for it tocompletely drain,5. Safely dispose of the drained oilor the new oil will becomecontaminated by residual oil stillclinging to the inside surfaces of theengine.If the drained oil is hot, take extracare not to spill it, especially notonto yourself.When tipping the oil from thedraining container into the recyclecontainer,again look for signs of metalparticles left at the bottom of thecontainer© 2005 DVP Licensing Pty Ltd page 4