How do you change the oil in a 1989 jeep wrangler?

Answer 1

Block the rear wheels. Lift up the car with a jack, then secure it with jackstands. Get underneath, and bring your drain pan with you. Remove the drain plug with the catch pan underneath it, and let all the oil drain out. Replace the plug after this is done. Then, find the oil filter. If you cannot twist it off by hand, you may need to go out and buy a filter wrench. Remove the old oil filter and throw it out. Take your new oil filter, and fill it 1/4-1/2 way full of oil (so that the car doesn't start dry). Then, dip your finger in your oil bottle and rub oil on the rubber gasket on the outer edge of the top of the filter. Screw the filter back into place, and tighten it as far as you can by hand. If you're not sure that it's on tightly enough, give it up to half a turn with your filter wrench, but no more. Get out from under the car, and use your jack to remove the jack stands one at a time. Once the car is back on the ground, find the oil cap on the valve cover and unscrew it. If you know the Jeep's oil capacity, then pour in as close to that as you can and then check the dipstick to make any final additions. DO NOT OVERFILL THE ENGINE WITH OIL. A little extra is OK, as a Jeep that old will probably burn it off anyways, but overfilling a significant amount of oil can cause engine damage. If you don't know the oil capacity, then pour in 3-4 quarts of oil, and then add the rest incrementally, using the dipstick to help you decide when there's enough in the motor.

Note: This CAN be done with the engine and oil hot, but unless you've got a decent amount of experience I'd let the motor cool down first, so that you don't burn yourself in the process.

These are fairly general guidelines, but they should get you through the oilchange with no problem if you're even a little mechanically inclined.