Change
Your Oil
If necessary, take off the undercover. The good news for us DIYers is that most cars don't have them.
Now it's time to locate the oil filter and drain plug. The vast majority of cars have a bottom-mount screw-on filter.
In this case, the plug and filter are far apart, meaning I must reposition the drain pan after I drain the oil and before I remove the filter.
With the preliminaries out of the way, it's time to drain the oil out of the engine. It's important to place the drain pan under the drain plug — but not directly under it. The angle of the drain plug will cause the oil to stream out at an angle, so I'm offsetting the pan to that side by several inches.
Remove the oil filler cap (the oil will flow out more smoothly and quickly with the cap removed).
It's time to put the gloves on. You can usually remove the drain plug with a common end wrench and a bit of muscle. Go slowly as you remove the drain plug and keep your hands away from the expected path of the oil. It's going to come out quick and warm. This is another reason why it's best not to change oil when the engine and its oil are piping hot.
Inspect and clean the oil drain plug while the rest of the oil is draining. If your drain plug does need a replacement washer, make sure the old one isn't stuck to the engine's oil pan.
Tighten the drain plug. Theoretically, there is a torque specification for drain plugs, but they're almost never published in the owner's manual.