I want to change the oil myself but I have never done it before. I have a 99 Dodge Dakota with 150k. It has a 4 cyl engine. I know the basics but not much more than that. How much oil should it take? Also I am thinking about using a synthetic. Is it worth the extra money?

Well its not that hard to change oil but here is some steps and tips.


1 Go to the autopart store and tell them what car you have and they will tell the right amount your car needs and they will give you the right filter too.
2 warm up your car for about 5 minutes this will make the oil to warm up and drain fast and also wont be sticking inside.
3 take the filter off which sometimes you need to filter tool to take it off.
4 Clean the hole where the filter was off.
5 Put the drain plug back
6 Put the new filter in and tight it hand tight.
7 Open the Valve cover Cap and put the new fresh oil in and do not over fill.
8 Start your car and let it run for 5 minutes then shut it off and let it set for about anther 5 minutes
until the Oil backs the oil pan then check the Level and make sure its right.

Good luck

Changing oil is pretty much the same, 5 quarts is all you need and don't waste your valuable money on synthetic, at how many miles already on the truck you don't want to use a different type oil because a lot of the gaskets will start to leak, hope this helps