- 1). Take your car for a spin around the block, then park it on a flat surface with the emergency brake on. Driving your car a short distance before starting this project will loosen the oil, helping it to drain more easily from your Rav4's oil well.
- 2). Locate the oil drain plug on the underside of your Rav4. It should be closer to the ground than any other part of your car's underside. You should have more than enough room to slide under your vehicle, but if you want more room, use a jack and jack stands to elevate your Rav4.
- 3). Use a socket wrench to loosen the oil drain plug. You may have to test several sockets before finding one that's the right fit for the nut on the drain plug. Rotate the socket wrench in a counter-clockwise direction to loosen the nut, but don't remove it completely, or the oil will begin to drain.
- 4). Move the pan or pail you plan to use to catch the oil into place underneath the oil drain plug. You may want to lay down newspaper or old rags underneath the pan or pail to catch errant drops of oil. Loosen the nut all the way, and remove the plug, setting it off to the side. It should take about 2 minutes for all the oil to drain.
- 5). Loosen the bolts on the oil filter housing unit. The oil filter housing unit is found along the bottom of the engine, adjacent to the oil plug, similar to the placement on other vehicles. But unlike other vehicles, the Rav4 uses an oil filter cartridge instead of a traditional filter. The filter cartridge is located within the housing unit. After loosening the bolts with a three-eighth-inch socket, slide the old filter out with your fingers. Remove the old O-ring on the cartridge as well, and set aside.
- 6). Wipe off any excess oil from where the old oil filter sat with a clean, damp cloth.
- 7). Move the new oil filter cartridge into place with your fingers. Put the housing unit back in place, and tighten it securely with the three-eighth-inch socket. Make sure to replace the O-ring at this time as well; an old, cracked or worn out O-ring can cause oil to leak.
- 8). Replace the oil drain cap.
- 9). Remove the oil cap under your Rav4's hood. Place the funnel into the hole. A Rav4 with a V6 engine takes up to 6.5 quarts of oil, but you don't have to put in the full amount. As long as your engine's dip stick shows an oil level above the notch on the stick, you should be fine. Be careful not to overfill the oil well.
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