Whether you have traveled great distances over the winter or stayed home by the fire, it's important to make sure you perform a thorough inspection of your vehicle before heading out on a family vacation.

Many times people neglect their vehicles during the winter, due to the cold or the belief that the car is fine because it wasn't used that much. However, sludge can build-up in the engine and cause expensive problems down the road. The quickest, and easiest, way to avoid this problem is installing fresh oil and a quality oil filter.

Changing the oil and filter isn't very complicated. On many cars, the oil drain plug is easily accessible and can be removed without having to raise the vehicle. Likewise, the oil filter is easily accessible and can be removed either by hand or with an oil filter wrench.

Any pan or basin with a capacity of a couple of gallons will give you plenty of room to handle the four to six quarts of oil contained in most engines. You get it to come out by simply unscrewing the oil drain plug from the oil pan at the bottom of the engine counterclockwise. It's always best to take the car for a short ride to warm the oil before removing. This will make it flow easier.

Once you've changed the oil, be sure the drain plug is in place, and add fresh oil. Make sure to use a quality oil. A quick check of your owner's manual will give you the recommended weight and quantity for your driving conditions.

Most oil filters on cars today are a spin-on unit. They can easily be removed by hand or using a filter wrench. After removal, make sure the oil filter base of the engine where you'll be installing the new filter is wiped clean. Then, before you screw the filter into place, coat the gasket with clean oil. Once the gasket contacts the base, tighten it according to manufacturer's instructions.

With the new filter in place, check the dipstick to be sure there's enough oil, start the car and let it idle. Check for leaks while it's running, then check the dipstick again. You may need to add oil to make up for the amount that was pumped into the new filter.

You're almost done. With one major exception - what do you do with the old oil and oil filter.

Properly disposing of the used oil and oil filter is not only critical to protecting the environment, but is regulated in many states as landfills are becoming overcrowded. Recycling only 20% of all filters produced annually will:

• Save nearly 400,000 cubic yards of landfill space.



• Remove several million gallons of oil from landfills.



• Recycle more than 34,000 tons of filter scrap which can be used to produce steel products.

After you drain the oil, put it in a recyclable container that you can easily transport in your car to the recycling center. This can be a container made especially for oil changes, an old plastic liter soda bottle or other container that can be sealed to avoid spillage.

Once you've removed the old filter, and initially drained it of used oil into your collection pan:

• Drain the filter over an oil collection pan for approximately 12 hours to remove all free flowing oil;



• Put the oil from the filter into the plastic jug containing the oil from your car;



• Place the used oil filter in a leak proof bag or container and transfer it, along with the used oil, to the nearest designated recycling facility.

The used oil and filter should be taken to your nearest recycling center that accepts used motor oil. Designated locations for recycling may be a local municipal drop off recycling center, a municipal garage or a business providing oil change services. Some of these facilities may also accept your used filter.

For more information on recycling sites in your area, contact the recycling coordinator for your community or look under recycling in the Yellow Pages.