I've got the 4 cylinder 06 Caravan with about 56K miles. About 6,000 of those miles are from 2 trips from Long Island to Miami. So far so good, I haven't had any trouble with the van and I'm the original owner.

We moved into our house about 4 years ago and there's actually a mechanic pit in my garage. I've never used it but recently got the urge to change my oil and let my family come over and do the same. I've never done this before on any care and I consider myself pretty handy.

Is this going to be a fairly easy process? I've been researching all morning and it seems pretty straightforward. Place pan under car, remove plug and drain. Wipe drips and reinsert plug. Remove oil filter with wrench, wipe drips, lube top of new filter and insert till it bottoms out. Then screw another 1/2 turn or so. Then fill up with new oil, start and engine, check for leaks and proper oil level. Sound right?

Is this an easy thing to do? Are the plug and filter easy to reach? Will the oil drip on any parts of the vehicle or will oil the oil basically go right into the pan? In my research I also came across a special oil drain plug that has a ball valve that allows you to attach some tubing to it so that you can drain the oil oil directly into a milk jug. This means you wouldn't get any drips or worry about getting old oil all over you. The plug stays in place and you simply open a valve to drain.

Thanks in advance!

 

That's pretty well it. Many will drop the filter into the drain pan first to avoid splashing if done afterward. The oil will shoot out the pan pretty good so the pan needs to be near the drain plug.
The oil filter will have instructions on it.
Shouldn't be anything in the way to spill oil on.
A funnel will be helpful. Blue shop towels as well.

Fumoto Valve: https://dodgeforum.com/articles/2012...hange-oil.html
Should work okay, especially on a windy day using the tube. By the way, a nice gust of wind can splay oil quite a bit when draining.

 

Is it a good idea to get that valve? I would get the one that allows you to attach some tubing to it to make things as clean as possible. Any idea what size I would need?

 

mine is the Fumoto Engine Oil Drain Valve F-106N for my 06

you can double check with the company if in doubt on the product number

The "N" is for the nipple for the 3/8ID tubing


works fine for me, no leaks, and can change the oil when it is realy hot with out burning your hand

 

Not for me because of the cost, but would be nice on a windy day.

Some sites:

Info: http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/

Ordering to fit your vehicle: http://www.qwikvalve.com/?gclid=CNSM...FbMEQAodqiZh1Q

Discussion:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1568496

An alternative: http://shopping.rexmar.com/Merchant2..._Code=oildrain

 

Thanks guys. I had actually ordered the valve, tubing, drain pan, filter wrench and new filter before you guys responded. I did purchase the same valve pictured above because I saw a thread about it a few days ago. Even if I didn't have the valve I wouldn't have to worry about the oil spraying because I actually have a mechanic pit in my garage. Everything should be here in about a week.

I took a quick peek under the van yesterday and clearly saw a white NAPA oil filter pointing down on the passenger side. Seems fairly easy to swap out. I didn't see the drain plug but I didn't really look for it. I still have some junk in my garage so I couldn't use the pit.

FWIW, I also ordered an 03-07 Haynes manual. We'll see where that leads me. lol

 

Good.
What size oil filter does your Van take?
With the V6s, I use an oversize filter, Mopar's equivalent to Ford/Motorcraft FL-1A. Also Fram Tough Guard TG-8A is an excellent filter to use (high efficiency and silicone anti-drainback valve).

 

I don't have the V6. At the time I just wanted the cheapest van I could get to haul some stuff.

When I did the car configuration it told me to get a K&N HP-1002 filter.

 

That cross references to a Fram 3614. When I bought my 2007 last May, it had a small 3614 size filter. It will never have another oil filter that puny on it while I own it. Fram 16 or 8A will fit, ie the I4 and the 2 V6s take the same filter. Thread is 3/4" by 16. As long as the bigger filter doesn't interfere with anything, ie nothing in the way, I would go with it.
The larger filter is most likely less expensive as well.

 

My supplies should hopefully be here Saturday. I can't wait to get my hands dirty!