Oil changes – those pesky check-ups that come around more often than you probably think they should.
Oil changes are so routine it isn’t difficult to find a great auto shop to schedule an appointment with. But perhaps you’re one of those people that likes to get this sort of thing done yourself.
The overall price of an oil change in the shop and a DIY change is roughly the same. But there can be a certain satisfaction in doing it yourself.
Important points to remember:
Always let the engine completely cool before changing the oil.
Be sure the car is parked on level ground.
Secure the car on jack stands for safety.
What you’ll need:
Something to catch spills – cardboard, plywood, a huge sheet of plastic or a bunch of newspaper if nothing else.
A wrench and/or ratchet that will fit your
A recycling container to catch the old oil in
A new oil filter
New oil
Clean rags
A large funnel
The oil change process:
Find and unscrew the oil plug, drain the old oil into the recycling container. Then clean and replace the plug. (DO NOT DRAIN HOT OIL.)
Remove the old oil filter using a wrench. Be careful when removing, it may still be full of oil.
Take the new oil filter and lubricate the rubber gasket with some new oil and fill it about 2/3 full with new oil.
Trying not to spill, screw on the new oil filter with your hand (not a wrench). Don’t over-tighten the filter or it may leak.
After determining how much oil your engine holds, use the funnel to pour new oil in.
Screw on the cap and warm up the engine. Wait a few minutes and check the oil levels.
Congratulations, you have now successfully changed your own oil!
If this seems like too much to handle, schedule your next oil change in South Utah County.
Ryan Innes has always been one for breaking the ice. From his newsboy cap to his bold kicks, his personal style makes him “fat and sassy”, but it is his wit and boldness that will make you want to support him even more.
Ryan Innes has created his own brand of soul. If Michael Buble and Joni Mitchell had a love child raised by Jimi Hendrix and babysat by Norah Jones, that child would be Ryan Innes. His self-titled EP tastes like dark chocolate, smells like musk, and feels like silk.
Ryan’s voice will dig deep into your memories and help you release emotions long repressed in a way that is new and inspiring. Not only is his skill as a vocalist impeccable, but his ability to express emotion is the difference he brings to the table—then serves with a side of pie. His lyrics are infused with familiarity reminiscent of your mother’s lullabies.
In Beautiful Baby he says “when you give what you’ve got, a little is a lot” and truly, Ryan Innes has given “what [he’s] got”. His is a talent you hear once in a few lifetimes. His music makes you want to love harder, hurt deeper, and let go of all your inhibitions, leaving you speechless—until you learn the words well enough to sing along.
From the local news:
For a long time, music was something in the background for Ryan Innes.
In high school, he could only play football under the condition that he played the piano.
Innes graduated from Eastern Arizona College with an associate’s degree in pre-medical science and was planning on going to medical school to be a pediatrician. During school, he fell in love and was engaged.
But the engagement was broken off three weeks before the wedding.
“I was completely devastated and miserable,” Innes said. “I hated my job. I started to reassess why I was going into medicine. Did I really have a passion for it? No. I was just doing it because of the money and status and nobility of it all. I started to really look at why I hadn’t considered going into music. It was because I didn’t want to teach — that’s all I thought there was.
“Then, through a friend, I discovered the media music program at BYU and realized that was exactly what I wanted to do. I applied to BYU and got in. I auditioned and made it into the school of music. I took the aural skills test (having never taken anything like it in my life), and somehow passed. The doors opened up and I was on my way to BYU to study songwriting and contemporary voice — neither of which I’d ever done before.”
All of the high school choirs and battles with his mom about practicing the piano have paid off. Innes developed his solo voice in the a cappella group Vocal Point. He has honed his voice and songwriting to where listeners can sit back and be confident he will deliver.
“I share my music (because) I can’t help but not,” he said. “It just comes out of me. It’s how I mourn, rejoice, cope, laugh, love. It’s my primary emotional outlet. That being said, it’s not just therapy. I love the craft of writing amazing and clever, but concise and emotive lyrics. I love the concept of creating something that never existed before. I love always having my antennas up for new ideas, lines, phrases. My goal is to make people feel something — to help them let loose and jam, to help them love a little more, to be confident in chasing their own dreams, to attempt the difficult.”
From personal experience, I can say that you can’t help but fall in love with Innes’ soulful voice and lyrics. It’s as though music is just running through his blood.
And it literally is in his blood. One of his ancestors, Peter Howard McBride, was called by Brigham Young to promote singing and music in the Gila Valley.
Although Innes may not have received a call from the prophet to go into music, he has had many experiences in life that have led him to follow this passion and this path.
“I’ve had specific instances where it was confirmed that I should do this, and I’ve never looked back or second-guessed since,” Innes said. “This is what I’m supposed to be doing; it’s what I was born to do.”
Innes has been putting his heart into recording an EP. On June 24, he will have his CD release concert at the Velour in Provo, Utah, with Truman and Jarrett Burns as opening acts
I grew up in Idaho and started skiing when I was six years old. Even though Idaho is a close neighbor to Utah, I’d still have to agree that Utah has the greatest snow on Earth.
In fact, as a kid who didn’t even know much about snow quality, I was always excited to hit the fresh powder on our annual visit down to Alta or Snowbird or Brighton.
This cool infographic says it all:
Why do you think Utah has the best snow on Earth? Or have you been somewhere better?
Provo, Utah is a pretty popular city for auto mechanics and rightfully so – with thousands of naive kids who have come from across the county to attend school, there are quite a few opportunities to make a quick buck fixing cars.
As a student or resident of Provo, have you ever wondered if you’ve been the victim of a scam when it comes to getting your car serviced?
We’ve been to a few local auto repair shops and really did feel they “up-sold” us on things we truly didn’t need.
So what can a person do?
Luckily, we’ve found some great advice from Reader’s Digest about what to look for in a good auto repair shop. Here’s a summarized list:
15 Important Things to Look for When Selecting an Auto Repair Shop
Look out for scare tactics. ie. “I wouldn’t drive this another mile.”
Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion.
When you do get a second opinion, don’t tell the mechanic what the first diagnosis and price were.
Does the mechanic have AAA or ASE certifications (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence)
Make sure the mechanic thoroughly explains your repair options. We’ve used Clegg Auto in Provo and they have been great and telling us as much as we want to know.
How clean is the repair shop’s garage? (A garage cluttered with worn tires and empty oil cans is a bad sign.)
Don’t sign ANY blank authorization forms! A shady shop will ask you to sign a blank form or try to sell you an unnecessary transmission flush.
Ask for your old parts back so you know if they’ve been changed and if they are really “worn out”.
Consult your dealer before you have work done on a catalytic converter or emissions parts: some of these items carry long warranties and possibly free replacements.
Don’t be lied to about double labor: if a mechanic offers to change your timing belt and water pump, ask them how long the job will take. Some will charge double the labor even though the second task is essentially done once the belt is removed.
All brakes are not equal. Ask for estimates on brake jobs. Many mechanics will use cheap parts and mark them up. Good mechanics who understand cars won’t ever skimp in this area.
Bring your car into the shop early in the week. If you take it to the shop on Friday, mechanics might rush the job to get out for the weekend.
Be familiar with Utah state tire tread specifications. Make sure you have the mechanic measure the old tread with a gauge and show you the results.
Beware of ads for $100 brake jobs – no mechanic can make money on that – it’s a false promise with up-sell written all over it.
A transmission flush is one of the biggest scams in auto repair. Manufacturers don’t even recommend them and your car almost never needs one.
