Mobile Oil Change Business: How to Use Equipment

The mobile oil change industry offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs. Two key factors in making your mobile oil change a successful business are convenience and efficiency. The customer expects you to come to them and perform the work quickly and correctly. Onsite oil change equipment manufacturers have recognized this need and have reduced the time it takes to perform an oil change by optimizing their equipment for efficiency. The following procedures, if followed step by step, will allow you the benefit of servicing your customers faster and more efficiently once you have purchased you mobile oil change equipment.

Note: Onsite oil change equipment varies between manufacturers. The instructions written below are assuming you are using equipment purchased from Timesaver Oil and Lube.

 1. Write an invoice and window sticker on vehicle following the services on pre-printed invoice. Check wiper blades and headlights and recommend replacement if necessary. Check for proper air filter and pull from inventory on truck.

2. Park the vehicle to be serviced behind rear doors of the van.

3. Place metal spill pan underneath the vehicle.

4. If vehicle has low ground clearance, jack vehicle to proper height and place jack stand under frame.

5. Take oil pan, socket wrenches, and filter wrench and crawl under the vehicle. If filter is near drain bolt, crack filter to begin initial draining and then remove drain bolt. Make sure oil is draining into drain pan.

6. While oil is draining, start checking and filling fluids as necessary, beginning with washer fluid then brake fluid; power steering; antifreeze; and battery where applicable. Check air filters, belts, and hoses.

7. Take grease gun when applicable and new oil filter and go back underneath vehicle. Remove new oil filter from box and unscrew old filter and place open side up in filter box. Check that the old filter gasket is still on the old filter. Take the new filter and lubricate gasket by turning new filter on top of old filter, making sure it is the same size and gaskets are of the same diameter. Install new filter on engine and hand tighten only. (If diesel use filter wrench and tighten ½ turn after hand tightening.)

8. Install drain bolt back on drain pan and tighten with socket wrench. Grease fittings on front end with grease gun, where applicable. Note: Front wheel drive vehicles do not have any grease fittings.

9. Choose new oil for vehicle and connect gun to proper reel. Gun can only be connected to other reel if compressor is turned off. Start air compressor and set quart meter to zero and dispense new oil into motor. Place gun on ground and run engine. Check underneath vehicle for leaks and check automatic transmission fluid while engine is running (manual transmission excluded). Turn off engine.

10. Place oil pan on top of waste oil tank and drain into tank. Put old filter in trash and put tools back on the truck in the proper places for your next job.

This procedure is the same as the previous method except for the following.

Do not remove the oil pan drain bolt. Instead, select proper sized wand from right side door. Remove dipstick and insert wand into dipstick tub. Connect air line to pump and start air compressor. The oil has to be hot for the pump to work effectively. If the engine is cold, run it for five minutes or until oil is hot enough to extract. Remove wand from dipstick tub. Continue to follow instructions as listed in previous method.

Note: To extract oil through the dipstick tub, the yellow control valve handle must be pointed inside the van. To discharge waste oil out of the waste oil tank the yellow control valve must be pointing outside the van.

 Store you waste oil in four 55 gallon drums. Your local telephone book should have companies that will recycle your used motor oil for free. First Recovery is a nationwide company that will recycle your used motor oil if you have a minimum of 200 gallons.