Owners of other Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Mazda vehicles with the Duratec 35 engine such as the Edge, Fusion, Flex, Explorer, MKX, MKZ, and Sable may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

The items needed to complete this procedure include a floor jack, two jack stands, a 15mm socket with a ratcheting wrench, a used oil catch basin, a Lisle 63600 oil filter wrench (optional), an automotive funnel, a new oil filter and 6 U.S. quarts of SAE 5W-20 oil.

A few replacement oil filters with their part numbers are as follows: K&N PS-2011, Mobil 1 M1-212, Purolator PSL22500, ACDelco PF63, Pennzoil HPZ-173, Bosch L3502, Wix # 57502, Fram PH10575, Royal Purple 20-500 and Hastings LF641.

Warming up the engine will help suspend any contaminants within the old oil and also allow it to drain out more quickly.

Engage the emergency / parking brake and chock the rear wheels to prevent the vehicle from moving.

Then pop open the hood, twist off the oil filler cap in the counter clockwise direction and pull up the yellow handled dipstick a a few inches.

Removing the oil filler cap and pulling up the dipstick will help prevent a vacuum from forming and allow the old oil to drain out more quickly.

Raise the front passenger side of the vehicle with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

You may want to lay down some newspapers to protect your garage floor from any stray drops of oil.

Locate the silver metal oil pan with the oil drain bolt situated on the rear edge. The canister style oil filter is located just in front of the oil pan.

Slide the used oil catch basin to just below the oil drain bolt.

Be careful when remove the oil drain bolt since the old oil may be hot enough to burn your skin depending on how long you warmed up the engine. Used engine oil may be carcinogenic (cancer causing) so it would be a good idea to wear latex gloves.

Spin out the oil drain bolt and allow the oil to drain out in to the catch basin for at least a few minutes or until the flow slows to an occasional drip.

Tighten the drain bolt with the 15mm socket and ratcheting wrench to just past hand tight or about 20 ft-lbs of torque.

Double check that the oil drain bolt is tight before moving on to the next steps.

Move the used oil catch basin forward to just below the old oil filter.

Twist off the old oil filter in the counter clockwise direction. You may be able to do it by hand or you may need to use an oil filter wrench such as the Lisle 63600.

Allow the old oil to drain out from the oil filter receptacle for at least a few minutes.

Dip your pinky finger in some new SAE 5W-20 oil and lubricate the rubber o-ring gasket on the new oil filter.

Lubricating the o-ring will help the filter form a better seal and make it easier to remove at the next oil change.

Make sure the the rubber o-ring from the old oil filter is not still stuck to the engine.

Twist on the new oil filter in the clockwise direction to about 1/8 to 1/4 turn past hand tight.

Do not over tighten the new oil filter and do not use an oil filter wrench to tighten it. Over tightening the oil filter may damage the rubber o-ring gasket and cause an oil leak to develop.

Double check that both the oil drain bolt and new oil filter are securely in place before moving on to the next steps.

Insert the automotive funnel in to the oil filler hole.

The Duratec 35 and the newer Cyclone Ti-VCT Duratec 35 engines' total capacity for an oil change with filter replacement is 6 U.S. quarts (or 5.7 liters) of new SAE 5W-20 oil.

Pour in about 5 to 5 1/2 quarts of the new SAE 5W-20 oil in to the engine.

Having slightly less than enough oil in an engine is far better than having too much oil in an engine. Running an engine that was over filled with oil may cause damage to gaskets, seals or other components.

Run the engine for a few minutes, turn it off, and then wait for at least 5-10 minutes to allow the oil to drain back down to the pan.

Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, re-insert it, and then pull it out to check the engine oil level.

If necessary, slowly pour in the rest of the new oil while repeatedly checking the level on the dipstick until it reaches at or just below the upper hole on the dipstick which indicates the "Full" line.

Replace the dipstick and make sure that the oil filler cap is securely in place.

You may not need to pour in the entire 6 quarts of new oil depending on how long you allowed the old oil to drain out.

Be sure to record the oil change in your service records. Watch your drive way or garage floor for drops of oil that may indicate a leak from the drain bolt or filter housing. It's also a good idea to check the level on the dipstick during the next few days.

For more, please check out my other Ford Taurus DIY Repair Guides.