Adding oil to a vehicle’s engine is something that nearly all of you have probably done at one time or another. This basic task has been performed countless times by technicians knocking out a routine PM (preventive maintenance) service, DIYers tackling another oil change, and first-timers who just bought their first quart of oil at the local quickie mart, but is there really a right way and a wrong way?

Maybe not a right way and a wrong way, per se, but there is an easy way and a hard way.

Most people just grab the bottle, twist off the cap, and pour away with the spout of the bottle on the bottom, the oil glugging away the entire time it’s being poured. Sometimes the glugging isn’t really a problem because the wise individual is using a large mouth funnel and it doesn’t really matter how much “glugging” there is. But what about when you’re in the parking lot of a grocery store trying to add oil using a cut off water bottle for a funnel? What about when you’re on the side of the road and you don’t have a funnel? While this takes some time and experience to perfect, you can increase your chances of getting all the oil in the engine instead of on the engine with one simple trick: put the spout at the top.

Yes, that’s it. The oil companies even give you a handy illustration on the oil bottle showing you how to properly add ol to your engine. How many times have you looked at that little picture and totally ignored it or tried to figure out what in the world it was? Now you know. Pouring the oil with the spout at the top (and pouring the oil somewhat slowly) gives the air a chance to fill the void created in the bottle while pouring. If this helped you keep your engine clean, let me know in the comments below!