first oil change.....big mess (1 Viewer)

[emac]

I pride myself on changing oil without spilling a drop. I had logged about 700 miles since my restoration and had a quirk in the carb that made it run real rich, so I decided it was time to change the oil.

Since the 40 is lifted a little I decided not to put it on the lift but just slide a pan under it and drain. I have one of these catch pans that has a resovoir under the catch area. It holds about 2.5 gallons. It has two removable plugs in the catch area. I loosened the big drain plug and all 8.5 quarts came out in about 10 seconds, hitting the drain hole and spraying oil everywhere. I got most of it in the pan. After that fiasco, I decided to remove the filter. I figured most of the oil in the filter had drained into the pan. Nope. Second mess.

After that things went pretty smooth. The WSM calls for 8.5 quarts, and that is what I put in when I rebuilt the motor. The dipstick has always read over filled. So, I put in 8 quarts and the dipstick reads just above full. Is that normal?

It looks like oil changes in the 40 are going to be a challenge to perform without spilling any oil. I wonder if poking a hole in the top of the filter before loosening it will let it drain? I am thinking of using a plastic storage container to catch the oil from the pan!

 

[Landpimp]

I have 2 that take the 25mm drain plugs......they suck, I wear more than the bucket or anything else can catch

mine take from 7-8 just depends on filter size, oil cooler.....on a 2f I do 7, then see

filer is actually not bad, just need to work fast(once loose) and be able to get your finger over the hole, then flip it or just flip it fast and deal with the enjoy the extra rust proofing

 

[tyama]

hiya, welcome to the wonderful world of F/2F oil changes. For some reason, the oil always shoots out. You'll get the hang of it pretty quick. I use a big metal pail (2-3gal) with a metal collander to catch the bolt when it drops. i also put the pail on some wood blocks to there's barely enough space to put my gloved hand on the bolt. I also poke a hole on the filter top too and let it drain out. when i spin the filter off, I use a plastic shopping bag on the filter and lots of rags around the filter to catch the excess oil. if you turn the filter up quickly after it's spun off, most of the remaining oil will end up in the bag or on the rags. once you're done you have to carefully get the pail off the wood and pour it out into a oil jug. There's always gonna be some oil spilt, you just have to minimize the amount. cat litter or sawdust does a good job of getting it off concrete.

good luck!
ty

 

[sggoat]

The good part is-if there was any trash in the pan, it prolly got flushed out completely in that rush of oil(ha!)
Many oil filters now have a partial check arrangement that maintains some oil in the filter so the engine doesn't startup without oil flow(although that is a bogus claim, since to get flow to the top parts, you gotta have flow into the filter in the first place to push the oil in the filter out to the parts). The rub comes in when you need to change the oil(as you found out). You need to let the crankcase drain for an hour or so to let the filter completely drain(hopefully) before removing it. Always stick a big rag under there just in case--

 

[Steamer]

I like that whoosh of oil flying out like sggoat mentioned. When I first got my rig and I had the oil pan off and had it in a parts washer scraping off a sizeable crud build up. I got playing around with it by sticking my finger in the drain hole and letting the parts washer fluid buildup. I'd release it and see how good it took the loosened crud with it. Not as good as I would have liked. When I tilted the front of the pan up about 20 degrees and repeated, the crud drag out the drain hole was increased significantly. So now when I drain my oil I put the front wheels up on my rather high sprung over vehicle trailer and drain the oil with it tilted up like that. It's the super whoosh. A 5 gallon bucket is my drain pan choice. When it's drained, I let it roll back level on its own then add my oil.

I've got 50 years in now of doing my own oil changes and the amount of times I've pulled off a drip free oil & filter change I can count on one hand. I go through lots of rags & oil dry.

 

[sadam_husain]

I've been doing oil changes for over 30 years and I still manage to make a big mess and spill oil everywhere, that all sounds pretty normal mate

 

[RolandFJ40]

I go to a quick lube and for 40 bucks and 10 minutes I'm done. If they spill any they clean it too.

 

[jestlurnin]

I go to a quick lube and for 40 bucks and 10 minutes I'm done. If they spill any they clean it too.

And if they break your 40 year old cruiser they just shrug their shoulders.....

 

[Hack]

I go to a quick lube and for 40 bucks and 10 minutes I'm done. If they spill any they clean it too.

I'm with you. The only vehicle I do oil changes on now, is my 1993 Harley FLHS. And a few times over the 23+ years of ownership, I've had it done at shops. But I have a lift (after a lot of years crawling on the floor) for it:



Ya can't work on a bike without an ample supply of beer. That would be Un-American... And yeah, it's next to impossible not to get all the Harley oil in the drain pan. Especially the filter. My regular vehicles (2002 Chevy Blazer and 2014 Grand Cherokee Summit), go to the quick lube place or to Firestone (I'm a 'regular' there - long story).

I may attempt an oil change on my 1976 CJ5 (with Ford 5.0L engine):



But I'll probably take that somewhere to get done, because it's just cheaper and more convenient.

And don't even get me started about my boats.....



I may end up doing them next season, just because the dang marinas and dealers are sodomites....

 

[Mr Cimarron]

I always have a plethora of broken down Amazon boxes laying around. They work great to keep spills off the garage floor during oil changes. 5 gallon bucket fits perfectly under all my vehicles.

 

[RolandFJ40]

And if they break your 40 year old cruiser they just shrug their shoulders.....

I'm curious how they would break my truck? They do hundreds of oil changes a day, if breaking a vehicle was an issue they wouldn't be in business.

 

[emac]

Around here we have had a couple of cases of them forgetting to put oil in, leaving drain plugs loose, stripping oil pans, etc. Yes, they do lots of oil changes, but they go through a lot of $10/hr employees. You get what you pay for.

 

[micruz60]

@Hack
A Ford Jeep? cool...
If you change the oil on a Harley yourself, don't you void the warranty?

 

[tlc762]

To minimize the gush of oil I hold the plug against the drain hole to control the rate of flow into the pan. Learned that trick after I dumped oil all over my parents garage floor years ago...
HTH,
Will

 

[SteveH]

As part of the mess-reduction process, I have taken a nail and punched a hole in the top of the oil filter (while still installed on the truck), to help some of its oil drain back into the pan (in spite of the magical check valve installed in oil filters).

If you wait overnight, the filter will be pretty well drained. When I do this, I always put a paper sheet on the steering wheel that says 'no oil' so I don't do something stupid, like start the truck with no oil....

I'd change my oil in a blizzard on a gravel driveway before I would take it to an chain-type oil change joint.

 

[UZJ40]

I'm curious how they would break my truck? They do hundreds of oil changes a day, if breaking a vehicle was an issue they wouldn't be in business.

Horror stories all over the internet, personal experiences, friends, news stories, etc.... you honestly don't mind some guy with no training working on your car? You're braver than I.

Here, this will keep you busy-

Top 797 Complaints and Reviews about Jiffy Lube

 

[Spike Strip]

Way back when .... My roommate got hired at one of those 'quick-lube' chains in Los Angeles area... This was a smart guy, but mechanically, he barely knew which end of a fork to use. After a few 'let's have a beer' stories about stripped drain bolts and over-filled crankcases and squirting shocks with oil to make 'em look like they were leaking, I swore to never to go to one of those places.

Besides, oil change is an easy satisfying job and you know you're getting a good, flat-tappet oil for you LC Engine. The quick places use cheap oil; how else can they afford to pay labor and material and still make a profit at $40 ?

 

[vpatsears]

I'm curious how they would break my truck? They do hundreds of oil changes a day, if breaking a vehicle was an issue they wouldn't be in business.

If you like people stalling your truck multiple times before they can get it from the parking lot to the lift, go right ahead. Most kids/people don't know how to drive a manual. Talk about someone loosing their cool real quick, when you are watching two teenagers take turns stalling your truck for the fifth time out in the parking lot.

 

[Landpimp]

Took my 40 to the dealer once, had stuff to do(in parts department ) so I let them change the oil, one of the kids could not figure the hood release out, so he pulled the choke all the way out, other tried to turn the stereo down.....but was turning volume on the OEM CB rado....it was kinda funny really, the 40 was older than all the kids working on it

Love.to see them cbange the oil and air filter on the 64.......

That said , they didnt mess anything up.

 

[White Stripe]

If u have a drain pan that has a funnel directing the oil into a cavity, lisle makes a thick scotchbrite type pad that sits in the funnel area and prevents splashes.