Ever have a routine oil change go wrong?
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Originally Posted By: Reddy45
TWICE, this style of drain pan has resulted in me cleaning massive oil stains off the driveway.
1st time: The little breather cap (yellow in pic) was still on, so oil goes into middle hole, but no air could go out of breather hole...overflowed.
2nd time: Cut off breather cap, so that was OK.. but the oil drain plug fell as is common during an oil change circled around and plugged the middle hole..overflowed.
Tossed the [censored] pan after that and got the type without the "top".
Dang, you beat me to it and even included a photo to aid your description.
TWICE, this style of drain pan has resulted in me cleaning massive oil stains off the driveway.
1st time: The little breather cap (yellow in pic) was still on, so oil goes into middle hole, but no air could go out of breather hole...overflowed.
2nd time: Cut off breather cap, so that was OK.. but the oil drain plug fell as is common during an oil change circled around and plugged the middle hole..overflowed.
Tossed the [censored] pan after that and got the type without the "top".
Dang, you beat me to it and even included a photo to aid your description.
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Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
And now we carry around a super computer in our pocket!
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
And now we carry around a super computer in our pocket!
LOL and if you were lucky the rotary phone had an extra long cord on it.
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
LOL and if you were lucky the rotary phone had an extra long cord on it.
I installed a filter where it's mounting surface was bent and it leaked like a sieve when I started the engine.
I was in college and did an oil change before going on spring break from Kentucky to Florida via I-75. Fresh oil and filter wasnt really needed but i wanted piece of mind.
I took it to a local shop and brought my own kendall green oil and wix filter.
About 100 miles into the trip my oil light came on.
Checked dipstick and nothing showed. Bought 2 quarts of oil at gas station and kept going.
Repeat at 150 miles.
I looked under the car the best i could and saw oil everywhere. It was 8pm..no garage in sight.
I added i think about 20 sum quarts of oil by the time i hit my destination.
I took it to a garage and they found that the oil filter had two gaskets on it.. the old one stuck to the base and the lube guy just spun the new one on.
Ive changed my own oil since then. Lesson learned.
I took it to a local shop and brought my own kendall green oil and wix filter.
About 100 miles into the trip my oil light came on.
Checked dipstick and nothing showed. Bought 2 quarts of oil at gas station and kept going.
Repeat at 150 miles.
I looked under the car the best i could and saw oil everywhere. It was 8pm..no garage in sight.
I added i think about 20 sum quarts of oil by the time i hit my destination.
I took it to a garage and they found that the oil filter had two gaskets on it.. the old one stuck to the base and the lube guy just spun the new one on.
Ive changed my own oil since then. Lesson learned.
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
And now we carry around a super computer in our pocket!
LOL and if you were lucky the rotary phone had an extra long cord on it.
My mom had one with a super long extension on it.
If she was on the phone I'd have to cross over it no less than 5 times to go from the living room to the kitchen
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
LOL and if you were lucky the rotary phone had an extra long cord on it.
My mom had one with a super long extension on it.
If she was on the phone I'd have to cross over it no less than 5 times to go from the living room to the kitchen
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
TWICE, this style of drain pan has resulted in me cleaning massive oil stains off the driveway.
1st time: The little breather cap (yellow in pic) was still on, so oil goes into middle hole, but no air could go out of breather hole...overflowed.
2nd time: Cut off breather cap, so that was OK.. but the oil drain plug fell as is common during an oil change circled around and plugged the middle hole..overflowed.
Tossed the [censored] pan after that and got the type without the "top".
Dang, you beat me to it and even included a photo to aid your description.
I like those drain pans, but then I don't let the drain bolt fall into the pan. I grab it with a shop towel after I've backed it almost all the way out.
I have forgotten to open the breather hole before but I was able to pop the cap in time and save myself a huge mess.
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
TWICE, this style of drain pan has resulted in me cleaning massive oil stains off the driveway.
1st time: The little breather cap (yellow in pic) was still on, so oil goes into middle hole, but no air could go out of breather hole...overflowed.
2nd time: Cut off breather cap, so that was OK.. but the oil drain plug fell as is common during an oil change circled around and plugged the middle hole..overflowed.
Tossed the [censored] pan after that and got the type without the "top".
Dang, you beat me to it and even included a photo to aid your description.
I like those drain pans, but then I don't let the drain bolt fall into the pan. I grab it with a shop towel after I've backed it almost all the way out.
I have forgotten to open the breather hole before but I was able to pop the cap in time and save myself a huge mess.
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
And now we carry around a super computer in our pocket!
Yep and our phone was on a party line. Remember those.
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
Yep and our phone was on a party line. Remember those.
Not exactly an oil change, but I was finally getting rid of an old mower with a cracked block and needed to make sure all the oil was out. I thought almost all the oil came out when the block cracked, but I took the dipstick out and tipped it over. I was surprised to see some oil coming out of the fill hole into the drain pan I had brought out, and then even more surprised to see a lot more oil coming out of the crack in the block and pouring down my driveway. I just wasn't thinking straight, obviously any remaining oil was quite likely to come out of the gaping hole in the block! Of course, this wasn't a tremendous amount of oil, but I sure felt like a moron.
I had accidentally abused this mower when it was only a few years old, my first cut of the season kept being delayed by rain and the grass was getting really tall. Finally had some time to do it on a dry day but was in a big hurry for some reason, maybe I got home late from work near sundown...I couldn't remember if I had drained the oil in the fall, so I pulled the dipstick quickly and thought, yeah, there's oil in there. Mowed for a bit and the engine got somewhat loud and then suddenly stopped...I pulled the dipstick and smoke came out. The engine was actually dry and had seized!
I pulled the spark plug wire off and worked on the mower blade until it turned, then managed to start the thing up after adding oil...it sounded a bit different, but it ran well enough. Actually got about 8 more years out of the thing until the block cracked, which I strongly suspect was related to the abuse it had suffered years before.
I had accidentally abused this mower when it was only a few years old, my first cut of the season kept being delayed by rain and the grass was getting really tall. Finally had some time to do it on a dry day but was in a big hurry for some reason, maybe I got home late from work near sundown...I couldn't remember if I had drained the oil in the fall, so I pulled the dipstick quickly and thought, yeah, there's oil in there. Mowed for a bit and the engine got somewhat loud and then suddenly stopped...I pulled the dipstick and smoke came out. The engine was actually dry and had seized!
I pulled the spark plug wire off and worked on the mower blade until it turned, then managed to start the thing up after adding oil...it sounded a bit different, but it ran well enough. Actually got about 8 more years out of the thing until the block cracked, which I strongly suspect was related to the abuse it had suffered years before.
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
And now we carry around a super computer in our pocket!
My folks leased a black Bakelight rotary phone from Ma Bell starting in the early '50s until around the mid '80s...they made payments on that thing for over 30 years. My dad justified it by saying that repairs to and replacement of the phone were covered! When old Bessie finally bit the dust, I bought him a touchtone phone for about $20 and said he hated it for about the first week. Finally, he admitted that he really liked it and cursed himself for paying an ungodly amount of money for that black lump over the years. Dad never got an answering machine on that line, he didn't like talking to people and didn't want to feel obligated to respond to a message.
When we bought our ski condo, there were some old rotary phones tucked away in closets and drawers and my 8 year old daughter just LOVED them...she gathered them all up in her room and would play with the dials for hours.
We were on a party line when I was a kid and it was both a pain and great fun...we had some neighbor who was on the phone way too much and would refuse to get off even if we had an urgent call to make, but I could also pick up very quietly and listen in on her gabbing when I was bored. She never really had anything interesting to say, but I guess it was just the idea that I was being bad that made it fun...it was even better when she'd hear the faintest click or me breathing when I got on and start screaming, "WHO'S LISTENING IN??? GET OFF THE LINE!!! GET OFF THE LINE!!!" She couldn't figure out if anybody else was really there or whom it might be, so I'd just listen to her yell and giggle into my hand.
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
These were the stone age days when cordless phones didn't exist. I went inside to take the call
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! Thinking back when I was a kid playing outside,mom or dad would open the front door and shout out,"Son,so and so's on the phone",we'd stop what we were doing and go inside to answer the phone. A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
My folks leased a black Bakelight rotary phone from Ma Bell starting in the early '50s until around the mid '80s...they made payments on that thing for over 30 years. My dad justified it by saying that repairs to and replacement of the phone were covered! When old Bessie finally bit the dust, I bought him a touchtone phone for about $20 and said he hated it for about the first week. Finally, he admitted that he really liked it and cursed himself for paying an ungodly amount of money for that black lump over the years. Dad never got an answering machine on that line, he didn't like talking to people and didn't want to feel obligated to respond to a message.
When we bought our ski condo, there were some old rotary phones tucked away in closets and drawers and my 8 year old daughter just LOVED them...she gathered them all up in her room and would play with the dials for hours.
We were on a party line when I was a kid and it was both a pain and great fun...we had some neighbor who was on the phone way too much and would refuse to get off even if we had an urgent call to make, but I could also pick up very quietly and listen in on her gabbing when I was bored. She never really had anything interesting to say, but I guess it was just the idea that I was being bad that made it fun...it was even better when she'd hear the faintest click or me breathing when I got on and start screaming, "WHO'S LISTENING IN??? GET OFF THE LINE!!! GET OFF THE LINE!!!" She couldn't figure out if anybody else was really there or whom it might be, so I'd just listen to her yell and giggle into my hand.
Had two wise guys in one day at a shop I worked at. Both wanted an oil and filter change, both gave off bad vibes.
#1 had a striped drain plug thread - I could turn it with my fingers and it was leaking all over the place.
#2 had a cracked aluminum oil pan.
Both were fixing to blame me for the problems wanting a free fix on my dime. I sent them on their way.
Claud.
#1 had a striped drain plug thread - I could turn it with my fingers and it was leaking all over the place.
#2 had a cracked aluminum oil pan.
Both were fixing to blame me for the problems wanting a free fix on my dime. I sent them on their way.
Claud.
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About 20 years ago my teenage son was doing an OC on his 1987 Camry, late one Sunday afternoon in the fall. In the process, the drain plug was kicked somewhere into a nearby area heavily covered with fallen leaves. It was never found. I think he made it to Trak Auto in Richmond, VA just before they closed to buy a new one.
I drove over the ramps once with the Tracker but it just tapped the front corner of the wheel wells on the ramps from the drop, and I pulled out the ramps and tried again. On a nice low car that would be an expensive mistake.
I've had a few minor spills but nothing to call the EPA about!
I've had a few minor spills but nothing to call the EPA about!
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
And now we carry around a super computer in our pocket!
Our first rotary phone was black, we only dialed the last four digits for locals calls, and were were on a "Party Line". How many of you ever heard of that?
We later got a deep red colored phone. My mother redid the entire kitchen so the phone would match. LOL!!
CRAZY how long ago that seems!! A bright yellow or dark green rotary phone. We eventually upgraded to a touch tone "Slimline" phone from Southwestern Bell. I remember how high tech it seemed,the buttons even lit up!
Our first rotary phone was black, we only dialed the last four digits for locals calls, and were were on a "Party Line". How many of you ever heard of that?
We later got a deep red colored phone. My mother redid the entire kitchen so the phone would match. LOL!!
I'm fairly messy at the best of times, but the two worst weren't my fault; at least that's how I tell it. I was doing an oil change for my brother on his taxi. He had the wrong filter or a flawed filter as a replacement, and it was leaking like crazy. It wasn't double filtered; the old gasket came off. I sent him to Ford and for a Motorcraft, and we had no problems then. He had some jobber I had never heard of, and can't remember now. I have no idea where he picked that thing up.
When I got my G37, I made a big mess. I decided to change the oil as soon as I got it from the used car lot. It took 4.9 L according to the manual. Okay, I can dump it into the drain pan, and then into an empty 5 L oil jug (since those will easily hold around 6 L). I'm happily pouring into the empty jug, and it overflowed all over the place. Clearly, there was far more than 4.9 or 5 L in that engine.
When I got my G37, I made a big mess. I decided to change the oil as soon as I got it from the used car lot. It took 4.9 L according to the manual. Okay, I can dump it into the drain pan, and then into an empty 5 L oil jug (since those will easily hold around 6 L). I'm happily pouring into the empty jug, and it overflowed all over the place. Clearly, there was far more than 4.9 or 5 L in that engine.
A few years ago an older friend of mine took his X3 to Bubba's Coin Laundry, Tanning Salon, and High Tech Auto Repair for an oil change; I had offered to do it for free, but he didn't want to inconvenience me. Anyway, a few months after the oil change at Bubba's he asked me to change it.
First off, the drain plug was extremely difficult to loosen; when I finally did break it loose I found that the plug was missing its copper sealing washer. Odds are that Bubba didn't see the washer fall off when he drained the oil; so when he reinstalled the plug without the washer it probably dripped- so he really cranked down on the drain plug to stop the leak. Idiot.
Next up was changing the filter. Bubba had used an off-brand cartridge which had plastic end caps(which were crumbling) and a filter medium that had started to distort. The correct BMW filter -manufactured by Mann of Germany- cost all of $10.85. The BMW filter also comes with a new drain plug sealing washer and a new o-ring for the oil filter housing cap. Anyway, I wiped out the filter housing as best I could, and I think I got 99.99% of the plastic bits from the worthless junk filter.
Finally, I poured in the requisite amount of Mobil 1 0W-40(prior to its losing LL-01 approval) and proceeded to reset the Oil Service light. Of course Bubba hadn't done that either, probably because he thought it needed a special tool. Wrong again; the indicator is reset using only the ignition switch and the odometer reset button. And it's not exactly proprietary information, either- just type "BMW X3 SIA reset" into almost any search engine...
My friend kept trying to pay me for my labor, but for me, fixing everything Bubba screwed up was reward enough. It was a dead easy job- assuming that you have opposable thumbs, the correct parts, and the readily available reset information.
First off, the drain plug was extremely difficult to loosen; when I finally did break it loose I found that the plug was missing its copper sealing washer. Odds are that Bubba didn't see the washer fall off when he drained the oil; so when he reinstalled the plug without the washer it probably dripped- so he really cranked down on the drain plug to stop the leak. Idiot.
Next up was changing the filter. Bubba had used an off-brand cartridge which had plastic end caps(which were crumbling) and a filter medium that had started to distort. The correct BMW filter -manufactured by Mann of Germany- cost all of $10.85. The BMW filter also comes with a new drain plug sealing washer and a new o-ring for the oil filter housing cap. Anyway, I wiped out the filter housing as best I could, and I think I got 99.99% of the plastic bits from the worthless junk filter.
Finally, I poured in the requisite amount of Mobil 1 0W-40(prior to its losing LL-01 approval) and proceeded to reset the Oil Service light. Of course Bubba hadn't done that either, probably because he thought it needed a special tool. Wrong again; the indicator is reset using only the ignition switch and the odometer reset button. And it's not exactly proprietary information, either- just type "BMW X3 SIA reset" into almost any search engine...
My friend kept trying to pay me for my labor, but for me, fixing everything Bubba screwed up was reward enough. It was a dead easy job- assuming that you have opposable thumbs, the correct parts, and the readily available reset information.
1. I drove over a ramp once and had to use a jack to rescue the crushed ramp underneath the car.
2. On the same vehicle as above, this time the car didn't over shoot the ramp but then I realize the oil filter was too tight to loosen and there was no oil filter wrench. I had to get change and drove another car to get the right size oil filter wrench.
3. While letting the oil drain in the M3, I worked on taking out the cartridge oil filter in the engine bay. Then I pour the $15/L Castrol TWS into the engine until I hear some dripping noise from the oil pan. There was half of the new oil in the used oil.
4. The Mazda 3 was testing my patience, first of all the oil filter housing needs a special wrench to open. Then the front lip was way to low to drive on the ramp. However, the front jacking point was mindlessly put in a location inaccessible for a jack to use in the front. That means I have to jack once side up and put it on one jack stand and at one point during the process the whole weight of the car was on one jack stand and one wheel. Then I found out the shop who changed the oil over torque the drain bolt. By the time I close everything up, I have never cursed so much in a couple of hours.
5. Some genius replace the original oil drain plug in my Odyssey with an SAE hex. I didn't realize until the 17mm hex socket keeps slipping. I had to run to the store to buy an SAE socket. And yes, I did not have a metri & SAE sockets set.
2. On the same vehicle as above, this time the car didn't over shoot the ramp but then I realize the oil filter was too tight to loosen and there was no oil filter wrench. I had to get change and drove another car to get the right size oil filter wrench.
3. While letting the oil drain in the M3, I worked on taking out the cartridge oil filter in the engine bay. Then I pour the $15/L Castrol TWS into the engine until I hear some dripping noise from the oil pan. There was half of the new oil in the used oil.
4. The Mazda 3 was testing my patience, first of all the oil filter housing needs a special wrench to open. Then the front lip was way to low to drive on the ramp. However, the front jacking point was mindlessly put in a location inaccessible for a jack to use in the front. That means I have to jack once side up and put it on one jack stand and at one point during the process the whole weight of the car was on one jack stand and one wheel. Then I found out the shop who changed the oil over torque the drain bolt. By the time I close everything up, I have never cursed so much in a couple of hours.
5. Some genius replace the original oil drain plug in my Odyssey with an SAE hex. I didn't realize until the 17mm hex socket keeps slipping. I had to run to the store to buy an SAE socket. And yes, I did not have a metri & SAE sockets set.
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Originally Posted By: newbe46
1. I drove over a ramp once and had to use a jack to rescue the crushed ramp underneath the car.
I did that once, and have not used my ramps since!
Quote:
2. On the same vehicle as above, this time the car didn't over shoot the ramp but then I realize the oil filter was too tight to loosen and there was no oil filter wrench. I had to get change and drove another car to get the right size oil filter wrench.
I did my first at-home oil change on my outlander this weekend, and realised quickly that the dealership really got the filter on tiiight. No filter wrench, but I have used my giant channel-lock pliers in the past, and brought them to bear on the 6 month-old filter, which promptly crushed under the strain instead of turning. I finally had the idea to use a folded sheet of sandpaper and, after almost pulling a muscle in my leg no less, got that filter off. In my now-weakened state, I lost my grip on the filter as it came off the threads the splashed the waste oil all over me and the floor.
I'm glad the kids were in the house by that point.
1. I drove over a ramp once and had to use a jack to rescue the crushed ramp underneath the car.
I did that once, and have not used my ramps since!
Quote:
2. On the same vehicle as above, this time the car didn't over shoot the ramp but then I realize the oil filter was too tight to loosen and there was no oil filter wrench. I had to get change and drove another car to get the right size oil filter wrench.
I did my first at-home oil change on my outlander this weekend, and realised quickly that the dealership really got the filter on tiiight. No filter wrench, but I have used my giant channel-lock pliers in the past, and brought them to bear on the 6 month-old filter, which promptly crushed under the strain instead of turning. I finally had the idea to use a folded sheet of sandpaper and, after almost pulling a muscle in my leg no less, got that filter off. In my now-weakened state, I lost my grip on the filter as it came off the threads the splashed the waste oil all over me and the floor.
I'm glad the kids were in the house by that point.
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