Quote:
Originally Posted by rockfan4
I changed the oil in the wife's car tonight.
For years, I've been struggling with spilling oil on the driveway. At first I thought it was splashing out of the pan, but now I think there's a crack in the bottom of the pan I've been using. I also hate emptying that pan into a container to take to the recycling place. It always seems to spill.
I went to the farm store and bought a 5 gallon pan with a spout on the end. The car barely covers the bottom of it, but there's no splashing, no muss, no fuss, and it's easy to empty. Should have done that years ago. My only concern is that it's plastic.
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I changed the oil in my wife's car today too. Messiest oil change I've ever done. I started out hoping to just suck the oil out and not change the filter as I really didn't want to get down on the cold concrete. Couldn't get the hose for the Mityvac all the way down to the bottom of the pan, so only got one qt out before crying UNCLE. I jacked up the front end and put the front wheels on stacked two by fours. Went to get the drain pan and.....it already had oil in it!
I guess I never got around to taking it to PEP Boys for recycling last time I did a change. I only change our oil once a year cause we don't drive much now being retired.
So, I grab my big ol' pan similar to what you describe, open for all the drippings to drop in and a spout to empty it. Well....I get the oil filter loose and start to unscrew it and oil is dripping down my arm and my latex glove won't let me turn the filter as it's covered in slippery oil and more oil is dripping down the side of the pan and it's in the way since it's so tall compared to my other pan and oil is dripping all over the cardboard I'm laying on and it's just getting out of control....at least it's cold oil as I didn't start the engine to warm it up.
See, there's a bright side to everything, right?
So I get all the oil drained and now the wind picks up and blows the last remaining dribble all over the place.
I finally get it all buttoned up and my wife says 'You're too old to do this now, you need to pay someone to do it next time.'
At least I know it was done correctly, all the little cover bolts are back where they belong, the plug is torqued good and the filter is snug enough.
Next time I'll just plan on doing it when she's not around.