Oil change disaster ........

For reasons I am too embarrassed to admit I have just changed my oil but been forced to abort the filter change and put back the original and filthy oil filter. I now have the correct new filter and am wondering about the possibility of just replacing the oil filter without draining the new oil. Is this possible or will I end up losing most of the oil and making a hideous mess of my garage ?

Cheers

Dave

fill the new filter with oil first - then wrap a plastic bag around the old filter to catch the oil as it drips when you change it quickly

and if yer really feeling tight have a drip tray handy

Yeah it should be OK, in this situation if a cheapy filter with no non-return valve is fitted it will save a lot of mess as it means its not holding all the oil from the galleries above it...

As Sean says do it quickly, a plastic bag is a good idea, OR even better a plastic milk carton with the top cut off. Push that up over the filter and unscrew, because its ridgid when it fills with oil it won't then run down the sides making them heavy, then causing them to fall back on you and you end up with the oil being directed down your arm.

Do it on a friends driveway
Put some old cardboard down on the floor to catch any spillage.
When finished take your motor to the local garage and pressure wash the remaining oil off your engine.
The oil in the sump wont leak, just any that is in the upper galleries but we're not talking gallons here.

Guys

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I tried the plastic bag technique and it turned out that no oil spilled at all ( probably as I hadn't started the engine since changing the oil and also left the car overnight so the sump was probly full ). Yesterday during the initial oil change I managed to get the stuff in my eyes, in my right ear, in my hair, all up my arms etc. Probably gonna develop cancer later today ........

The embarrassing mistake was that I had forgotten that I had both an oil AND fuel filter on the shelf and was trying to fit the fuel filter in error. Doesn't go, however hard you try !!!!!

Cheers

Dave

davesh said:

Guys

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I tried the plastic bag technique and it turned out that no oil spilled at all ( probably as I hadn't started the engine since changing the oil and also left the car overnight so the sump was probly full ). Yesterday during the initial oil change I managed to get the stuff in my eyes, in my right ear, in my hair, all up my arms etc. Probably gonna develop cancer later today ........

The embarrassing mistake was that I had forgotten that I had both an oil AND fuel filter on the shelf and was trying to fit the fuel filter in error. Doesn't go, however hard you try !!!!!

Cheers

Dave

Click to expand...

every day is a day in school Dave

it'll be a piece of **** to you next time

the first time i changed the oil on my defender was after work

i put it up on the ramp and got the oil draining out after flushing it for about 30 minutes

i was just undoing the oil filter slowly as i didn't want to drop it

i did drop it and failed in my attempts to catch it, it bounced off the diff and then onto the floor which then spun it round spraying oil all over me, the floor and the diagnostic machine

we had also run out of absorbant granules so i had to clean it up with paper towells and brake cleaner

oil change 20 minutes
clean up operation 45 minutes

for everything else there's mastercard