Any oil change mistakes?

[Axe Man]

My blunder wasn't as dramatic but embarrassing none the less.

It was my first oil change. An uncoordinated 17 year old. At that time tools and I were a deadly combination. But I was bound and determined that I was gonna do an oil change and do it successfully. The victim was a 1964 Chevy Corvair.

I purchased the oil and filter. I recall the oil was in those old metal containers. Don't remember if they were 4 qt or 2 qt containers.

Drained oil, removed filter. On the Corvair the filter was top side so it was easy.

Did everything right. Installed new filter. Added oil. Started it up. Checked for leaks. Checked level after shutdown. I was pleased as punch. Then my father came over to survey my work.

He picked up one of the empty oil containers and looked at it. Then he said "Do the oil change again, you are going to ruin the engine". I had purchased cheapo no-name SAE 10. It was Summer.

 

[Laminar Lou]

I recently did a ATF swap out using the "disconnect the cooler send line and run the engine in park until 2 qts comes out, then fill and repeat" routine. Except I put the return line into the bucket instead of the send line. It's amazing how fast the tranny can pump ATF onto the garage floor in 10 seconds.

 

[Anduril]

I was changing the oil on my (originally my mom's, now hers again) 2002 Corolla in shop class and I finished and it was time to go to lunch so I shut the hood real quickly and left. When I got back, I decided to check the level again on the (now warm) engine, and there was the funnel I used to pour the oil, crushed between the valve cover and the hood. Long story short, I owed the shop teacher a new funnel, but the good news is the oil cap was somehow sitting right on top of the engine where I had left it.

And, although not technically my mistake, when I told my girlfriend she was overdue for an oil change, her response was something to the effect of "why do I need that, it's not burning any."

 

[Colt45ws]

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I was changing the oil on my BMW one day, finished everything up, oil plug tight, filter in the canister nice and snug, topped off with 7 quarts of mobil 1. Just back her down the ramps, well, i here and feel something as i come down the ramps, i get out to check, yeah, i rolled over the drain pan with 7 qts of oil in it from my car, oil all over my driveway

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Seems like this is a common one, I did it too. I used to take an empty gallon milk jug and put a funnel into it to catch the used oil. My dad had *just* put in a new blacktop driveway and that's when I backed down off the ramps onto the milk jug/funnel assembly. I didn't know I had done it for a while until I saw the puddle streaming out from underneath the car. That was not good.

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Yup, Ive done that too, with my moms saturn. Had to buy a new drain pan. I also drove her car over the ramps the next time since it was a manual, didnt do any damage but it scared the #@$%! out of me.

 

[Doc8404]

not an oil change, but an oil added story...
added oil to my galant, drove down the road, hit the brakes in a banking turn and started to smoke like crazy...thought it was steam at first, thinking "this sucks, 300 miles from home"

well, there was the oil cap, sitting on top of the valve cover, with the engine spewing oil all over the place....one thing i learned, that top end surely gets enough oil!

 

[Matt89]

After changing oil on my '98 Civic I slammed the hood down...right on my flashlight. Worst part was that the flashlight sort of wedged it so that the hood latched but was under so much tension I couldn't unlatch it!

Took awhile and some busted knuckles to slide the flashlight out from under there. My wife and I agreed never to discuss it.

 

[HawkeyeScott]

A few years ago, a buddy of mine had his Jeep go down for a few days. So I let him borrow my old Wagoneer. That meant topping it off with oil before I let him have it. The next day, I couldn't find my work-issued cell phone. Then, two days later, my boss comes to me and tells me somebody found my work phone, in a town 12 miles away.

Turns out, I'd set the phone down under the hood when I added the oil. My buddy drove it to his hometown, 12 miles away, before it finally fell out. Someone found it and turned it in. No harm no foul, right? At least in my mind. My boss wasn't all that enthused.

 

[mjk]

Not a huge deal, but this only could happen to me.

I am changing my oil this morning. It is not well lit in the garage, and cloudy outside, so I am using my mini-mag flashlight to help me see when I am pouring the Maxlife in. I have the flashlight in my mouth, and end up dropping it.

I am figuring it landed underneath my car...no big deal. Of course not, the flashlight ended up dropping in my pan of oil that is still sitting underneath my car.

I drain my pan, and see that even after being submerged in oil for a few minutes, it is still working.

Will be cleaning it up more later today, but after repeatedly turning it on/off, it seems to be working fine (for the time being).

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
when i was at work i grabbed the wrong filter for a hyundai. on our parts number system, the one for a hyundai takes a 70058, i grabbed a 70059. to make it more confusing, our filters also have purolator numbers on them, and the 70058 ends in 59, and the 70059 ends in 60. these filters are identical size, and same threads, just different gaskets. i grabbed the wrong one because A) i looked at the wrong filter, and B) i had a customer talk to me, which btw is one of the most annoying things you can possibly do when someone is working on your car. so anyway, the filter spins on fine and i tighten everything up and fill it with oil. then i start it up and see that the oil light isnt going out, i turn the car off adn see a nice puddle underneath.

only other time ive ever screwed up, i again had someone talking to me, and i forgot to put oil back in a lincoln continental 4.6L. started it up and heard the ticking right away and new what happened.

after those 2, i ahve a rule that noone is allowed to talk to me while im working on a car. if the owner starts talking i just tell them to please talk to someone else as it throws me off.
you have it easy. if the phone rings i gotta answer it.if a customer shows up i gotta stop what im doing and deal with them