Oil handling procedures - Do you practice them?

[Vern_in_IL]

I use the same funnel for oil and my blasting glass bead tank. just wipe it off with a microfiber, GTG!

 

[carviewsonic]

I store cleaned funnels in clean plastic bags and wipe down oil jug before adding oil. Oil changes are done in my garage with the door closed in case of a dusty gust of wind.

 

[CR94]

I learned to change oil from my father long ago. He wasn't especially ambitious with more complex automotive repair projects, but he did change oil. He was very fastidious about keeping oil going into an engine clean, even wiping every particle of sludge out of the filter housing.

When engine oil was primarily sold by the quart, I didn't need a funnel to pour into my Mazda. With it now sold in more cumbersome containers, I need a funnel---and do even for quarts to pour into the Toyota. I use a funnel no larger than necessary, to minimize risk of wind-blown junk entering the funnel. Wipe the funnel clean before and after use, and store it upside-down indoors in a closet, nested between larger and smaller ones of the same set. This car needs a weird-shaped funnel; my conventional one barely works.

 

[scotty.honda.dog]

I admit to being one of the weirdos that swirls and shakes the oil jug/bottle before opening to make sure all the additives are suspended.

I do let my oil funnel drip down, wipe as best I can and store in a plastic bag. Visual inspection and blow out before using.

 

[paulo57509]

I wash the funnel(s) with whatever cleaner is handy, Simple Green, Dawn, 409, etc. Wipe or air dry and store it in the drain pan which has also been washed clean and dried.

The funnel gets rinsed and dried again, immediately before it's next use. Between storage and use, it collects dust and who knows what else.

If a new oil container has been sitting around collecting dust, etc., I put it in the sink and rinse and dry it before opening. Otherwise, I just dry wipe it.

 

[Brice]

Isn’t this similar to the argument for not pre-filling an oil filter? You are pouring new oil into the filter but it does not bypass the media and then flows directly into your engine.

 

[DGXR]

Never gave oil hygiene much thought since I do the best I can, in my mind anyway LOL. All oil change tools (funnel, drain pan, rack for draining filter) are stored in a box, on a covered shelf, under a towel. Not much dust collects between services but I do wipe and blow out the funnel before using it to add fresh oil. The pan drips for 24-36 hours after services so there's nearly nothing left. Also I thoroughly shake all oils before adding, and oils in the stash get a quick shake every 3 months or so. Never had an issue with engine oil / filter or engine wear on any of my vehicles.

 

[brianl703]

I make a funnel out of a soda pop or water bottle. Then throw it away when I'm done.

If it was clean enough to drink out of...

 

[Malo83]

Nothing special here, no gloves all bare handed, wipe the funnel before using and I also shake the bottles before pouring. Let the car drain for about 20 min's, enough time to polish off a bottle of Modelo beer.

 

[garageman402]

I do have 5 quart Oil Safe Dispensers, yellow for motor oil & red for ATF, which I keep covered up with a plastic bag with the lid slightly loose when not in use. Any funnel required is stored in a Ziplock bag. Bottles shaken before poured into the dispenser.

 

[Blueshound]

 

[supton]

Shoot it with some brake cleaner, wipe off, use. 'cept if draining waste oil back into the container for disposal, then I don't bother cleaning the funnel. When done, it sits in a pan, waiting for next use--no ziplock baggies here, gets used once a month or so, doesn't seem that dirty.

 

[addyguy]

I just wipe funnels out well with paper towel before and after use, but I don’t ‘clean’ them with anything.

 

[TiGeo]

I keep my fluid changing supplies clean and stored. Clean meaning that I wipe them out.

 

[dumkid]

brakecleen and rag or no funnel at all, and I keep my clean oil well sealed. the pans for dirty oil though, those are nasty and I can't re use any coolant or anything that's been in those pans because it now has sand, glitter, oil, and dead bugs in it.

 

[BHopkins]

@Foxtrot08 , thanks for posting. I missed this when you started the discussion. It is nice to see that others give the importance of not introducing contaminates when adding fresh oil to an engine. It is amazing to see how clean the oil dispensing room is, shown in the picture you shared.

Even though I clean my shop filters with a towel after use, I clean and inspect them again before use. Before removing the oil fill cap on an engine, I'll clean around it with a shop towel. And when using containers of oil that have set in the garage for a while, I'll wipe the dust off the top before opening the container.

These are the sort of things that will stress me out, once I'm too old to do my own car maintenance, and I have to trust my cars to someone who may, or may not, care.

 

[dbias]

I let my funnel set in the cleaned drain pan upside down until I need it and wipe it out with a blue shop towel before use.
I change oil outside in my driveway no matter which way the wind is blowing. I’ve even changed it during a full moon.

 

[spasm3]

I wipe my funnels then spray them out with carb cleaner. They go in a plastic bin in my garage cabinet.

 

[SaberOne]

When I was young and flexible as a monkey, I did my own oil changes, but I was klutzy and spilled oil everywhere. Never did properly dispose of it or used gloves. Now that I’m old and rickety, I just buy my own oil of preference, and take it down to the local Lube Pit and them deal with it.

 

[RDMgr]

Corrosive wear - after all, you have fluid moving in a system. It's going to cause wear, as there are naturally tight bends in any lubrication system. If you push a fluid through a crevice long enough, it's going to make a bigger hole. As well, we're playing with components that could have different polarities, metal types, etc.

You also have essentially mechanical obsolesces. When a part just can't take anymore. It's tolerances go out.

And finally, simply, "breakage" - Things just break for any number of reasons.

Isn't corrosion surface damage due to chemical or electrochemical activity and erosive wear due to high velocity fluids especially those containing particles?