How do I best only change a spin on filter without making a mess when keeping the same oil for a longer interval. In the past I always had a dealer or mechanic do my oil changes and both filter and oil would be replaced.
Perhaps a stupid novice question, but....
- Thread starter KenD
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You must be just changig the filter and not the oil - correct? Depending on were the filter is located and at what angle, just turn it slowly until it drip a steam of oil. Try to catch this in a pan. All you will loose is the oil that is in the filter, which is about 1/2 quart. The rest of the oil is in the pan. Put on your new filter with 1/2 qrt oil and you are done.
Thank you. I was under the false impression that removing the filter would cause a gusher and empty all or most of the oil in the entire crankcase.
Take an empty 2 liter plastic soda bottle and cut the bottom off. Loosten the filter slightly and then place the bottle over the filter. No mess.
After you break the filter loose you can put a larger zip-lock back over the filter and remove the filter without a mess. That is if it's not in a horribly difficult spot thought up by some sadistic engineer ![[Wink]](images/icons/wink.gif)
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Whimsey
[ June 04, 2004, 11:51 AM: Message edited by: Whimsey ]
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Whimsey
[ June 04, 2004, 11:51 AM: Message edited by: Whimsey ]On my wife's Aerostar 3.0 the filter is directly above the starter. Oil will drip down on the starter when I pull the filter. However, I found if you let the vehicle sit overnight so the oil is cool (and less flowable) and some of the excess has drained away from the filter mount area, there is very little mess. I belive I have pulled filters with not drippage this way, though that could have been winter when the oil would be really stiff.
Originally posted by TallPaul:
quote:Wow - ingenious design. What were they thinking? I've heard of some people that take a nail and a hammer and pierce a small hole on the bottom of the filter near the sidewall. Then twist the filter until the hole is at the lowest point. The oil will drain out of the hole away from the engine block, and neatly into a container you put there. If you do this, you want to drive the nail towards the base plate so that you don't put excessive side force on the mounting threads.
On my wife's Aerostar 3.0 the filter is directly above the starter
quote:I pulled the filter on my Ranger the other day for an Auto-RX cycle with similar results. First thing in the morning, all the oil was in the sump and cold. Didn't drip oil at all. MR
Originally posted by TallPaul: On my wife's Aerostar 3.0 the filter is directly above the starter. Oil will drip down on the starter when I pull the filter. However, I found if you let the vehicle sit overnight so the oil is cool (and less flowable) and some of the excess has drained away from the filter mount area, there is very little mess. I belive I have pulled filters with not drippage this way, though that could have been winter when the oil would be really stiff.
Yeah same on my VW Jetta, the oil filter is conveinently located facing the bottom. Always made a mess. I hammer a hole to let the oil drain out or twist the filter just a little to make the oil slide down the filter to the pan, works good. Guess you have to add some oil after chaning the filter. What car is this for? Because VW oil filters are good for like 10,000 miles. The filter I got MANN, says 30,000 miles.
quote:Yep. Long as the antidrainback valve is good it should work. The freezer bag or pop bottle idea is good too in case you need to change it hot, but on some vehicles those may be hard to do too. Oil filter over the starter is bad, but had a Chevy Citation once ('82 maybe) that dripped into the frame rail and then from there slowly dripped over a period of days. Made you think it had developed an oil leak.
Originally posted by MikeR: [QUOTE]I pulled the filter on my Ranger the other day for an Auto-RX cycle with similar results. First thing in the morning, all the oil was in the sump and cold. Didn't drip oil at all.
![[Mad]](images/icons/mad.gif){kind=icon}
My '00 Monte Carlo will drip oil all over the lower front suspension piece and the engine cradle if you're not careful. I've adopted the pop bottle technique, although I use a half-gallon plastic milk container instead. It works very nicely. No mess.
Most of the oil is in the oil pan, so you will lose little when changing just the filter.
Why change the filter? Look at the extended oil drain analyses. Most don't change the filter, and the tests are good. I've run 12,000 miles on the same oil and filter with good tests.
Ken
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