Post your oil change horror story!

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The idea behind this is that it can either be from mistakes made, a discovery of a problem in the oil itself, or anything else pertaining to that process. I'm starting this thread because of my most recent change that's making me feel like a complete hack.

It was the first change I've done for my '14 Impreza. The first two were free from the dealership, so I took advantage of those. So, whenever I'd done oil changes in the past, I could just slide underneath, because they were always trucks, but for this car, I used ramps.

Looking around, I'd read that very warm 0w-20 oil comes out of the drain on the quick side. Also, the drain plug does have an angle to it. I attempted to compensate for these, but not nearly enough as you will read.

I got this neat-o little cardboard funnel on it that has a high side to it and has two magnets, so it holds itself up. You pull the plug, and the stream of oil gets directed into the funnel and into the drain pan so you don't have to guess how far the stream will shoot out when attempting to place the drain pan.

Nope. I tried to loosen the plug to the point to where oil was flowing without the plug coming out completely, but that point didn't seem to exist. So the plug comes out, and here comes the oil. That cardboard funnel I thought was so clever became instantly overwhelmed by the flow of oil despite a large opening at the bottom, and not only filled up, but then one of the magnets came off because of the weight. So now the oil in the funnel is not directed towards the drain pan anymore, and it's spilling out the top. Oh yeah, the oil keeps coming out, of course, not really directed anywhere.

It was an unrecoverable situation. By the time I knew what was happening and trying to fix it, a few seconds had gone by, and most of the oil was out at that point. In then end, I probably got 3 quarts of used oil on the garage floor and maybe 2 in the pan. That's a generous estimate.

I've changed oil many times, but not always consistently on my own. When I have done it, I always play a game to see how little oil I could get on the cardboard I put down. You know how it is. But this totally overwhelmed me. Never had anything close to this happening before. There's something to be said for oil plugs that are oriented perpendicular to the ground as opposed to an angle, like this one.

I'm definitely going Fumoto, but I still have one more change here to do with the plug, obviously. Gotta devise a plan so I don't have a Valdez situation at my house again. That being said, the oil absorber stuff worked well, and there are no traces on my garage floor after letting that sit for about a week.

So... have a laugh at my expense and flame away. Anyone else have an interesting story?
 
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just use a large drain pan and put it on something to raise it up about 3-4"
(if car on ramps)
I use an empty case of oil with a concrete paver in it and some empty quarts so its stable and
this will minimize the distance it can go..
my forester is a few inches higher than your impreza.

the closest I had to an issue is when I dropped the oil drain plug in the pan and it plugged it... had to dive in the hot oil to get it out so I wouldnt get the other 3qt on floor.
(using enclosed oil drain pan)
 
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In the early '80's I was a pump jockey for a little while. I also did LOF's. I remember doing one on some sort of Mopar vehicle, and as I tightened the drain plug, my wrench slipped, and I hit the oil pressure sending unit. I was unaware that I had broken it, and when I started the car, there was a massive oil shower under it. Oil under pressure, even cold, will come out of the pump with quite a bit of force. I got it shut down before very much came out, maybe a quart, but the cleanup was a lot of fun.
 
In truth, I don't have a horror story, but a friend of mine did the first oil change on his then-new 2012 CR-V and drained the transmission fluid instead of the oil. He called and asked if the factory oil was red. I said that, to the best of my knowledge, it is not, but that the transmission fluid is. His response: "hmm." I told him to not worry: he's getting those break-in metals out of the engine AND out of the transmission! I still give him a friendly hard time about it.
 
Well my worste was a couple of months ago

Lost my 15mm socket for the drain plug so I had to go buy one (20 min drive)
Tried to get the plug out with my new socket but it wouldn't go on as the plug was rounded off from where I'd tried using a 16mm before, so I finally got it unscrewed with some grips
The oil filter wouldn't budge even though I only hand tighten them normally, so I went in for the old screwdriver trick, hammered one in, and me and the driveway got a nice oil shower but still couldn't get the filter off
After it was drained I realised I didn't have a plug to put back in now it was hacked to bits, and I had no oil in my car so I was stranded. I had to wait for my old man to turn up so I could borrow his car (3 hours)
Another 20 min drive later I got to the auto shop JUST as they were locking the door but they let me I'm as they could see my desperation! Grabbed a new plug and filter grips ($25) and off I went
Finally managed to get it done but It cost me about 4 hours, $25 and I ended up being 15 minutes late to my nightshift
 
The first oil change I did was on the Burb two years ago. I misjudged the placement of the drain pan and got maybe 1-1.5 qt on the sloped driveway. Simple Green did a decent job of cleaning it up.

I've read some pretty bad stories here, including people knocking over full drain pans on their un-sealed driveways.
 
That story made me chuckle. It's always fun figuring out the necessary strategies for a "spill and splatter free" oil change on a "new" vehicle.

As soon as you mentioned the magnets on the funnel I guessed what was gonna happen
smile.gif


I've been lucky enough so far not to have any real oil change horror stories. Surely that will change soon enough.
 
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The worst thing that's happened to me is spilling a couple of quarts trying to transfer oil from one of those flimsy, cheapo pans you can pick up at Autozone to a closed, sealable container.

I've since upgraded to a rigid plastic pan with fancy built-in spout, making spills nearly impossible.
 
Changing the oil on my 89 Accord, I was in high school at the time, I cut my finger open to the tendon. Had to drive myself to the hospital with my mom as a passenger, she couldn't drive a stick. Was expensive but hospital wrote off most of it as charity. Now I check to see where my appendages will end up when breaking loose a nut/bolt. I will probably never make up the savings on DIY oil changes due to that event.
 
Had multiple drain plugs fall into the drain pan full of hot oil, and then had to go fishing
Trolling.gif


Had many oil filters in awkward locations, full of oil, hot oil, and now slippery because they're now covered in oil and my butter fingers always seem to make it splash in the drain pan. Fun times.

And agreed with a post above, those cheapo drain pans are awful and ALWAYS spill when pouring into your disposal jug.
 
thunderfrog, that's Pretty similar to my Worst.
This is the pan i have.(not My Pics, Borrowed from amazon)
71dncY7cFML.jpg
61hvhkq8IqL.jpg


after a few uses the little cage over the drain hole (to keep thing like drain plugs from going down the rabbit hole)broke off, and I had the Brilliant Idea to put a Sink Strainer of the right size in there to do the same thing.
41waW9KL1ZL._SL500_SS75_.jpg


BAD IDEA. it Didn't allow the oil to flow fast enough, and like your cardboard Funnel, Backed up, and runneth over, all over his slab.(on the alley behind his house, he parks on the footer/slab where there used to be a garage once upon a time.)

of the 4.5qts in the car, I collected MAYBE 1.5-2 qts..
and even though they have 4 cats, he didn't have any unused Litter to spread. I had a 1/2 gal bottle of "LA's Totally Awesome!" with me, and poured it out as well as i could to cover the area.

and of course this was a rush job, b/c he forgot he was supposed to be @ the airport, Picking up his MIL, flying back from a trip over seas. (he remembered as i was undoing the drain plug...)

If My car hadn't been Filled w/bulky interior parts I had just Picked up @ the local Pic-n-Pull, I would have of course just sent him off with it, and met up at her house to trade vehicles back.

next time i was down,(9 mos, and a polar vortex later) you couldn't even tell oil had been spilled.

Amazon link for LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner if you're not familiar with it.
Holy [censored]! $20 on amazon, this same Bottle is $3 @ Dollar General.
 
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Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
The first oil change I did was on the Burb two years ago. I misjudged the placement of the drain pan and got maybe 1-1.5 qt on the sloped driveway. Simple Green did a decent job of cleaning it up.


Happened to me when I did the first oil change on my 02 5.3L. If they switched the positions of the oil drain bolt and oil filter it would be less of a hassle.
 
Originally Posted By: Mykl
The worst thing that's happened to me is spilling a couple of quarts trying to transfer oil from one of those flimsy, cheapo pans you can pick up at Autozone to a closed, sealable container.



That's always where I make a mess - when its least expected and the job is done and I'm just putting away the old oil. I knock the jug over, or a gust of wind blows oil all over the jug, or I trip on something and some splashes out, etc.

On my own cars, I can change the oil without getting a single drop anywhere it doesn't belong. But I absolutely HATE pouring the old oil back into the jug!
 
I got in a hurry once and forgot to pull out the oil catch pan completely from under the truck.

I backed over the spout area, the pan flipped and the oil splashed, when I backed up enough I saw the carnage. Oil on the truck tire. Oil splashed around. Oil in a big puddle under my can't-find-anymore oil pan. (facepalm.jpg)

I was able to quickly distribute oil-dry and paper towels. Total cleanup took several applications of large amounts of Dawn dishsoap and scrubbing. The oil catch pan was scrubbed and cleaned enough to heat/reshape/apply silicon goo and fix. I've had that pan since 1985, and it's totally awesome.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
I got in a hurry once and forgot to pull out the oil catch pan completely from under the truck.

I backed over the spout area, the pan flipped and the oil splashed, when I backed up enough I saw the carnage. Oil on the truck tire. Oil splashed around. Oil in a big puddle under my can't-find-anymore oil pan. (facepalm.jpg)

I was able to quickly distribute oil-dry and paper towels. Total cleanup took several applications of large amounts of Dawn dishsoap and scrubbing. The oil catch pan was scrubbed and cleaned enough to heat/reshape/apply silicon goo and fix. I've had that pan since 1985, and it's totally awesome.


I backed down onto my oil drain pan with my Acura before. Sadly, the oil filter was still on top of the pan (it has a flat top surface with just a drain hole) and it slightly dented my oil pan.
 
Originally Posted By: thunderfog
The idea behind this is that it can either be from mistakes made, a discovery of a problem in the oil itself, or anything else pertaining to that process. I'm starting this thread because of my most recent change that's making me feel like a complete hack.

It was the first change I've done for my '14 Impreza. The first two were free from the dealership, so I took advantage of those. So, whenever I'd done oil changes in the past, I could just slide underneath, because they were always trucks, but for this car, I used ramps.

Looking around, I'd read that very warm 0w-20 oil comes out of the drain on the quick side. Also, the drain plug does have an angle to it. I attempted to compensate for these, but not nearly enough as you will read.

I got this neat-o little cardboard funnel on it that has a high side to it and has two magnets, so it holds itself up. You pull the plug, and the stream of oil gets directed into the funnel and into the drain pan so you don't have to guess how far the stream will shoot out when attempting to place the drain pan.

Nope. I tried to loosen the plug to the point to where oil was flowing without the plug coming out completely, but that point didn't seem to exist. So the plug comes out, and here comes the oil. That cardboard funnel I thought was so clever became instantly overwhelmed by the flow of oil despite a large opening at the bottom, and not only filled up, but then one of the magnets came off because of the weight. So now the oil in the funnel is not directed towards the drain pan anymore, and it's spilling out the top. Oh yeah, the oil keeps coming out, of course, not really directed anywhere.

It was an unrecoverable situation. By the time I knew what was happening and trying to fix it, a few seconds had gone by, and most of the oil was out at that point. In then end, I probably got 3 quarts of used oil on the garage floor and maybe 2 in the pan. That's a generous estimate.

I've changed oil many times, but not always consistently on my own. When I have done it, I always play a game to see how little oil I could get on the cardboard I put down. You know how it is. But this totally overwhelmed me. Never had anything close to this happening before. There's something to be said for oil plugs that are oriented perpendicular to the ground as opposed to an angle, like this one.

I'm definitely going Fumoto, but I still have one more change here to do with the plug, obviously. Gotta devise a plan so I don't have a Valdez situation at my house again. That being said, the oil absorber stuff worked well, and there are no traces on my garage floor after letting that sit for about a week.

So... have a laugh at my expense and flame away. Anyone else have an interesting story?


I use an oil extractor, no more spills.
 
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