Tips for Changing Oil Filter?

[camrycurt]

Hey guys,

Here's a simple question for you: Does anyone have any tips for how to change the oil filter in a '99 wagon with the Duratec engine without getting a face and arm full of oil?

I'm no mechanic, but I have half a brain and have changed the oil in all of my cars so this shouldn't be this difficult for me, but I've changed the oil twice now in this car and both times I get oil all down my arm and splashed everywhere from reaching up to get at the filter. Obviously, I'm reaching the filter from below - it seemed much easier to get at it that way than trying to come down from above.

Anyway, I thought maybe some of you might have some tips to share that would spare me the oil bath every time I change the oil.

Thanks in advance for any help!
Curt

[65comet]

The last time I changed mine I did it in the driveway instead of the garage. It has a pretty good incline heading up to the garage. Heavily blocking the rear tires I jacked up the front end to get easy access. Took out the drain plug and let it go for a half hour while I did other stuff. With the greater incline to the filter, more of its oil went out back into the engine. I still used a oil filter wrench to take a couple of turns off the filter and let it drain a little before taking all the way off. I also have a milk jug that I cut to just have a simple L shape of two flats and a curve that I put over the front suspension under the filter so that the oil that drains out of the filter doesn't get all over it. If you don't do that, then when you go down the road the next few days, oil splashes onto your front exhaust from where it might have collected there and you smell it burning. Gets you worried that you have a leak when there isn't one.

[umina]

If you need a filter wrench to take off the filter, you put it on too tight in the first place. They should only be hand tight and removable by hand. I've found that as long as I drain the pan first, and then do the oil filter, only a little bit drips down, and I keep the drain pan under where the filter comes down. Wipe it off with some shop towels, and presto, good as new!! And make sure before you put the new filter in, dip your finger in the used oil and use it to coat the rubber gasket seal and threads of the new filter. This will make removing it by hand next time sooo much easier. Good luck!!

[65comet]

If you don't have an oil filter wrench and someone else changed the oil before you and overtightened the filter installing it, try wrapping a piece of sandpaper around the filter to get a better grip. I have a piece wrapped on the inside of my wrench to give it a good grip in removing the filter each time. I always use the wrench in removing, have had too many busted or scrapped knuckles when trying without it on a tight or slick from gunk filter. Many years ago the seal on the filters wasn't as pliable as they are today, so you'd use the wrench to also put the filter on. As Umina points out, just use your hand to tighten. The problem is there are still enough of us old farts around that are cranking on the filters with a wrench, not knowing about the improvements.

[road_rascal]

I end up getting some oil on me no matter how careful I am. I have a '99 24V and an '01 Windstar and the oil filters are not in an ideal location. I wear elbow length rubber gloves when doing the job to minimize getting oil on my skin.

[bruker]

Originally Posted by Huney1

I loosen it up good, put the drain pan under the filter and crank the engine and let it run about 15 seconds and turn it off and never take the oil drain plug out. That pretty well gets all the old oil out and I put on the new filter and put the new oil in and off we go.

Remind me to never let you change my oil...

[brokenantimatter]

Carry it to shop and pay the 30 bucks, quit being a cheap ass and running the risk of damaging your car. If you can't afford the 30 bucks then walk you have no buisness driving a car.

[way2old]

Be nice gentlemen.

[MikeD2]

I wouldn't invite brokenantimatter to any parties. Enjoy your pool Huney & have a great weekend.

[brokenantimatter]

Huney I love you and my comment weren't directed at you they were in general.

Originally Posted by Huney1

Sir, this ain't my first rodeo. I am 65 and have been changing oil in that manner for many, many years and never damaged any of the 15 cars or trucks I have owned.

Pray tell, what is 'cheap' about the manner in which I change my oil? I use a good filter and change it every time and use fully synthetic oil. I loosen the OLD filter and pump out the old oil, put the new filter on, put fresh oil in and I'm off to the races. No fuss, no muss, no hassel and I use paper towels to take the old filter off, so I get little to no oil on my finger tips. I usually have to put about four and a half quarts in, so I'm getting most of the old oil out. But, I never put the oil up to the full mark and always leave it half way up the cross hatch area which means it's half a quart low. No, that will not burn up the engine.

I said I take the 05 Marquis to the Ford place because the filter is difficult to get to and it is still under warranty. However, accessing the Taurus Vulcan filter is a piece of cake. BTW, if you're paying $30. for an oil change you're getting ripped off. Local Ford dealer has a, "buy two get one free deal," where we pay $28. for the first oil change and the next one is free and tire rotation $14.00 pepperonis.

We charge 35 at my shop and do tire rotations for free.

Originally Posted by Huney1

I'm cheap and can't afford $30. ? ? ? LOL! If you only knew . . . The wife said I could get a play toy car and trying to decide on a Lotus Elise or a Civic Si with the 197 HP engine.

I myself am about to invest in a Panzo Esperante or 7.5L (460) Cobra Kit car.

Originally Posted by Huney1

My eye sight not good as it use to be, couldn't pass my flight physical and sold our Cessna 182 Skylane.

I was a millwright for 22 years but a nasty mix of plasma cutting and a chemical spill took away a good amount of my eyesight before I was 45. So I do feel for you, it is heart breaking when you can no longer do what you love.

Originally Posted by Huney1

Smart yes, cheap, definitely not.There is no school or university you can attend to learn wisdom because it is only learned with age and experience. Try changing your oil like that sometime and you'll see just how easy and mess free it is.

Sir I helped open one of the more noted Mechanic and Restoration shops in not just Dallas but in the entire World.

Originally Posted by Huney1

If you let it run until the lifters and oil gallies run dry, then yes, you could do serious damage to an engine. However, running it FIFTEEN seconds has never damaged any of mine and I when I was 15 years old had my first Ford Y block V8 Customline stick shift and OD.

When I was 15 I was running pit crew for Carroll Shelby and Madison Gibson.

Originally Posted by Huney1

Relatives coming from out of town so have to vacuum the pool and get the chemicals right while it's still cool. Calling for 100F heat index and 60% humidity today and at my age when it get hot like that I like to kick back under the umbrella and cool my heels with a nice big glass of cold ice tea and watch the young'ns try to drown each other.

Have fun.

[drdisque]

I've seen more shops screw up cars while changing the oil than owners.

[Huney1]

"I've seen more shops screw up cars while changing the oil than owners."

Sad but oh so true. Most common error seems to be cross threading the drain plug and overfilling the crankcase. I have the Marquis serviced by Ford but I double check the oil level and they always overfill it and have to take it back and let half a quart or so out. I always tell the service writer, "I want the oil level half way up the crosshatch area on the dipstick, not up to the full mark, so leave it half a quart low." Sure as shootin' it's always up over full to the dot, or above the dot and they always have to let some oil out. Way I do it I should be able to change it for another five years or so then have to let a shop or my neighbor do it.

Okey Dokey then, ya'll have a super 4th of July week end.

[Huney1]

"I myself am about to invest in a Panzo Esperante or 7.5L (460) Cobra Kit car." Way, way to much HP for me to handle and when you get my age you'll see your reaction times slow down, which is another reason I sold the 182 Skylane.

I looked at the Lotus and love the design of a 100% pure driving machine, but I also like bells and whistles, but no cruise control and the seats are not at all comfortable for my boney ole hiney sort'a turned me off. The Civic Si is just my cup of tea, drove one and understand why it has such rave reviews. Unfortunately I must have an auto tranny because my old knee doesn't take kindly to pushing in the clutch, but I love winding it out in Lo then slipping it in Drive. Man, that baby redlines at 8500 RPM's and I love to hear the engine scream.

I didn't know you had so many unique qualifications, but I immediately picked up on your being a very bright, knowledgable person and I look forward to learning a lot from you. Wife says les' eat so I'm out'a here. Peace, Luv, Dove from a wild old Hippie.

[zombie13]

Originally Posted by Huney1

"I've seen more shops screw up cars while changing the oil than owners."

"I want the oil level half way up the crosshatch area on the dipstick, not up to the full mark, so leave it half a quart low."

Why do you leave it half a quart low?

(Sorry if that is a stupid question)

Z.

[Huney1]

"Why do you leave it half a quart low?"
Just an old idiosyncrasy of mine relating to overfilled crankcase. Most engines have a built in safety factor and will run on three quarts OK. Engines with no oil pump, (like a Briggs lawn mower engine), have "splash" lubrication where there's a little protrusion from the crankshaft that actually hits the oil in the sump and "splashes" it on the bearings, piston & cylinder wall(s). Extremely important they not be overfilled or the oil gets whipped to an air laden milk shake and air does not a good lubricant make. Same goes for car engine, overfill it and it gets the milkshake syndrome to.

I went to a Briggs maintenance school and surprised to learn the number one cause of Briggs engine failure is oil level to low, oil doesn't gets splashed and engine burns up.

Hmmm . . .. I was Googling to find info for you and chanced upon this:
Fully Synthetic Characteristics.
0W-30 Enchances engine peformance and power.
0W-40 Ensures engine is protected from wear and deposit build up.
5W-40 Ensures good cold starting and quick circulation in freezing temperatures. Gets to moving parts of the engine quickly.

Semi Synthetic
5W-30 Better protection
10W-40 Good protection within the first 10 minutes after starting out
15W-40 Roughly three times better at reducing engine wear
Increased oil change intervals - don't need to change it quite so often.

WOW! I didn't know that about 15W-40 and it gets so cotton pickin' hot here I reckon I better go by WallyWorld and pick up some Shell Rotella T 15W-40 diesel oil. Yes, you can run diesel oil in a gas engine no sweat. Only difference is it contains a better additative package, (more detergent), to keep inside the diesel engine clean.

This verification from the Castrol website:

"The API classifications are different for petrol and diesel engines:

• For petrol, listings start with 'S' (meaning Service category, but you can also think of it as Spark-plug ignition), followed by another code to denote standard. 'SM' is the current top grade, which recently replaced 'SL' and 'SH'. 'SH' will be found on most expensive oils, and almost all the new synthetics. It's basically an upgraded 'SG' oil which has been tested more sternly.
• For diesel oils, the first letter is 'C' (meaning Commercial category, but you can also think of it as Compression ignition). 'CH' is the highest grade at the moment, (technically CH-4 for heavy-duty) but 'CF' is the most popular and is well adequate for passenger vehicle applications."

Look on the container at the API circle and you see only SM don't use it in a diesel, but you see SM-CH it's good for diesel or gas engines. See? Piece of cake. ;-)