Hot Rods Florida man changes his oil. Chaos ensues.

Today, armed with good intentions and a box of nitril exam gloves, 5 quarts of Rotella 15W40, a new oil filter and a bottle of STP additive, I set about changing the oil in the DeSoto Hemi in the roadster. Predictably, I got oil all over my driveway, spilled more in the gravel beside it dumping oil into the plastic jug from the drain pan, and made general mess of the job. I also managed to break the dipstick tube off at the block, but I suspect that was the result of 75 years of wobbling around.
But, it’s done. And, I have new valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals and valve cover clamps to slow the oil leak from them.

 

You didn’t do it in your garage?

 

sounds like a traditional oil change...

 

Garage? What garage?

 

The only thing that went right was that I didn’t have oil dripping off my elbow or get any in my hair.

 

And I thought you and I didn't have anything in common. Oil in the driveway, who'd have thunk it?

 

Oil I do ok. Antifreeze another story..

 

I love it when the wind kicks up just as the last of the oil is draining out and blows it past the pan

 

Didnt happen without photos of the mess !

 

Two fluids I ABSOLUTELY HATE are drain oil and used antifreeze. They both seem imbued with the innate ability to escape from any container, vessel, or receptacle designed hold them and make an absolute mess whenever we endeavor to manipulate them to our ends. For at least the last forty years, I have always used the local commercial establishment to handle them. One lone exception was my race car because they seemed a bit better-behaved in its presence. It may also help explain why I had to quit racing about 20 years ago.

 

That’s why God invented gravel driveways.

Actually, I started bringing my late models to the dealer for routine oil changes. It’s been costing $40-46 and I don’t have to dispose of the used oil, or take a hot soapy shower.

I still do the hot rods, though, but they don’t get many miles, so it’s five year drain intervals for them.

 

Sounds like SOP for myself. Every time I get under and remove the plug, I get oil all over my hands and never have a rag or shop towels within reach and every time I say next time bring some under the vehicle with me. lol!

 

My new truck fills the pan all the way up to the edge. That zero weight oil is to darn thin. I ain't no juggler.

 

Man, I love that roadster!!

 

Understanding and tolerant neighbors would be a plus in this situation.
“Edgar, look! that man’s doing it AGAIN! We need an HOA! Go talk to him. Damn hot rodders!”

 

Wow. I thought I ****ed at this job. Turns out, I'm a Master Mechanic after all. You guys ever work on cars before?

 

Sounds like a success in my world.

 

Apologies for Hi-Jack
HOO boy I can't begin to estimate the number of changes that I've done.
My step Dad took me in hand and showed me the ins and outs of L-O-F.
This was sometime in middle school. Over the years, I logged 16 in repair and service.
Last Winter ( Wife's DD ) I could not budge the filter. It began to crush under pressure.
( Installed at the factory ) Having been and chopped my way out this on a truck, once before,
I called the local Dippy Lube.
Gave their guy an $8 dollar tip and napped on their lounge sofa,
listening to the tip tippy tap tap of chisel on mount plate.
Thanks @flynbrian48

 

Great stories everyone and I can relate to all of them... Beautiful Roadster @flynbrian48 .

 

Is your last name Murphy by any chance?

 

My worst fiasco with changing oil involved the first 911 that I owned. My Dad taught me to run the engine and change the oil while it's hot. Never having changed the oil in a 911 before, I didn't know it held about 12 quarts of oil. I had my little 6 or 8 quart pan that I used for changing oil in my other cars and did not have a shop at this time. Also, my concrete driveway had a nice gentle downhill slope.

I jacked the car up and put the rear end on jack stands. Crawled underneath (no creeper) and looked around. Huh, there are two drain plugs. What's up with that. So, I selected the one that was most directly inline with the oil filler. I didn't know what a dry sump system was. Turns out, that was the reservoir and when I removed the rather large drain plug, a stream of oil about 1" in diameter came gushing out. I quickly determined that my pan was not going to hold all this oil since the stream showed no sign of slowing down. So, being the quick thinker that I am, I tried in vain to get the hot plug out of the pan and reinsert it. Hot oil ran down my arm and splashed in my face. Finally, I gave up and said , F*** it!. By the time I crawled out from under my 911 there was a nice river of oil running down my driveway. I just let it finish draining.

My wife heard me cursing and then after she saw the mess I 'd made, joined in on the cursing. I got into my other car, went to town and bought a sack of oil dri, a case of Castrol 10w-40 and a LARGE oil drain pan. Experience is what you get when you get what you didn't want. I gained a lot of experience that day.

 

I think that most of us have had similar experiences, unfortunately. At least, I know that I have.

 

It always starts out with good intentions, but usually ends up exactly as you described it.

 

The 64 Vette I had for over 20 yrs. Aways made the oil changes interesting. By interesting I mean both frustrating and messy. The first time I did it the only way to remove the filter was by driving a screwdriver thru the meat and using that to break it loose! Whew, I just won't tighten it like the last gorilla. For whatever reason it Never got a lot better even though I was careful Not to over tighten it. Fun With Cars!

 

I can usually change the oil with just a small puddle but serving an automatic trans is a completely different story. Inevitably I balance the pan that is full of trans fluid until just before transferring it to the drain pan and then dump most of it on the ground and myself. Kitty litter to the rescue. The AOD for my Ranch Wagon has an after market pan with a drain plug for obvious reasons.

 

And I thought having a hoist would solve all these same problems for me

 

This is Brian Be like Brian.

 

You did good. You didn't knock over the oil jug and funnel of used oil you were trying to keep to take to the recycler.

 

Pbttttt! Try changing oil in the driveway with a "gentle" Oklahoma breeze!!

 

rockable,

Here is an old adage that I think you can relate to...

Good judgement comes from experience...and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.