Oil drain pan....missed the wires. ;)

[justAL]

Hey folks,

I did a oil change on the D22 on the weekend and totally overshot the oil catch pan by a foot despite having the pan a foot out from the plug!

So out came the kitty litter and the detergent which is a good thing in one respect, my catch pan would not have been large enough to capture all the oil anyway!

Anyhoo, my workshop is my driveway so I drive the gal up some ramps to gain access to the undercarriage and my question to you folks of D22-land is this, what drain pans or techniques do you recommend for dropping the oil?

 

[KraftyPg]

I recommend you put the pan in the right spot or get one of those cheap tool boxes from SCA then you'll hit the mark

 

[justAL]

LOL KP.

For next time I did measure up the "spill area" and will plonked the pan onto a flat castored tray....with a backing board.

I was sweeping up little balls of oil for an hour last night!

 

[KraftyPg]

I did my last oil drop in the garage without the car jacked up so the old 5 litre ice cream container worked fine because it wasn't hard to aim up but usually mines done over the pits and even if I have to do it myself it's easy because we do use a bucket as big as one of those SCA toolboxes.

 

[justAL]

I did my last oil drop in the garage without the car jacked up so the old 5 litre ice cream container worked fine because it wasn't hard to aim up but usually mines done over the pits and even if I have to do it myself it's easy because we do use a bucket as big as one of those SCA toolboxes.

You've got me thinking. I do have an old tray that's probably 30 litres and it has rollers on it. I stored my measuring instruments in it.

I still can't believe how far it jetted out fromt he sump hole! FMD!

 

[KraftyPg]

My theory was that the closer I got the bucket to the sump the less problem any trajectory would be which is why I didn't jack it up just to undo the sump plug. It made it a bit awkward getting the plug right out but it's not the first time the sump plug has been dropped in oil and I'm sure it wont be the last.

 

[Dave]

I have done that, my oil pan is a 10L job but I put the pan a foot away from the pan and move it closer when the oil slows.

Dave.

 

[nathan96]

You'll do fine next time cause now you know!

I did the same thing I dropped the oil on the NAV for the first time.

I think the difference in the near 7L in the nav compared to the less than 5L in all the other petrol cars I've owned

 

[reel-sensation]

Hindsight is 20/20. I always get my boys to put a sheet of plastic down first (black plastic used for landscaping is ideal). Much easier to clean up. Another trick is to not drop the sump plug in the old oil. Keep it in your hand ready to put back to stop the flow just in case!

Alan

 

[justAL]

The stain the the driveway gives me a reason to buy a Karcher now.


All fun and games.