What a MESS!!

[MikeOH]

Ok, so I've owned my Mooney for three years but I have never changed the oil myself.  The CB in me was NOT happy with this situation so, I thought, time to DIY!  How hard could it be?

Draining the oil was a piece of cake thanks to the quick drain some considerate PO installed!  I literally did not spill a drop...ANYWHERE!

Now, we get to the oil filter...clipped the safety wire at the filter, no problem.  Stuffed a bunch of rags under the filter and unscrewed the filter...OMG!  Oil down the back of the engine, down the shock discs, down the nose gear, onto the tire, puddle on the ground!  SHEEESH!!!  Cleaned up best I could, but lots of places my arm just couldn't get to.

What did I do wrong???

More whining: What was the designer thinking putting the safety wire tang at the BOTTOM of the filter adapter??? Good grief, why wouldn't the damn thing be at the TOP where you can see and easily thread the safety wire through?  Must have taken me 15 minutes to blindly get the damn wire through the tang by feel.  Part of the problem is that there was another safety wire going through the same tang.  Does two wires through one tang sound right?

I've got better than 2 hours in the project and still need to do the run-up to check for leaks and put all the cowling back on, then cut open the old filter!

I may just pay the shop the next time!

[Bartman]

BTDT 

My procedure is to drain the crankcase via the quick drain when the oil is warm. Come back a couple of days later and remove the filter. I use a baggie to surround the filter with shop towels under the filter for backup and have minimal mess. 

[Bartman]

Oh BTW, did you do the oil screen on the back of the engine ?

Its a lot of fun with safety wire too. 

[khedrei]

I cut a piece of cardboard and fold it in such a way that its snug through the engine mount and stays in place without me trying to hold it. Make sure its folded towards the end to a point like a spout and long enough to reach the drain pan. Can do it with no oil on the strut or tire or anywhere other than a bit on the engine mount but easy to clean up. Cardboard gotta be right though. Take a bit of time. First time I did it was a mess. It fell out and spilled everywhere. 

[MikeOH]

13 minutes ago, Bartman said:

Oh BTW, did you do the oil screen on the back of the engine ?

Its a lot of fun with safety wire too. 

HAH!  I chickened out!  I had it done in January at annual, so I figured I. could 'cheat' this one time

[MikeOH]

16 minutes ago, Bartman said:

BTDT 

My procedure is to drain the crankcase via the quick drain when the oil is warm. Come back a couple of days later and remove the filter. I use a baggie to surround the filter with shop towels under the filter for backup and have minimal mess. 

I waited two days after draining, as well.  I had the baggie all ready to go, but couldn't quite figure out how to seal where the filter mates to the engine; that's where all the oil came from.

I'm wondering if I should poke holes in the filter at the top, then seal a bag around the filter, loosen and rotate the filter 180 degrees and let the oil drain into the baggies before losing the seal to the engine.

[MikeOH]

15 minutes ago, khedrei said:

I cut a piece of cardboard and fold it in such a way that its snug through the engine mount and stays in place without me trying to hold it. Make sure its folded towards the end to a point like a spout and long enough to reach the drain pan. Can do it with no oil on the strut or tire or anywhere other than a bit on the engine mount but easy to clean up. Cardboard gotta be right though. Take a bit of time. First time I did it was a mess. It fell out and spilled everywhere. 

Thanks, but I'm having trouble picturing what and where, exactly, the cardboard goes?  

[larryb]

What kind of engine? If the Lyc IO360 connect the quick drain when you return home from a flight. A day or two later go out and finish the job. All the oil will have drained from the filter and it will only spill a couple drops. Waiting a day after the flight is the key point here. But you said you waited two days, so I really don’t know went wrong.

 

The Continental with the filter mounted under the motor is a little harder. I fashion a bib out of a plastic garbage bag to direct the oil into a bucket.

[MikeOH]

3 minutes ago, larryb said:

What kind of engine? If the Lyc IO360 connect the quick drain when you return home from a flight. A day or two later go out and finish the job. All the oil will have drained from the filter and it will only spill a couple drops. Waiting a day after the flight is the key point here. But you said you waited two days, so I really don’t know went wrong.

 

The Continental with the filter mounted under the motor is a little harder. I fashion a bib out of a plastic garbage bag to direct the oil into a bucket.

Thanks, but it's the IO360A1A, and there was clearly a BUNCH of oil still in the filter after two days.  Hard to say for sure, but the filter seemed to be angled slightly down towards the rear; i.e., the oil would NOT drain out of the filter no matter how long you waited.

I'm wondering if the poking holes in the filter, bagging it with tape, and rotating to drain would actually work?

[N201MKTurbo]

Haven’t we gone over this about a million times.

If you do it right, it is less of a PITA then if you do it wrong, but still a PITA. It’s a Mooney, it’s the price we pay. 
 

It’s like marriage. There are things we are annoyed about, but the benefits out weigh the PITA stuff.

[MooneyMitch]

2 hours ago, MikeOH said:

Ok, so I've owned my Mooney for three years but I have never changed the oil myself.  The CB in me was NOT happy with this situation so, I thought, time to DIY!  How hard could it be?

Draining the oil was a piece of cake thanks to the quick drain some considerate PO installed!  I literally did not spill a drop...ANYWHERE!

Now, we get to the oil filter...clipped the safety wire at the filter, no problem.  Stuffed a bunch of rags under the filter and unscrewed the filter...OMG!  Oil down the back of the engine, down the shock discs, down the nose gear, onto the tire, puddle on the ground!  SHEEESH!!!  Cleaned up best I could, but lots of places my arm just couldn't get to.

What did I do wrong???

More whining: What was the designer thinking putting the safety wire tang at the BOTTOM of the filter adapter??? Good grief, why wouldn't the damn thing be at the TOP where you can see and easily thread the safety wire through?  Must have taken me 15 minutes to blindly get the damn wire through the tang by feel.  Part of the problem is that there was another safety wire going through the same tang.  Does two wires through one tang sound right?

I've got better than 2 hours in the project and still need to do the run-up to check for leaks and put all the cowling back on, then cut open the old filter!

I may just pay the shop the next time!

Yikes!!!  So sorry this happened to you.  Here's what I do..................during sump draining, I carefully punch a couple of small holes in the top of the filter.  This allows the oil to flow out of the filter.  Wait awhile then remove the filter.  Oil dripping during filter removal will be at a manageable minimum.  Good luck, you CAN do it!!

[Skates97]

I have found that getting it loose, then spinning it off quickly, and letting it fall into my hand with the opening up results in just a few drops on the cloths I stuff underneath it. Then you have to be careful as you lift it out and around everything to make sure you don't turn it over or it will dump oil everywhere. There is always still quite a bit in the filter and I put it in a funnel draining into an empty oil bottle. 

[Jim Peace]

somebody on here had a contraption of an oil channel he put under the filter........does anyone know how to search on this site?  I would like to start doing my own oil as well....

[alextstone]

I drain the oil the day before I change the filter, then I use these bibs to catch the oil that leaks from the filter:

 

Here's the link to buy them from Aircraft Spruce.

[toto]

There's also this thing.

https://formafunnel.com/

 

[Guest]

A piece of aluminum about 2" wide by 2' long folded into a "V" slipped under the filter flange from either side of the engine will allow you to drain the filter without a mess.

Slip it on place, cut the safety wire, loosen the filter a small amount to control the flow of oil down the aluminum and into a bucket.  When its done dripping spin it off.

 

Clarence

[Hank]

2 hours ago, Jim Peace said:

somebody on here had a contraption of an oil channel he put under the filter........does anyone know how to search on this site?  I would like to start doing my own oil as well....

Look in Downloads.

[Hank]

5 minutes ago, Hank said:

Look in Downloads.

Wow, hard to do on a phone. Ended up in google for mooneyspace downloads. Found it under Safety & Techniques, right where I put it lo these many years ago . . . . It's still how I do it.

 

[romeotango]

29 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

A piece of aluminum about 2" wide by 2' long folded into a "V" slipped under the filter flange from either side of the engine will allow you to drain the filter without a mess.

Slip it on place, cut the safety wire, loosen the filter a small amount to control the flow of oil down the aluminum and into a bucket.  When its done dripping spin it off.

 

Clarence

Yep, pre-bent aluminum window flashing from Home Depot or Lowe's.

[PT20J]

Try cutting a length of safety wire and looping it through the filter adapter hole before installing the filter, and then finish it at the filter end. Not sure why you have two safety wires in the same hole, but I’d look around for a better location and move one if that makes life easier.

Skip

[RobertGary1]

12 hours ago, MikeOH said:

HAH!  I chickened out!  I had it done in January at annual, so I figured I. could 'cheat' this one time

Honestly i only do mine once or so a year. I think doing it every oil change is a bit overkill.  
 

-Robert 

[Ragsf15e]

6 hours ago, M20Doc said:

A piece of aluminum about 2" wide by 2' long folded into a "V" slipped under the filter flange from either side of the engine will allow you to drain the filter without a mess.

Slip it on place, cut the safety wire, loosen the filter a small amount to control the flow of oil down the aluminum and into a bucket.  When its done dripping spin it off.

 

Clarence

My mechanic uses exactly this method.  Also, he puts a plastic bag over the filter when he goes to unsrew it so that it just unscrews/falls into the bag.

The V shaped metal piece under the filter and out to your bucket is the key.

[Joe Larussa]

I put an appropriate size plastic cup under the filter, then unscrew just enough to get the oil draining. Leave and come back the next day and remove filter and gently extract cup full of oil. Line your firewall with the blue shop paper towels. Take a plastic bag and wrap it around your nose gear and tire. Works every time and no mess!

[MikeOH]

6 hours ago, Hank said:

Wow, hard to do on a phone. Ended up in google for mooneyspace downloads. Found it under Safety & Techniques, right where I put it lo these many years ago . . . . It's still how I do it.

 

Thanks, Hank!  I was having trouble picturing how the flashing was 'installed.'

Your procedure has you test flying before re-installing the cowling....hows' that workin' for ya?

[MikeOH]

5 hours ago, PT20J said:

Try cutting a length of safety wire and looping it through the filter adapter hole before installing the filter, and then finish it at the filter end. Not sure why you have two safety wires in the same hole, but I’d look around for a better location and move one if that makes life easier.

Skip

@PT20J Oh, I was smart enough to put the safety wire on the filter adapter BEFORE putting filter on.  But, between working around the mags and vacuum pump, and the other wire already there, it took me awhile!

I couldn't even tell where the other safety wire went!  I was SUPER careful when I cut the old wire as I was afraid of cutting the other wire by mistake and having to redo that one!