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What a MESS!!


MikeOH

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54 minutes ago, Ragsf15e said:

 

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

Yuup!  That was the missing element.  I should have made a "How do I NOT make a MESS" post before embarking on this adventure!

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30 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

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?:D

Wow, 256 downloads and you're the first person to catch that!

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Mike here’s a quick story, a buddy and I was going out to do some approaches, he asked if I had time for him to do an oil & filter change, sure I said, it won’t take all that long. He had changed his oil multiple times before and it wasn’t ever an issue, this time was different and he couldn’t have made a bigger mess if he had tried. Once he had the oil draining he moved to the oil filter, as a precaution he moved the bucket closer so filter (bent aluminum) would drain in the bucket, in doing so he partiality knocked the hose off the quick drain, while loosening the filter the drain came completely off (rocking the plane around) making a huge mess before he noticed. While putting the drain hose back on he knocked the aluminum chanel out from under the filter making mess #2. Next was dropping his last new filter which was partially pre-filled face down into 40~50 pounds of floor dry he had put down to help with the growing mess, so it was over to my hangar for a filter. New filter installed and safety wired, 7 qts in the sump he opted to leave the floor dry down until another day, at this point I was feeling bad so as I was putting the cowl on he went to empty the old oil from the bucket, as he walked back in the hangar I couldn’t help but notice he had oil from his hat to his shoes, to this day I couldn’t tell you what happened at the community waste oil dump but I can tell you this, there are those who have made a mess changing their oil and those that will eventually make a mess changing their oil. 

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7 minutes ago, RLCarter said:

Mike here’s a quick story, a buddy and I was going out to do some approaches, he asked if I had time for him to do an oil & filter change, sure I said, it won’t take all that long. He had changed his oil multiple times before and it wasn’t ever an issue, this time was different and he couldn’t have made a bigger mess if he had tried. Once he had the oil draining he moved to the oil filter, as a precaution he moved the bucket closer so filter (bent aluminum) would drain in the bucket, in doing so he partiality knocked the hose off the quick drain, while loosening the filter the drain came completely off (rocking the plane around) making a huge mess before he noticed. While putting the drain hose back on he knocked the aluminum chanel out from under the filter making mess #2. Next was dropping his last new filter which was partially pre-filled face down into 40~50 pounds of floor dry he had put down to help with the growing mess, so it was over to my hangar for a filter. New filter installed and safety wired, 7 qts in the sump he opted to leave the floor dry down until another day, at this point I was feeling bad so as I was putting the cowl on he went to empty the old oil from the bucket, as he walked back in the hangar I couldn’t help but notice he had oil from his hat to his shoes, to this day I couldn’t tell you what happened at the community waste oil dump but I can tell you this, there are those who have made a mess changing their oil and those that will eventually make a mess changing their oil. 

Man, did I ever need to hear that story!  Thank you!!  I'm feeling much better:)

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Reminds me of the 65 Mustang I had in college. I decided to replace the automatic transmission fluid. I had removed a bad speedometer cable and had not installed the new one yet, so the drive end at the transmission was out leaving a hole in the case. I didn't understand that you had to drain the torque convertor separately --  I thought it would all come out if I pulled the pan. I started adding the specified amount of new fluid and after a few quarts, I noticed red fluid seeping out from under the car where it was flowing out the speedometer drive hole. If you think oil is a mess to clean up, try a gallon of Type-F transmission fluid. It's really slippery on a cement garage floor.

If we are honest, I'll bet all of us have made a mess at one time or another.

Skip

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5 hours ago, MikeOH said:

@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!

Safety wiring is one of those things that gets easier the more you do it. Somehow safety wire never seems to be in a place that is easy to access.

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I do the “drain and wait two days” approach and then use stiff butcher paper to build the drain trough to the bucket.  Works great and don’t spill a drop except when I make a mess.  I don’t understand why sometimes I have oil dripping everywhere.  Lee

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On 9/18/2020 at 10:58 PM, 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!

What I do is take a pointy object like a screwdriver and punch a hole into the oil filter as soon as possible... Then while I am letting the oil drain and doing other stuff it allows time for the filter to drain.  If you can, let it sit overnight and there wont be a drop left in the filter.

As far as the safety wire goes, I dont attach it to the provided point.  I make a turn around the base of a fitting on the rear of the engine that is in a good location and lets the wire do its job properly.  Wire comes off the oil filter tabs completely tangent to the secure point.

It shouldn't take you 2 hours.  at least not actually doing any work.  I bet I do 30 min of work total, the rest is waiting for oil to move OUT and back in while I pour it.  Sure would be nice if they sold w100 in 6 quart jugs!

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Everyone in this thread who tells you they can consistently change their oil without spilling a drop is a liar.  :lol:

We've been doing our own oil changes 2-3x year for the last 14 years.  I have all the contraptions for dealing with the filter: the v-shaped piece of angle iron, the diagonally cut oil bottle, the rags, the bags, all of it.  I've tried all the gimmicks, too: waiting two days after draining the oil to pull the filter, punching a hole in the filter, etc.  And with dozens of oil change iterations under my belt I've finally reached the point where I only make a gargantuan mess pulling the filter every 2nd or 3rd time.

It's just the way it is.  Expect and plan for a mess.  You won't feel disappointed or rushed when it happens, and you'll feel great on those occasions when it doesn't.

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57 minutes ago, Austintatious said:

What I do is take a pointy object like a screwdriver and punch a hole into the oil filter as soon as possible... Then while I am letting the oil drain and doing other stuff it allows time for the filter to drain.  If you can, let it sit overnight and there wont be a drop left in the filter.

I keep hearing about this trick, and the claims there "won't be a drop left in the filter".  But it just doesn't make any sense.  Look at the picture of a Champion CH48110-1 filter that goes on a Lycoming IO-360, attached below.  The filter spins on to the engine in a horizontal orientation, like the image on the right.  There's about a half inch of distance between the filter case and the lowest hole in the filter.  No matter how many holes you punch in the filter or how many days you wait for it to drain, there's still going to be several tablespoons of oil in the filter when you remove it.  As you rotate the filter to unscrew it, that oil tends to ooze out the holes.

Certainly if you rotate the filter very slowly, and/or if you're lucky enough to have a slight rearward cant in the mount, not much (or any) will spill out.  But claims that you can completely drain the filter by simply waiting long enough are at odds with gravity.

 

CHAMPION SPIN-ON OIL FILTER CH48110-1 | Aircraft Spruce

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Splitting a 1.5” X 3’ PVC pipe works perfectly. I can insert it far enough to be completely under the filter to catch the stream of oil once I loosen it a few turns. It angles down at a reasonable angle to convey the old oil at a decent speed. I loosen the filter and let it drain overnight. Come back the next day and remove the old filter without spilling a drop. Anything larger would not fit into the tight space behind the engine.

IMG_0247.JPG

IMG_0248.JPG

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4 hours ago, MinneMooney said:

Splitting a 1.5” X 3’ PVC pipe works perfectly. I can insert it far enough to be completely under the filter to catch the stream of oil once I loosen it a few turns. It angles down at a reasonable angle to convey the old oil at a decent speed. I loosen the filter and let it drain overnight. Come back the next day and remove the old filter without spilling a drop. Anything larger would not fit into the tight space behind the engine.

IMG_0247.JPG

IMG_0248.JPG

 

This is how I change my oil also...saw this on youtube one day and now no mess to clean up..

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6 hours ago, Vance Harral said:

I keep hearing about this trick, and the claims there "won't be a drop left in the filter".  But it just doesn't make any sense.  Look at the picture of a Champion CH48110-1 filter that goes on a Lycoming IO-360, attached below.  The filter spins on to the engine in a horizontal orientation, like the image on the right.  There's about a half inch of distance between the filter case and the lowest hole in the filter.  No matter how many holes you punch in the filter or how many days you wait for it to drain, there's still going to be several tablespoons of oil in the filter when you remove it.  As you rotate the filter to unscrew it, that oil tends to ooze out the holes.

Certainly if you rotate the filter very slowly, and/or if you're lucky enough to have a slight rearward cant in the mount, not much (or any) will spill out.  But claims that you can completely drain the filter by simply waiting long enough are at odds with gravity.

 

CHAMPION SPIN-ON OIL FILTER CH48110-1 | Aircraft Spruce

You may be correct... My filter stands vertically with the threaded tube pointing down.

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6 hours ago, Vance Harral said:

Everyone in this thread who tells you they can consistently change their oil without spilling a drop is a liar.  :lol:

We've been doing our own oil changes 2-3x year for the last 14 years.  I have all the contraptions for dealing with the filter: the v-shaped piece of angle iron, the diagonally cut oil bottle, the rags, the bags, all of it.  I've tried all the gimmicks, too: waiting two days after draining the oil to pull the filter, punching a hole in the filter, etc.  And with dozens of oil change iterations under my belt I've finally reached the point where I only make a gargantuan mess pulling the filter every 2nd or 3rd time.

It's just the way it is.  Expect and plan for a mess.  You won't feel disappointed or rushed when it happens, and you'll feel great on those occasions when it doesn't.

IDK what to tell you.  Maybe my plane is just easier. If I let it sit a day or so after being hot and punching a hole in the filter, I don't spill anything because there is nothing to spill.  If I poke the hole and only wait the time it takes to fully drain the engine then I stuff some wads of paper towels down below the filter and it will catch most of it.

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4 hours ago, Austintatious said:

IDK what to tell you.  Maybe my plane is just easier. If I let it sit a day or so after being hot and punching a hole in the filter, I don't spill anything because there is nothing to spill.  If I poke the hole and only wait the time it takes to fully drain the engine then I stuff some wads of paper towels down below the filter and it will catch most of it.

If your filter has a vertical orientation when installed, it's ten-thousand-percent easier!

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16 hours ago, Nippernaper said:

I think I saw a service bulletin, maybe from Continental, trying to get folks to stop punching holes in oil filters. In any event, I've had great success with the form-a-funnel. The pvc pipe couldn't get under where the drips were coming from on the J.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Found it.  Continental Aerospace Technologies Service Information Letter SIL19-10.  Relevant text includes:

Caution: A sharp object (such as a screw driver) driven through the disposable oil filter while the oil filter is installed on the engine may cause contamination to the engine oil supply and may require engine disassembly to remove the contamination.  Do not remove an oil filter by this method.

 

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On 9/21/2020 at 9:51 AM, Vance Harral said:

Everyone in this thread who tells you they can consistently change their oil without spilling a drop is a liar.  :lol:

We've been doing our own oil changes 2-3x year for the last 14 years.  I have all the contraptions for dealing with the filter: the v-shaped piece of angle iron, the diagonally cut oil bottle, the rags, the bags, all of it.  I've tried all the gimmicks, too: waiting two days after draining the oil to pull the filter, punching a hole in the filter, etc.  And with dozens of oil change iterations under my belt I've finally reached the point where I only make a gargantuan mess pulling the filter every 2nd or 3rd time.

It's just the way it is.  Expect and plan for a mess.  You won't feel disappointed or rushed when it happens, and you'll feel great on those occasions when it doesn't.

I don't know, I usually go and start the oil draining and then start working on other things including removing the filter. I typically am changing it cold which maybe helps as I'm assuming some of the oil has drained out of the filter. I stuff a couple rags under the filter, cut the safety wire, loosen the filter most of the way, then spin it off quickly and let it fall into my hand with the opening pointing up. This is what I typically have for a "mess" on the rags I have under the filter. Four years of ownership and 11 oil changes and I don't think I've had it run down and make a mess yet.

20171030_210010.thumb.jpg.42e84d70fb20397ca032547641d34dad.jpg

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8 hours ago, Skates97 said:

I don't know, I usually go and start the oil draining and then start working on other things including removing the filter. I typically am changing it cold which maybe helps as I'm assuming some of the oil has drained out of the filter. I stuff a couple rags under the filter, cut the safety wire, loosen the filter most of the way, then spin it off quickly and let it fall into my hand with the opening pointing up. This is what I typically have for a "mess" on the rags I have under the filter. Four years of ownership and 11 oil changes and I don't think I've had it run down and make a mess yet.

20171030_210010.thumb.jpg.42e84d70fb20397ca032547641d34dad.jpg

Ya, right!

Looks photoshopped to me:lol:

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The idea of poking a hole in the filter and the blowing air into it seems contrary to why the filter is on the plane.   How do you know that you are not blowing crud back into the engine?

Lots of rags.  Have  piece of alum that is cut and formed.   Bad times are when the wind is blowing and oil moves horizontally.

always seem to clean some off the floor.

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