Is it possible to do an oil change without a mess?

[billyfury]

I have always done the oil changes on my 99 and 05. I don't think there has ever been a time that I didn't make a mess! Either I slop the old oil out of the pan when I pull it out from under the truck, or I drop the plug into the pan of full dirty oil, or I drop the dirty filter, or I don't have the pan under where the oil drips when I take the filter off, or I tip over the new filter after I fill it with oil, or the funnel tips over pouring in the Rotella or etc etc. I think it may be impossible to do a change without slobbering all over everything. I am going to buy stock in oildry. Is there anyone out there that has ever accomplished this rare feat? Maybe I am the only klutz, but it doesn't help when its 5 below zero!



billyfury

 

[ARARAR]

oil mess

After you get the filter loose enough, slip a paper or 1gal. plastic bag under it and continue loosening it until it gently dops into the bag w/out losing complete control. This should should contain all or most of the oil as you pull the filter from the engine compartment. As for dropping the plug in the pan: practice makes perfect. Hope this helps.

 

[jwduke]

Thats the way I do it.

 

[JimBob24]

I have a Fumoto quick drain oil pan valve with the short nipple. I slip on a short piece of tubing and drain the old oil directly into gallon plastic jugs which makes disposal easier. I also slip a 1 gal. zip-loc plastic freezer bag over my old oil filter after I loosen it like the others do. The heaver freezer bags are more tear resistant and seal very well.

 

[Not_Agn]

I open the drain first, let it suck the oil off of the top of the filter. Make sure to leave the cap and dipstick in place. Should have minimal oil spill when removing the filter. However I have found that with the mopar filters it doesn't suck as much oil off the top of the filter as it does the fleetguard. Just my findings. Lee.

 

[macdaddy]

I have always done the oil changes on my 99 and 05. I don't think there has ever been a time that I didn't make a mess! Either I slop the old oil out of the pan when I pull it out from under the truck, or I drop the plug into the pan of full dirty oil, or I drop the dirty filter, or I don't have the pan under where the oil drips when I take the filter off, or I tip over the new filter after I fill it with oil, or the funnel tips over pouring in the Rotella or etc etc. I think it may be impossible to do a change without slobbering all over everything. I am going to buy stock in oildry. Is there anyone out there that has ever accomplished this rare feat? Maybe I am the only klutz, but it doesn't help when its 5 below zero!



billyfury

Whewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!



1. Get it hot, loosen filter 11/2 turns, let oil drain overnight.



2. Next morning remove the filter into gallon ziploc bag. Overnight the oil level in the filter will drop below the gasket surface, thereby not spilling a drop from the filter while removing it.



3. Fury your on your own when it comes time to refill everything.



4. Then open the beers



Mac

 

[JFortune]

Whewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!



1. Get it hot, loosen filter 11/2 turns, let oil drain overnight.



2. Next morning remove the filter into gallon ziploc bag. Overnight the oil level in the filter will drop below the gasket surface, thereby not spilling a drop from the filter while removing it.



3. Fury your on your own when it comes time to refill everything.



4. Then open the beers



Mac

No it should be



1. Get it hot, loosen filter 11/2 turns, let oil drain.



2. Open Beer!!! :-laf



3. continue on with oil change. .

 

[RHildreth]

I'm doing it all out of order. Number 4 is first at my house.

 

[WyattEarp]

well on a info note, without beer play here, the best way to not make a mess is to use the above methods and take your time, i agree drive it and get it hot. . pull plug, let drain 4-6hrs, did that while i slept one morning after getting in from work, not a drop when i went back out it was totally empty, remove filter use bag method etc which ever works best for you, i have become a pro at removing it, don't ask how many times it took me... after thats done, down other beverage of your choice, and the reason i don't drink while oil changes are in progress is beer isn't my drink of choice LOL, if i drank what i liked its hard to say where the oil would end up...

 

[manganos]

Or you could just get a PELA6000 and change the oil like I do in my VW TDI. It is so easy on the Dodge I just crawl underneath. Do a search on google for pela 6000 and you will see what I'm talking about.

 

[FJfonda]

I do mine cold and remove the air filter and turbo hose assembly for better oil filter access. Very little spillage and what does is pretty thick and easily controlled. Draining takes longer doing the cold method but I always rotate my tires anyway.....

 

[05mxdiesel]

I find this truck to be the easiest and cleanest on oil changes with the use of a fumoto drain valve and by letting the truck sit for a couple of hours for oil to gravity drain out of the filter.

 

[EEdmondson]

I use a cat litter bucket with slightly resessed 1/4" hardware cloth (wire mesh) in it. I just let the plug fall onto the mesh. I got the idea when I took my old oil to Jiffy lube. They have big ol' drain funnels and the wire mesh saves a lost plug and provides a place to drain the filter. I used to use a 5 gal bucket but it was too tall.

 

[HLewallen]

5 gal bucket works for me. Easy to transport used oil afterwords as a bonus. I haven't dropped a filter yet, but I had two major disasters with ordinary drain pans before I went to the 5 gal bucket.

 

[GaryCarter]

Usually I get by with just a drip or two.

However- last time I dropped the oil pan plug right in the oil catch pan. Since it was going under a tide of hot oil, it had to stay there. From this I learned two things.

1. The Cummins plug is EXACTLY the right size to plug the hole in the top of my oil collector.

2. The top section of the collector holds something like 10 quarts of oil. Judging from the oil slick on the driveway.



Gary.

 

[DHamblet]

I put mine in 4wd, run it up on ramps, slide a 5 gallon bucket under it (and next time I'm adding screen thank you). Draining the sump is no big deal. But the filter is a big PITA. In addition to being hard to grab and unscrew it, unless you are very careful you end up with oil all over rubber parts which is no good. Next time I'm doing it like I do my Harley. Take a awl or sharpened screw driver and poke a hole in the bottom of the filter and let it drain into the bucket before you encase it in a plastic bag to unscrew it.

 

[Mhannink]

I put mine in 4wd, run it up on ramps, slide a 5 gallon bucket under it (and next time I'm adding screen thank you). Draining the sump is no big deal. But the filter is a big PITA. In addition to being hard to grab and unscrew it, unless you are very careful you end up with oil all over rubber parts which is no good. Next time I'm doing it like I do my Harley. Take a awl or sharpened screw driver and poke a hole in the bottom of the filter and let it drain into the bucket before you encase it in a plastic bag to unscrew it.

that last part about punching a hole is the easiest way i found that from an old mechanic he does it on all his trucks and i do it on all of our trucks its so slick and easy also i don't get the oil hot i just let it wram up a bit then when i remove the plug i keep it presses against the threads till i feel it clicking you know where its going back a thread then i make sure i have a good grip and remove quickly seems to work for me havn't droped one like that yet

 

[hammersley]

Be Careful with Oiless Motors overnight

Whewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!



1. Get it hot, loosen filter 11/2 turns, let oil drain overnight.



2. Next morning remove the filter into gallon ziploc bag. Overnight the oil level in the filter will drop below the gasket surface, thereby not spilling a drop from the filter while removing it.



3. Fury your on your own when it comes time to refill everything.



4. Then open the beers



Mac

Great idee to let her drain a long time - however you had better hope you don't need the truck in a hurry..... a friend of mine always did this and he had a fire at his house and he had to move the truck with no oil! The insurance company paid for the house - NOT the truck! Also be sure you have another rig available because if you have a medical emergency or need to get someplace in a hurry - well you SOL! Not something that happens very often but it can... ...

 

[McDowra]

I hated changing the oil filter on my Dodge. Thats why we came up with the remote mount filter. Using the fumoto valve with it means I can change my oil before most people even get started good.



Remote Mount Oil Filter







King of the shameless plug

 

[JZellers]

I use the 5 Gal bucket too. I found that letting the truck sit a little while (15 minutes or so - drain the crankcase, grease chassis, a couple repeats of step #2 from one of the posts above, etc. ) before taking the filter off brings the level down far enough that it doesn't spill when you tip the filter to get it out. The freezer bag isn't a bad idea though, since you can seal it up and have less chance it will leak into your garbage can.