Oil Filter mess

[Garrett]

OK folks, how do you personally remove your oil filter (mounted horizontally
on an O-320) without letting it spill down the mount, strut and onto the
wheel pants??? I tried stuffing rags, but does not seem to stop the
flow...Yes, I drain the oil for about an hour prior to removing the filter,
and it still is full....I am just tired of cleaning the mess in the engine
bay and on the floor...thx

Garrett
1977 PA28-140 Cherokee Cruiser

[J. Neteler]

Our A&P uses an old quart size plastic oil jug. He cut out most of one side
to make a mini catch basin. Seems like it should work and the price is
right.

J. Neteler

Garrett wrote in message <7iqbpp$1mt6$1...@newssvr04-int.news.prodigy.com>...

[karl gruber]

Punch a hole in the side of the canister and let it drain.

Karl

[Rick Potts]

"Garrett" <av8org...@nospamprodigy.net> wrote:

>OK folks, how do you personally remove your oil filter (mounted horizontally
>on an O-320) without letting it spill down the mount, strut and onto the
>wheel pants??? I tried stuffing rags, but does not seem to stop the
>flow...Yes, I drain the oil for about an hour prior to removing the filter,
>and it still is full....I am just tired of cleaning the mess in the engine
>bay and on the floor...thx

I cut a 1 gallon plastic milk carton in half (diagonally), wedge it
under the filter, and carefully unscrew it. Catches every drop.

I've heard of people punching a hole, and that is actually a four step
process: (1) Loosen the filter slightly (2) punch a hole in the top of
the filter (3) rotate the filter 180 degrees and put a funnel or a
drain tube under the hole you just punched and (4) punch another hole
in the top of the filter to allow the oil to drain out.

------------------------------------
Rick Potts Phoenix, Arizona
N32334 PA 28-151 Warrior
------------------------------------

[Mike Spera]

Garrett wrote:
>
> OK folks, how do you personally remove your oil filter (mounted horizontally
> on an O-320) without letting it spill down the mount, strut and onto the
> wheel pants??? I tried stuffing rags, but does not seem to stop the
> flow...Yes, I drain the oil for about an hour prior to removing the filter,
> and it still is full....I am just tired of cleaning the mess in the engine
> bay and on the floor...thx
>

> Garrett
> 1977 PA28-140 Cherokee Cruiser

Garrett,

I have good luck in cutting an L-shaped section out of the front of a
plastic 1/2 gallon milk carton. I leave a cup shaped "snout" about 8"
long that I slip under the filter and also just under the filter mount
lip. I then slip a rag under the snout to hold it up against the mount
lip. The back rests against the hoses and muffler shroud. This leaves
the carton slightly inclined away from the filter. The drain oil runs
down the snout and back into the carton. The whole affair may take a few
practice cuts to get the proper shape and depth. Since a lot of oil
drains into the carton, which is on its side with a good bit cut off,
you need to get the "snout" deep enough to fit under the filter, but not
too deep so that it won't hold the oil.

Another way to look at it is that you will cut off the handle and the
hole at the top and then some.

Good Luck,

Mike

[sbr...@torac.sprintsvc.net]

Thanks for asking this question. I have the same problem on mine. I
just changed mine again today, and I was sure that If I let it drain
longer, and stuffed in more paper towels, it would work. Wrong !

I like the gallon milk jug cut at a 45 idea myself. I'll give that a
try next time.

Steve
1976 PA28-140 N75021

[Bob Noel]

In article <3752f2be...@news2.smatnet.net>,
sbr...@torac.sprintsvc.net wrote:

> Thanks for asking this question. I have the same problem on mine. I
> just changed mine again today, and I was sure that If I let it drain
> longer, and stuffed in more paper towels, it would work. Wrong !
>
> I like the gallon milk jug cut at a 45 idea myself. I'll give that a
> try next time.

hint: when cutting the jug and putting it in there, think about
how you will get it out without spilling the oil collected.

--
Bob
(I think people can figure out how to email me...)
(replace ihatessppaamm with my name (rnoel) and hw1 with mediaone)

[Evan Julber]

To salvage oil dripping from removal of the oil filter, I've fabricated a
scupper that consists of a piece of aluminum about 2" wide and 2.5' long.
The piece of aluminum has been bent lengthwise in the form of a shallow "V."
To avoid scratching the engine, mount and/or accesories, duct tape has been
applied to the edges.

Just prior to loosening the oil filter, the scupper is inserted into the
rear engine area with one end positioned just under the filter (where the
oil will leak) and the other end positioned lower and clear of the engine
area. This may take some experimenting to get the perfect alignment and
angle. I've found that just aft of the #5 (or #3 on a 4-banger) and under
the right mag will do just fine on my engine. An empty 5 gallon plastic
pail (courtesy of your local McDonalds) is placed under the open end. The
filter is then loosened just slightly so that it turns easily but no oil
escapes.

At that point, I take a Phillips screwdriver and with a rubber mallet,
create a small hole in the top of the filter, close to where the filter
attaches to the engine (and just over the scupper). The filter is then
rotated 180 degrees so that the oil begins to drip from the newly created
hole into the "V" of the channel. Once the filter's drained some of the
oil, a smaller hole is then created on the top of the filter opposite the
"drip" hole; this hole hastens the exit of any remaining oil.

Once the filter's free of oil, unscrew it completely.

BTW, you can open your filter for inspection one of two ways: buy an
expensive oil can cutter or call Harbor Freight and order a $14.95 pipe
cutter (No. 3, Item 05983-OCZA, 1-800-423-2567).

--
Evan Julber
Glasair III N540GL
to reply, remve "of course no spam"

sbr...@torac.sprintsvc.net wrote in message
<3752f2be...@news2.smatnet.net>...

>Thanks for asking this question. I have the same problem on mine. I
>just changed mine again today, and I was sure that If I let it drain
>longer, and stuffed in more paper towels, it would work. Wrong !
>
>I like the gallon milk jug cut at a 45 idea myself. I'll give that a
>try next time.
>

[don...@my-deja.com]

My "I learned about oil from that" story: Do NOT fasten a large zip-loc
freezer bag around the filter hoping that it will tidily lap up every
drop of oil. If you try it, bring lots of paper towels.

Perry
Sundowner N23824 "Oily Belle"

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

[Bill]

I cut the side out of an emtpy quart oil container to form an oil catcher
(leave the cap on!). Use the cutout part to form a V channel just under the
oil filter, and place the cut container under the channel. Haven't had a
drop spilled using this technique (could just be lucky, though!)

[Ross Richardson]

I tried the milk bottle routine and it seemed to work. Then my A&P said
to fly the plane, drain the oil and come back the next day to remove the
filter and complete the oil change. Stuff some paper towels under the
filter before removing. There is some oil but a lot less. It really
seemed to work for me. I never could get the milk containter to work
right and I would wind up spilling oil. I have a Lyc O-360 with the El
Reno adapter on the back.
--
Regards,

Ross
C-172F
N7905U

[Mark Norris]

I tried punching a whole in the filter and it worked but not enough. I
bought a funnel and attached a tube on the bottom. I then cut the funnel so
it would fit under the filter and the tube lets it drain into the bucket I
catch the old oil in. I have a 182 and it is really tight under the filter.
It works well 9 times out of 10. The 10th I think about paying someone to
do it.

Ross Richardson wrote in message <375418B1...@raytheon.com>...

[Michael Richmann]

karl gruber <kgr...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>Punch a hole in the side of the canister and let it drain.

As I recall, some aircraft supply companies (either Chief or Aircraft
Spruce & Specialty seems to ring a bell in this specific case) sell a tool
designed to punch the casing of the filter to allow it to drain while
still in position...

--
Mike
C-182 N2406R

My opinions, not Argonne's...

[George R. Patterson III]

Garrett wrote:
>
> OK folks, how do you personally remove your oil filter (mounted horizontally
> on an O-320) without letting it spill down the mount, strut and onto the
> wheel pants???

The last time I changed mine, I taped a plastic garbage sack to various
items (like the upper engine mounts) in a position under the filter. It
worked perfectly at first - it caught every drop of oil. Unfortunately,
I attempted to lift it out after the oil filter was removed and tore it
on something, so I wound up with a mess anyway.

The method has promise, though, and I'm going to try it again. This time
I intend to lower the bag and use a bit more care. Your aircraft may not
have as much room for this - I don't have a nose gear in the way.

George Patterson, N3162Q.

[Bob B]

I have a similar setup on my IO-320. I use a quart size ziploc bag around
the oil
filter. First put a paper towel under the filter to catch any drops that
come out
while you loosen it with a filter wrench. Then put the ziplock bag around
the filter and
make sure the zip part of the bag is pulled up around the front of the
filter.
Pull up on the bag with one hand and unscrew the filter with the other. It
gets slippery.
Next time I'm going to put some masking tape around the filter to make it
easier to turn.
Eventually, the filter drops into the ziplock bag. Zip it up and lift the
filter out.
The paper towel will catch the small amount of oil that comes out of the
engine.

Bob

[Ross Rice]

Here's a little trick I learned. Cut the safety wire and remove it. Break
the filter loose so it can be turned by hand but is still sealed. Put 1 or
2, one quart Zip Lock freezer bags over the filter. Now unscrew the filter
either inside the zip lock or with the zip lock. This method works very well
with a filter that has the open end up, unfortunately it dosen't work on one
with the open end down. It takes a little practice but soon you'll change the
filter without spilling a drop.

Ross