So I get all the supplies together and start changing the oil in the Ram truck...Should take 20-30 minutes right? WRONG! I slide under the truck on my creeper and 2 caster wheels decide to let go. Hmmm Harbor Freight brand (you get what you pay for), Next, unscrew the oil plug. Oh crap! forgot to unscrew the plug in the middle of the catch container. Fished out the plug. Unscrew filter. Filter won't budge. tap filter with mallet. won't budge. Think of Boss @ work, aha success with the filter. Oops pan wasn't exactly centered under filter. Oil all over driveway, down arms, clothes etc! The rest went fairly smooth. Sometimes the little jobs can go haywire and take waaay longer than they're supposed to.... Anyone else care to share a little job that went haywire? :rolleyes:
Dano

My little job was the result of hitting a dead skunk on a cruise last sunday. We were out in my 34 Ford coupe and wack stink city! Got home and put the car in the garage, for about 1 minute, yuck! Off to the car wash, spraying under it getting soaked. When drying it off, I closed the door with the motor running, and the car has electric poppers on the ignition switch. Well you can guess the rest.....

I've had days like that Dan. Pain in the butt.

Once... way back in the early 80's, I was changing the oil on my first car. No biggy. Not a drop on Dads driveway. I'll be back on the road in minutes.
That is, until I forget to put the drain plug back in and 3 quarts of oil are now on the ground.
:rolleyes:

I worked for a buddy who had a mobile lube business. Nice box truck with all the gadgets. We did lots of diesels. He had this nifty tank with a hose that would suck the oil from the drain pan. Worked quite well. You would just reverse the pump to off load the oil when the tank was full. Just so happend I left the pump in reverse one day and instead of sucking the oil out of the drain pan, about 8 quarts of diesel oil endend up on a concrete patio. Looked like Old Faithful with the oil spewing out the hose end.

So I get all the supplies together and start changing the oil in the Ram truck...Should take 20-30 minutes right? WRONG! I slide under the truck on my creeper and 2 caster wheels decide to let go. Hmmm Harbor Freight brand (you get what you pay for), Next, unscrew the oil plug. Oh crap! forgot to unscrew the plug in the middle of the catch container. Fished out the plug. Unscrew filter. Filter won't budge. tap filter with mallet. won't budge. Think of Boss @ work, aha success with the filter. Oops pan wasn't exactly centered under filter. Oil all over driveway, down arms, clothes etc! The rest went fairly smooth. Sometimes the little jobs can go haywire and take waaay longer than they're supposed to.... Anyone else care to share a little job that went haywire? :rolleyes:
Dano

Sounds exactly like my last oil change. It's tough gettin' old.:clonk:

I decided to change the oil in my wifes Jeep today. Did everything needed and went off without a problem. Figured that was great so decided to change the wiper switch in the Z. That was @ 2pm. It's 7pm now and I still have'nt finished it. Do any of you guys have a trained chipmunk ? This is one of the worst pia$$ jobs. So much for a relaxed day!

Don't feel bad, I too have an 05 dodge with the hemi, the first oil filter was a pain in the you know what. I had to move the wrench all the way up the filter and it came off alot easier...I think my truck was built on a Monday!

The BEST thing I have found is a big carboard box and two cheap floorjacks!!

Lay the carboard down FLAT, slide the cheap floorjacks under her and jack her up and have at it!

I did last weekend!!

I have several NEW flat boxes saved in my old P/U's bed just for this!!

And my second Son, bless his heart, bought me a "flame" creeper for Christmas and I told him to give me the money and to take it back, so you know what I think of creepers after digging a hole in the dirt under a car when I was a kid!!

Oh, forgot, a plastic hog feed sized oil bowl to hold the oil in!!

pdq67

I was rotating tires on my Intrigue, car on a slight incline, not much, but enough. Had the car jacked up and not resting on jack stands. As I was putting the front tire back on, the car rolled backwards and off of the jack. My right hand (fingers) at the time were between the tire and the wheel well. My fingers got caught, they were not crushed nor were they hurting (LUCKY) but I could not pull them out. Took me 20 minutes or so to reposition the jack using my left hand, (I'm right handed), and get the car back up to remove my hand. As soon as I removed them, car rolled back again and fell off jack.

I now always make sure I'm on a level surface; car is blocked at the wheels, and to use jack stands!

Several years ago, I had the Camaro fall on my leg! I was SO lucky it didn't break the bone(s). Just one heck of a black bruise for a few weeks. I check and doublecheck the stands and keep the jack nearby every time now!
Dano

33 years ago (time sure flies) I was adding oil to my 1970 Z28. I had to perform this task fairly often as the rings were less than perfect and I drove the crap out of it. Anyway, after adding oil one day I took off down the road and immediately noticed a dent sticking up in the middle of my hood. I had left the oil cap on top of the air cleaner.

immediately noticed a dent sticking up in the middle of my hood. Wonder how many times an aftermarket intake and carb upgrade have created a nice dent in the middle of a hood?

Dan,
I don't understand, isn't that a description of a normal oil change? That is almost exactly how it goes for me every time I start my oil changes. If it went any different I would think something was wrong..........
;)

My little job was the result of hitting a dead skunk on a cruise last sunday. We were out in my 34 Ford coupe and wack stink city! Got home and put the car in the garage, for about 1 minute, yuck! Off to the car wash, spraying under it getting soaked. When drying it off, I closed the door with the motor running, and the car has electric poppers on the ignition switch. Well you can guess the rest.....

Try doing that without the car - a few weekends ago I was out for a run at night, about mile 2 of a 5 mile run, on a very dark street I actually stepped on some roadkill. Even thru my shoe I could feel the squish and it made me want to puke. It wasn't a skunk, but whatever it once was, it had now been reduced to the most foul smelling decomposing mass of goo I've see (smelled) in a while. The smell hung with me for two miles but by the time I was done I was finally 'clean'.

Oil Change instructions for Women:
1) Pull up to Jiffy Lube when the mileage reaches 3000 miles since the last oil change.
2) Drink a cup of coffee.
3) 15 minutes later, write a check and leave with a properly maintained vehicle.

Money spent:
Oil Change $20.00
Coffee $1.00
Total $21.00
================================================== ========

Oil Change instructions for Men:
1) Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and a scented tree, write a check for $50.00.
2) Stop by 7 - 11 and buy a case of beer, write a check for $20, drive home.
3) Open a beer and drink it.
4) Jack car up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.
5) Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.
6) In frustration, open another beer and drink it.
7) Place drain pan under engine.
8) Look for 9/16 box end wrench.
9) Give up and use crescent wrench.
10) Unscrew drain plug.
11) Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on you in process. Cuss.
12) Crawl out from under car to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.
13) Have another beer while watching oil drain.
14) Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.
15) Give up; crawl under car and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.
16) Crawl out from under! car with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties. Drink a beer.
17) Buddy shows up; finish case of beer with him.
Decide to finish oil change tomorrow so you can go see his new garage door opener.
18) Sunday: Skip church because "I gotta finish the oil change." Drag pan full of old oil out from underneath car. Cleverly dump oil in hole in back yard instead of taking it back to Kragen to recycle.
19) Throw kitty litter on oil spilled during step 18.
20) Beer? No, drank it all yesterday.
21) Walk to 7-11; buy beer.
22) Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.
23) Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.
24) Remember drain plug from step 11.
25) Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.
26) Remember that the used oil is buried in a hole in the back yard, along with drain plug.
27) Drink beer.
! 28) Shovel out hole and sift oily mud for drain plug. Re-shovel oily dirt into hole. Steal sand from kids sandbox to cleverly cover oily patch of ground and avoid environmental penalties. Wash drain plug in lawnmower gas.
29) Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.
30) Drink beer.
31) Crawl under car getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame.
32) Bang head on floorboards in reaction to step 31.
33) Begin cussing fit.
34) Throw stupid crescent wrench.
35) Cuss for additional 10 minutes because wrench hit bowling trophy.
36) Beer.
37) Clean up hands and forehead and bandage as required t o stop blood flow.
38) Beer.
39) Beer.
40) Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.
41) Beer.
42) Lower car from jack stands.
43) Accidentally crush remaining ! case of new motor oil.
44) Move car back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during steps 23 - 43.
45) Beer.
46) Test drive car.
47) Get pulled over: arrested for driving under the influence.
48) Car gets impounded.
49) Call loving wife, make bail.
50) 12 hours later, get car from impound yard.

Money spent:

Parts $50.00
DUI $2500.00
Impound fee $75.00
Bail $1500.00
Beer $40.00
Total - - $4,165.00

But you know the job was done right!

Try doing that without the car - a few weekends ago I was out for a run at night, about mile 2 of a 5 mile run, on a very dark street I actually stepped on some roadkill. Even thru my shoe I could feel the squish and it made me want to puke. It wasn't a skunk, but whatever it once was, it had now been reduced to the most foul smelling decomposing mass of goo I've see (smelled) in a while. The smell hung with me for two miles but by the time I was done I was finally 'clean'.
Thats pretty bad! The skunk smell it just now going away from the car in the garage. The smell of skunk is just soooooo bad!!!

When I was a kid, we had recreational property in eastern Wa. We would head over there on weekends.. About 2 miles from our land, there was a river on the right hand side of the freeway and a mink farm on the left of the freeway. The skunks would cross the road to get to the minks, and invariably get hit by a car. We could be sound asleep in the back of the vista cruiser and that rotten smell would wake us up! It's got to be one of natures most foul smells on the earth! I had a friend who got sprayed once by a skunk. His wife wouldn't let him in the house, so he drove in the car to a friends. That smell stayed in the car for a looong time. Blech!
Dano