I have tried everything I can think of and after 2 years of oil changes I still go through a whole roll of paper towels during each oil change. I watched Ant on Wheeler Dealer change the oil on the MC40 and did not spill a drop of oil on camera. Can anyone tell me how they do a “Clean” oil change

 

I mean, there is always a little mess when you change oil, but not a whole roll's worth.

Get bigger oil catch pans and kitty litter?

 

Are you spilling when you remove the oil filter, or when you drain the oil? If the latter, get a Fumoto.

 

The mess is when you unscrew the filter housing. When it is unscrewed but not pulled off is starts leaking oil. when I remove the filter housing a lot of oil runs out and again when i remove the filter. It all drips down on the control arms, sub frame an hoses under the filter. There has to be a better way to remove the filter than what I am doing. Also I have Fumoto installed so no runs or drips from the draining the pan. I can't be the only one making a mess

 

When I changed mine I obv drained the pan 1st then cracked loose the filter housing and let it drain for 5min..then removed it with a towel wrapped around it and didn't get a drop of oil anywhere but I did see it start to drip down the filter housing but I quickly wiped it. I read these can be messy but imo it was easy and a clean job. Lol my mark8 I had to fish the filter in and out of some killer angles then the oil drain would flow onto the subframe and go EVERYWHERE!

 

I have found that when you go to remove the oil filter be sure to first leave the fill cap open. Doesn't eliminate the leaks but significantly reduces the 'burp' which is what makes it messy.

 

yup, I open the fill cap, and after I loosen the filter, I let it sit and drain for a few mins until the oil has drained though the engine. I also grab the filter with a rag when I remove it to catch any drips.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess this is always going to be a messy process, but here is how I do it now. I will wait much longer to remove the filter housing on the next oil change

1) I unscrew the oil fill cap and remove the dip stick.
2) I loosen the filter housing to just be hand tight , but not completely unscrewed
3) remove the drain plug and let it drain until the stream is just a drip
4) re insert the drain plug and tighten. Forgot to do this once and had 2 quarts of new oil on the garage floor!
5) pack paper towels all around the underside of the filter housing and then remove the housing only.
6) now remove the filter element
7) cuss quite a bit because the oil went everywhere
7) clean up all of the spilled oil from the frame, hoses and control arm
8) install the new filter and housing with new o-ring
9) fill it with new oil

 

Don't agree with your sequence. Reinsertion and tightening of the drain plug should be AFTER you loosen and remove the canister and filter element.

 

I can try to remove the filter before I put the drain plug back in place

 

I would first remove the oil cap, then open the drain plug. For me, removing the filter is 3rd on the list. No fuss, No muss

 

Dear OP, with all due respect your doing it wrong;


I bought my extractor last summer and it's the best investment I have ever made. Just MAKE sure you clean well after (15 minutes) and dry it after. You can use it for so many other things too!!

 

Thanks for the idea but it doesn’t help with the dripping oil filter

 

If you watch the video it addresses that issue 🙂

 

Agree.

 

I bought the topside oil changer and it has worked great. Not much mess and fast.

 

in the video, the guy says there is a check valve that allows oil to flow back down to the engine/pan. I wonder if that valve is messed up on yours (speedman's)...