Relearning the art of the oil change

It's been quite some time since I'd bothered with an oil change myself and I've learned a few things lately. I'm still working to convince my dear wife that this is something I really want to do, that I bought a Mustang in part to play around and do as much as I can.

The first time around I had some good ideas but suffered from inadequate capacity estimates and some sloppy execution. The resulting mess took almost thirty minutes to clean up. The second time around, clean up was a lot easier (less than a minute). Here are some notes including an idea to make things even cleaner the next time around.

The first pieces are the ramps. I replaced some old 'mabye, might work' ramps (they work well for my neighbors little mountain runabout) with some new Rhino Ramps. Made of plastic foam (they feel like heavy rubber) that'll handle 4 tons (in theory), they're wide enough and quite easy to get a 2005 Mustang onto, even by yourself. They can be a bit pricey online, so use a local source if you can.

A flat (drip) tray for the oil drain pan, rags, drain plug (and as a containment area for a real big accident) is also quite easy to find. I found a plastic one at PEP Boys (about 4' by 2') but I've seen them other places fashioned from various lightweight metals and plastics. One lesson learned here... be generous with newspaper on top of the tray. Cover it (the Saturday auto section handled it this time around). I used one tiny section the first time around, which didn't work after I generated a lot of spillage (now mostly eliminated) and then used a lot of extra paper trying to wipe up that part of the mess and still wound up with some water based cleanup.

I found some disposable shop rags on a roll like paper towels which are terrific. They absorb quite well and are amazingly sturdy for such a light paper. At about $10 per roll, they should last a long time. I got really carried away the first time (especially during the mop up operation), but only used two for the whole job this time.

The size of the oil drain pan can be important. I'd initially tried the Blitz 10 quart oil drain pan and found it a bit lacking in size. It worked, but I made a mess during the big change in trajectory as the plug was removed from the car's oil pan. This time I went bigger (keeping the Blitz for transferring to a sealed container so I can take it to the local oil shop — who is taking oil this week varies) and got it right. Oriented diagonally, the spurt in oil flow barely reached the middle of the pan this time and the spout made it very simple to make a transfer to the sealed container. Since I can't find the product name, the picture will need to do.

For next time around, I think I can contain the drips around the oil filter using a small garbage bag under it. One the filter is loose enough to turn by hand, do so through the bag. That should contain the discharge while performing that task and result in one less wipe up (hoses, fittings, self).

The remaining check list items are a 5/8" wrench (have Ford's used this size for a long time, that's my recollection) for the oil plug and a small oil funnel (pouring freehand is possible and not recommended).

Now I need to learn how to clean up the engine compartment without going nuts with water. Rain and the dust common in some ocean rim runs have got a nice layer of grime started.