Super2

My Jeep thanks God for motor oil and now I thank God for cat litter.

So, today I decided, since I've put about 3,000 miles on my two month old JK 2 door, that I'd change the oil (a first for me) and upgrade while I was at it. I purchased 12 quarts of Royal Purple and a Fram Tough Guard Oil Filter about a week ago in anticipation of this momentous event and printed off the Project-JK Oil Change write-up. Thus, I figured, I'd have enough oil for my next oil change and would only have to buy another filter when the next change rolled around. Well, good thing I bought the 12 qt. box, too.

Everything started simply enough: I positioned my oil catch pan beneath the oil pan and removed the drain bolt. I didn't expect the force with which the first few ounces of oil would rush from the oil pan and it over-shot my catch pan. Guess I'd have to clean that up with a little of my cat's litter. Good thing I have an elderly cat or else I'd probably not have any litter.

Next, after the oil had drained from the pan, I set about removing the filter, which was a lot more difficult than I'd anticipated (things tend to be this way on one's first attempt). I determined that my depth perception must be less than perfect because, while I'd thought that I'd repositioned the catch pan to "catch" the oil from the filter, I was actually about an inch or so off target. Looks like I'll need more cat litter on this situation.

Now, the real problem starts: I lubed the new filter with some old oil as directed in the write-up and tightened it in place, then replaced the oil pan drain bolt, and filled the car back up with 6 quarts of Royal Purple (about $54). Then I put my catch pan of old oil in the back and got ready to head to Auto Zone to have it recycled. I turned on my engine and drove forward about 15 feet and then thought it'd be prudent to look underneath to ensure that there were no major leaks. Good thing, too, because I had a veritable Deepwater Horizon situation in my drive-way. By the time the oil stopped spurting from the filter it had nicely misted my entire engine compartment in a purple haze and the rest was puddled in my drive-way.

Definitely going to need some kitty litter on this...

I repeated the steps from the oil change write-up and found that in my initial haste, I'd not removed the Mopar filter's gasket which was stuck to the engine and had therefore "double-gasketed it" which resulted in my $54 oil spill on wheels. Now, it's all been corrected, I'm no longer leaking and my lesson has been learned. My next project is to degrease the entire engine compartment once everything has cooled enough to let me touch it without instantly vaporizing the degreaser.

All things considered, I'm sad to have wasted all of that perfectly good oil, but I learned a valuable lesson in attention to detail and am now armed with the ability to change my own oil.

PS- I recommend Publix Cat Litter for its commendable absorbency.

PSS- After I degrease everything, I'll be adding a Rugged Ridge Evap Canister Skid Plate which arrived today! I'm curious to find out what exciting shenanigans await me in this next adventure.

BIGJ

good luck with that, of course some pics of the drive way would be great,

also, you killed a kitten back there in your post, jeep is a jeep, not a CAR!! JK

let us know how the skid place goes on, dont forget to change the halogen fluid while your at it, it may be a quart low.

ronjenx

If you make it a habit to wipe/clean the mating surface on the engine, the old gasket will never be overlooked.

I post this for others, as Super2 now has the habit.

Jiblet

I make a canoe out of a 2-liter soda bottle (with cap on). Sits nicely under the filter area and catches the oil and filter.

steve_bk

I made the same mistake but not on my jeep, On the wife minivan. OOOPs, yeah that day sucked, but that's what those quick washes are for to clean the engine compartment easy =)

What sucked is i was rushing to beat the rain, well i beat the rain but then i had the spill, clean and new oil all over again. yep that day still sucks in my mind.

Good thing is once it happens to you it won't happen again

JKlad

Another thing to look out for apparantly if you're using Mopar filters is to make sure the thread on the new filter is the same size as the old. The spare parts guy at my dealer told me to do this check because apparantly one in Mopar 20 filters he's been getting were the wrong size (I'm not sure whether this is a manufacturing fault or if it's a case of filters of a different part number being packed in the wrong boxes.

Ario56

The best way to learn something is to f#$k it up for your self. Congrats on the first time oil change though!!!

Super2

Thanks for all the replies. I figured a few people would enjoy my mistakes! As for "once you f$%k things up yourself..." I sure hope I've learned my lesson and don't mess it up a second time, lol! As for degreasing, WOW! I think I could eat off of my engine bay now! Also, I seem to be detecting a pattern in auto-brand-advertising: everything is purple-something (Royal Purple, Purple Power... or at least some kind of color). It can't just be Awesome-Go-Fast-Juice; it has to be Simple Green, Fast Orange... I'm sure the list goes on!

Super2

I'm still getting used to the "Jeep" not "car" thing, lol, but I'm working on it! Another month or two and I won't even remember how to spell "car"!

CAOKKIE

I know just how you feel. The last time I changed my oil two tires went flat. I still haven't figured that out. That's when I decided to just pay to have it done because I never enjoyed turning wrenches anyway.