A story with a cautionary note to it

[OttawaCharger]

Funny story. Changed the oil on the Dart on Sunday (360LA). Everything went as usual which means I made a mess of the headers but that's fine. My daughter and I then took a drive to enjoy the nice weather. We got about 20 miles then the cab filled with heavy smoke. My poor kid was instantly freaking out. The engine was puking oil and fast. Slowing down was sketchy due to the oil also being under tires. Reminded me of winter driving on ice. Luckily I was on a 2 lane side road so not much traffic. I Got her stopped, over to the shoulder safe, and shutdown. To be honest, I didn't have a moment to look at the pressure gauge so I don't know how low it got. Anyway, popped the hood and the whole passenger side of the engine bay was hosed down in scalding hot oil. The filter was still on and I had just enough oil in the pan to show on the bottom of the dipstick. I called my son to come with rags, filter and oil. It looked like the oil came out from under the filter despite it being tight so I pulled it. What I found was that there were 2 O rings where there should've been 1! What happened is that when I did the change and pulled the old filter, its O ring stayed in place. I guess it was ok to hold when it was cold but not ok when it got hot. We wiped down the bay, topped up the oil, replace the filter and we were on our way again with a trail of smoke behind. So, it was exciting for a bit there. Motor seems ok.
Guess I'll be a bit more mindful of the old filters when removing them from now on.

 

[dartindanno]

More common than you think, it happens.
Glad you got it shut down and figured out quickly!

 

[junkyardhero]

stuff like this is how you get a nickname around the shop. you'd instantly be "double up" and everybody would leave o-rings on your box and bench for a solid week.

glad you got it sorted without any damage. oil and tires can be a bad combo!

 

[Locomotion]

Always put a light coat of oil on the o-ring when installing a new filter. That will minimize the chances of it sticking to the plate. I do it when partially filling the new filter before installation.

 

[340six]

Aluminum foil on headers is a fast and cheap solution to keep oil off them when changing filter.

 

[OttawaCharger]

Always put a light coat of oil on the o-ring when installing a new filter. That will minimize the chances of it sticking to the plate. I do it when partially filling the filter before installation.

I always do this so I can tighten them properly. Never had 1 left behind like this before though.

 

[OttawaCharger]

Aluminum foil on headers is a fast and cheap solution to keep oil off them when changing filter.

that sir, is an excellent idea! I've got Doug's 453 stainless and I'll admit that they aren't half as pretty as they day they went in

 

[Amata Bene]

Did the same many, many years ago with my parents Subaru. Only got out of the driveway before it showed up. When I left for basic they were still driving the Cordoba. When I finished and came home they had a Subaru. WTH

 

[middleagecrisis]

Don't feel bad, I did the same thing a few years ago. It took 45 years of changing my own oil before it happened, but it did. Just the right combination of being in a hurry, low light and the o-ring sticking to the block. I always apply a little oil to the o-ring before installing the filter, but this one decided to stick onto the block. You'll know something's not right in a hurry!

 

[1MeanA]

I had this happen on an old Ford truck. I didn't realize the old gasket had stuck to the filter mount. It dumped 4 quarts of oil in an instant when I started it up.

 

[jeff alder]

A bit of high temp grease goes a long way here...better than using oil. The headers might have saved you an engine! If the oil missed a single pipe exhaust manifold...OUCH I have done this same thing and also had a spring stick in an oil filter adapter. It was a 4 door fury 383 car and the oil filter swelled up and popped. Man was that a mess...LOL.

 

[340six]

Maybe unrelated other than oil dumping.
And was quite some time ago.
Had a friend put oil/water after market gauges in his car. The junk plastic hose broke off oil all over engine bay. Small fire. I had one in my 1st car brake off and dumped oil on carpet.
Buy copper lines

 

[OttawaCharger]

Uggh, I cannot imagine having one of those lines break inside the cabin! I opted for the electric sender in the engine bay for my setup.

 

[340six]

Uggh, I cannot imagine having one of those lines break inside the cabin! I opted for the electric sender in the engine bay for my setup.

At least used oil did not smell like rear end gear lube. And had black carpet and interior. Still was not a pleasant odor.
Oh well I learned from the mistake and never used the hose supplied with them again.

 

[Demonx2]

As mentioned, this is more common than you think. We used to get warranty claims from dealers for oil leaks but "upon further review," we found they leaked right after an oil change due to not removing the original filter seal. (I'm a retired engine engineer from one of the "Big 3".)

Fun fact: Something you might be curious about/notice. In general, today's engines are designed such that a leak there at the filter does not spray or drip onto hot parts. You might see little shields, nubs, or a "sugar scoop" sticking out on castings, etc. Anything that can be done to protect the customer in the event of a leak at the filter gasket.

 

[leechris81]

My dad taught me about this at a very young age. He told me to always wipe off the mounting surface with a rag every time then you’ll never miss a seal that has stayed behind. I have changed oil countless times and have adhered religiously to his instructions throughout my career. I have seen many o rings on the block or the adapter but have fortunately caught everyone as a result.

 

[A56]

The upside to this lesson is you'll always check the old filter from now on to make sure the o-ring came off with it.

 

[missing linc]

The upside to this lesson is you'll always check the old filter from now on to make sure the o-ring came off with it.

Exactly!
I've been fortunate enough that it's never happened to me, but I learned at a very early age to double check that the old o-ring didn't stay behind before installing a new filter. One of my first paying jobs that allowed me to do some work on cars was at a neighborhood service station. (Remember those?) One of my friends and coworkers did an oil change on a longtime customer's almost new Pontiac Grand Prix one evening. The next day the car came in on a tow truck after the customer noticed a puddle of oil in his driveway. He was smart not to start it because there was only about 1.5 quarts left in the motor.
After the boss calmed down enough, he explained what caused the leak and showed us. Fortunately there was no significant damage done.

 

[Dana67Dart]

Some years ago jiffy lube changed the oil in my daughters car.

I noticed the filter had a dent in it like they used a strap wrench to tighten it

I didn't think much of it.

6 months later my daughter calls that the car sounds like a sewing machine.

She checks the oil and nothing on the dip stick.

Took it to the local repair shop and the lou filter had a crack right where the dent was.

Expansion / contraction metal fatigued the outer can of the filter and it would leak out when it got hot.

 

[Lefty71]

Uggh, I cannot imagine having one of those lines break inside the cabin! I opted for the electric sender in the engine bay for my setup.

Exactly why the fuel pressure gauge goes on the cowl.

 

[BrianT]

Or you could use copper tube instead of the plastic one supplied with the gauge. I had a plastic one break and spray hot oil on my jeans before. Wrapped a rag around it and drove a couple of blocks home that way.

I was taught early at one of those "neighborhood garages" to always wipe the mounting surface of the block. We always had a red shop towel in our pocket at the ready. I still gets flash backs every time I see a red shop towel.

 

[4spdragtop]

I've run plastic for 12 years now. Used what came with Autometer gauges. Now I may have replaced it once as maintenance(no leaks)

Uggh, I cannot imagine having one of those lines break inside the cabin! I opted for the electric sender in the engine bay for my setup.

 

[pauly]

I had a 92 W150 that constantly left the gasket on the motor when I changed the oil. Couldn’t find a burr on the surface and always lubed the gasket. Learned really quick after the first time I backed it out of the garage and saw 4 quarts of fresh oil on the concrete floor!!

 

[ESP47]

This happened when I was directing my wife on how to change the oil on her Chevelle but luckily it dumped the oil while the car was still sitting in the garage.

The way I've always ensured to not run into this problem is by wiping the oil off the o ring on the old oil filter and using it to lubricate the o ring on the new oil filter. That way you'll always notice if the old o ring is still attached to the filter or not.

 

[OttawaCharger]

that's a good approach. I usually prefill the new filter and lubricate the new O ring then.