I made a huge mess while doing oil change today. I drained all the oil and filled up 7 quarts of oil. Then I started the car to drive down from the ramps. Then I saw the oil spilled all over the ground and engine compartment. I was like WTH, where did I do it wrong? It was a huge mess.







I was trying to figure out which part I did wrong and noticed the oil filter housing was not well tighten , not sure how it happens since I did use torque wrench tighten to 19 ft lbs. maybe it didn't screw on properly in the first place.

My major concern is whether this will cause any damage to the engine, electrical system or other parts ?

How do I properly clean the oil from engine compartment?

Is the car is safe to start or drive ?

Is it necessary tow to local shop?

Any advice is appreciated

Thanks

 

The oil filter has a gasket. Oil on the outside of the engine may not be a problem, however, a missing gasket may lead to additional leaks and dangerous low oil pressure.

Remove the oil filter cover and look to see if you forgot the gasket or, perhaps, cross threaded the cover when you screwed it on...I can't see how that could be done, but, who knows


...nice diffuser.

 

those,caps ,are tricky to put on...U might have cross threaded the cap,,just did my oil and it took a few times to get the cap started on properly

 

The last oil change I did, buttoned up everything, or I least I thought I did. For whatever reason, something did not feel right, so I decided to double check the oil cap. Used my finger to feel if the cap was tight against all edges. It was not even though I had already torqued it. Must have cross threaded it. Removed and did it again and everything was fine. First time after numerous oil changes. You really have to double check and not take things for granted, as people tend to do after they have done things a dozen times or so.

Good luck with the clean up. Know that is not gonna be fun.

 

it was definitely the cap was threaded on incorrectly

 

Seems like it.

I was taught this method when tightening something with very fine or tricky threads, like the crown on a watch: turn the oil cap (or crown) counter-clockwise until you feel it seat properly then clockwise to tighten.

 

I had the same problem with my wife's Merc. Dealer quoted me $400 to clean up my mess, no thanks.

My advice:
Do not use harsh de-greasers or you'll have some parts oxidize pretty quick. Lesson learned, I use this one now:
Serpentine belt got dry from de-greaser and started to squeak. I went ahead and changed it.

Do not powerwash! gentle controlled water to rinse cleaner.

Cover electrical components with the Glad press 'n Seal kitchen wrap/tape.

Use this product after finishing with rinsing:
Lastly apply something like this to protect: Trim and motor dressing

 

Did you use a new crush washer and or new oil drain plug? Torque to 37lbs?
Did you wet the green rubber gasket on the oil filter housing and install in he proper location ?

 

Yes, I replaced the o ring, drain plug and crush washer. The oil cap was not seated correctly!

Just need to find proper way to clean the engine compartment

 

IMHO, a bumper-off cleaning of everything up top there is the right way to deal with this. Someone recently had a shop do this on their car. Call me paranoid, but there is a nonzero risk of engine bay fires as the oil collects crud and becomes a thick greasy mess dribbling down to your hot exhaust.

Lots of lightweight paper towels/rags to dip into all the crevices on the engine casting, perhaps a degreaser rinse if you're feeling zesty -- just cover the alternator like any other car.

 

then sprits PS21 Total Auto Wash everywhere and hose off. Repeat as necessary. (Electrical components should be covered first.)

https://www.p21s.com/portfolio/high-...tal-auto-wash/

Cotton rags (not paper towel) work best to soak up oil/grease.

On metal parts like the exhaust (but not near electrical connectors), brake fluid cleaner would speed things up.

 

Don’t feel too bad, I did the exact same thing the second time I changed my oil. Finished filling up the oil, started up the car and heard a loud bang. Then an error message came up on the screen saying the oil pressure was too low. Being somewhat slow , I actually waited about 10 seconds before turning off the engine , then went around back and saw a huge pool of oil under the car. I figured something must have exploded in the engine and I assumed I just ruined my new 100k$+ car. Then I saw my oil filter had actually flown out of the engine bay (which thankfully I had left open) and was sitting about 10 feet away. So like you, I had not threaded on the filter properly. Amazingly, the intake and air filter which sits right below was still clean . I didn’t really clean anything (except the floor) because most of the engine is really inaccessible and I figured what’s the harm . That was over 20K miles ago so I’m assuming no major damage was done.
(at the next oil change I submitted a Blackstone analysis which all looked good. Whew)

 

After seeing your message, I feel much better now. Lol.

 

The air intake for the intercoolers is right under the spoiler. I would assume that there is quite a bit of oil in there now. I agree with the bumper off cleaning recommendation. Likely needs new engine air filter. Good luck.

 

Don't feel too bad, everybody who picks up a wrench or a screwdriver has a bad day every now and then. This is small potatoes compared to some of the accidental shenanigans I've pulled in my garage.

It could always be worse. One way it could be worse, for instance, is if you accidentally overlook one of your oil-soaked rags when you're finishing up the job. That's much more likely to cause an engine fire than just spilling some oil by itself. I recommend counting the rags.