Hurdigurdiman

I did an oil change a few days ago and after testing the level via the dip stick, decided that I had put a little too much oil into the system. I decided to jack it up again and take off the filter and empty it and put it back thereby lowering the oil level a little. On jacking up my car from the center of the rear I unintentionally caught the oil pan with the jack pad. As I jacked it I saw a weep of oil running down the jack. Dammit. I immediately lowered the jack but the damage was already done. I put an inch hairline crack in the pan cover. I bought a used cover on Ebay for $49 (free shipping) which came from a 2001 Carrera. Dropped the new oil and saved it in my catcher. Now awaiting delivery of the cover. I removed the cracked cover easily. Also the oil baffle. Now I have to remove the old contact glue from around the oil pan still on the car with paint thinner and razor blade. I thought about putting on the deep pan which is advertised by Pelican Parts and Jake Raby for track users, but decided to go with the normal set up as I don't track my car anyway. I am surprised on how easy this DIY has been so far. Just awaiting delivery which I believe will be this Friday. Has this happened to anyone else on the board or am I the only thick headed bastard around here???????????? lol.

PS I did consider cleaning and soldering the crack from inside the dropped pan cover, but decided the best way to go would be to buy the used one.

This is the one which I cracked. More than I first imagined.

5CHN3LL

That sucks - but I'm in no position to give you sh*t for it. Not that long ago, I failed to notice that the gasket from one spin-on filter didn't come off with the filter. I installed the new filter, filled the car, fired it up, and blew 2-3 quarts of pressurized oil all over the garage floor and all over the engine cradle and suspension in the 3-4 seconds it took me to realize something was wrong and shut it down again.

Ten seconds of double-checking my work would have saved 2 hours of squeegeeing, scooping, and vacuuming oil off the floor and another hour wiping down the underside of the car.

How's the oil sump look? Nice and clean?

You may have put fewer miles on a single oil change than KrazyK ever managed - definitely be a record.

sjg1138

At least your oil pan is not made of plastic!
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...e-911-carrera/

Last time I changed my oil, the cheap plastic container I bought to catch the oil was actually two quarts or so smaller than advertised. As a result two quarts of oil emptied onto my garage floor.

Rubik

Sounds like a Pat and Mat moment.

I used to watch these guys when I was a kid:

ion_berkley

If it makes you feel any better, on Saturday I was switching out the stock oil baffle for the X51 baffle. Set the ratchet direction before I crawled under, torqued the first bolt and it turns perhaps 90 degrees with no feeling of torque release. I stopped as the "Something not right" message flashed into my head...have these been loctite'd by someone I wondered?...but crawled out and double checked the ratchet again...try a second bolt, same exact feeling so keep going this time...ping! Bolt sheers off.. Crawl out again super frustrated, trying to work out whats the issue. Swear at myself a few times and go cool off. Come back, scratch my head for a while and habitually check the ratchet direction a third time...and ITS SET WRONG.WTF!. All I can think is that its a different design of ratchet than I normally use, its small and the switch is super light. I think the way I was holding it with oily gloves on I switched the direction repeatedly whilst under the car...at least I can't accept I set and checked it wrong twice...still I screwed up by not noticing when I started using it even though it was an awkward position.

It all ended OK, the sheered bolt come out easy with a screw remover and there was no obvious block-thread damage from the over-torque. Did note that about a third of the bolts I removed were badly corroded near the head, (the others looked in great condition) so I would have been sourcing new ones anyhow...but now a 2 day delay because not a single Bay Area dealer has them in stock.

Still puzzled and mad at myself.

Water Hound

^
Now THAT'S a funny cartoon!

These posts are why I just see my local Indy to have service done professionally. Sadly I'd just be a serious hazard to myself and others if I did it all DIY...

alpine003

To some, the JI $350 oil changes would seem pretty tempting after reading stories like this. This is just for an oil change too. lmagine if you had to do something more involved...

Hurdigurdiman

Ian I know the small wrench you mean And they are very easy to catch and knock the wrong way. Its a little black plastic latch only a 1/4 inch long.

Hell Alpine I don't have to imagine if I had to do something more involved as you say. I have done lots of DIY work much more complicated than an oil and filter change. I just inadvertently pushed the jack a half inch further under the car than I should have and caught the pan cover. I saved all my new oil in a catch pan and will use it again when the other cover arrives. The thousands of $$$$$$ I have saved by doing my own work is not even worth a guess. BTW I just bled the clutch after doing my brake bleeding. Getting to the bleed nipple on the clutch is a royal pain in the ****.

5CHN3LL

The drag is that stuff like this happens at garages and other "professional" establishments, probably much more often than we'd like to imagine...and the guy who makes a mistake is going to worry first about covering his *** with the boss. Here are just a few examples that I've seen, all from "respectable" establishments, no rinky-dink grease monkeys...

1. I went to [major tire retailer] long ago and bought a set of new tires for my Volvo 850. After driving a few miles, something felt off, so I walked around the car and found that they'd installed three correctly-sized tires and a fourth that was the same make and model but a completely wrong size.
2. My Corvette had a brake job shortly before it became my Corvette - and the tech forgot to install a cotter pin in one of the two retention pins that hold the brake pads in place onto each caliper. The pin had backed out far enough that it was clicking against the back side of the wheel whenever the car was moving.
3. A friend and I were headed out on a road trip; a few miles from home, we developed a smoke screen that fogged the freeway. She'd taken the car in for service earlier that day, and the tech forgot the oil filler cap. Oil splashed up out of the crank case all over the engine, exhaust manifold...the entire engine bay.

If you're the one who screws up, at least you'll be more concerned about rectifying the problem than keeping your supervisor from finding out you almost stranded or killed a customer...

Water Hound

lol

I imagine that if I did all my own work it would likely become much more involved altogether too quickly - kind of an endless litany of Hurdi's original post in this thread. While I'm not from the school of mechanical declined, for me a little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing. Best that I stick to less expensive components than drive train schtuff. I'm a great wax on, wax off kinda guy.

Kudos to you DIY types. I'm truly envious, even when the odd small oops happens.

JayG

Don't feel bad, I torqued off the head of a water pump bolt and they are at 7 ft lbs. Of course it was the last of 7 bolts. I was lucky, I was able to remove the broken part with my fingers!

Hurdigurdiman

You know what they say...who ever the hell 'THEY' are lol. "A guy who never made a mistake, never made anything of himself".

5CHN3LL About 10 years ago I took our Jeep Cherokee to have the oiled changed. Went to pick it up. Drove along the car park. Noticed a loud ticking sound. Switched it off as the owner of the garage came running over the car park to catch me. They (him and his son), thought the other had put the oil in the engine. Neither had. Now that's what a CALL a boo boo... I never used that garage again. A case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Chicago Pete

You got it squared away for under $50, I would say not to bad.

KoB

Hurdi, you're right on all counts ... I'd bet that all of us who DIY have at least one story like this. I know I do. But, like you've said, there's a lot of $$ to be saved, and we learn a lot about our cars.

I installed a LN deep sump and baffle kit last year. Getting the old sealer off the bottom of the block is tedious, but you'll get there. I used a plastic scraper and a lot of rags and solvent ( IIRC I used parts cleaner). The new pan will only need a thin (1 mm) bead of sealant ... it's easy to use too much (and I probably did).

There are probably some "while you're in there" items while you've got the pan off ... my deep sump kit included a spacer for the oil pickup tube, so I also replaced the O-ring that seals the tube to the spacer.

5CHN3LL

Don't forget to check the pickup tube screen for garbage - and don't add any garbage by using too much sealant as KoB says...