How To Prevent The Oil Filter From Pouring Out When Removing It?

[immax01]

Usually i change my own oil but on occasion, i take it to a local shop for them to do it. Whenever I change my own oil, when i remove the old oil filter, all the oil pours out of the filter all over my engine.

The filter on my '95 ES300 is at a downward angle, I try to put a rag under the filer and my oil bucket under the car but most of the oil in the filter pours out when i unscrew the filter.

How do you remove it and not have all the oil pour out? After every oil change, my car looks like its overheating for 2 days, with the spilled oil heating up and smoking up. Not a huge deal, but i know its preventable. Thanks!

[1990LS400]

It's a "feature". The oil filter is in the same place on my wife's 98 Camry V6 and I have a problem with it too -- got a pretty big catch tray to keep the oil from spilling on to the garage floor. I've never noticed the Camry smoking after an oil change -- are you spilling oil on the exhaust manifold as you lift the oil filter up and out? If you are, make sure the oil filter is upright before remove it. I guess the filter could be removed from under the car but I've never tried that -- I always remove the filter from above.

I calculated that I've changed the oil and filter in the Camry 22 times sime we bought it new. I think I could do it blindfolded -- if I could keep from burning my arm while removing the oil filter.

Wouldn't it be nice if a high maintenance item like the oil filter was put where it could be easily serviced? I have to remove 12 bolts to drop the freakin' belly pan on my LS400 to change its oil filter. One of the few things I really liked about my Mercedes 240D was that it had a remotely mounted oil filter insert in an upright heavy cast metal housing. The oil filter insert even had a little metal loop handle so it could be lifted out of it's metal housing with a hook so I didn't have to touch it. It would be nice if Toyota would do something like that and make their car hoods stand straight up when open to make their cars easier to service.

[Lexusfreak]

I've always thought that the oil filter placement on these engines (it's the same on my 05 ES 330!) was just dumb. :chairshot: Almost like it was an afterthought.....I think the engineer on this one was named 'Gilligan' frankly

I'd be interested in a way to prevent such a mess as well.....I have never spilled any on the manifold & had any smoke issues....I just put an old large towel on the subframe area underneith along with the catch pan to minimize the mess as much as possible....and after some wiping, I have no dripping afterwards....but it IS definately a PITA.

[steviej]

I had the same problem on my 02 ES, but at least on the 02 there was a small drain guide attached to the engine block that would direct the exiting oil into a stream that could be caught some how.

Solution:

Take a 20oz. plastic soda bottle. Cut the top of the bottle off completey about 3/4 the way up from the bottom. Prop the bottom end up under the oil filter before you loosen it. Then when you spin the filter off, the exiting oil is caught in the bottle and not on your crossmembers or garage floor. When the oil has drained out of the filter, then you can spin it the rest of the way off and turn it upright to guide it out from under the manifold.

worked for me many times.

steviej

[Lexusfreak]

I had the same problem on my 02 ES, but at least on the 02 there was a small drain guide attached to the engine block that would direct the exiting oil into a stream that could be caught some how.

Solution:

Take a 20oz. plastic soda bottle. Cut the top of the bottle off completey about 3/4 the way up from the bottom. Prop the bottom end up under the oil filter before you loosen it. Then when you spin the filter off, the exiting oil is caught in the bottle and not on your crossmembers or garage floor. When the oil has drained out of the filter, then you can spin it the rest of the way off and turn it upright to guide it out from under the manifold.

worked for me many times.

steviej

I'll make a note of that......thanks steviej! B)

[aja8888]

I had the same problem on my 02 ES, but at least on the 02 there was a small drain guide attached to the engine block that would direct the exiting oil into a stream that could be caught some how.

Solution:

Take a 20oz. plastic soda bottle. Cut the top of the bottle off completey about 3/4 the way up from the bottom. Prop the bottom end up under the oil filter before you loosen it. Then when you spin the filter off, the exiting oil is caught in the bottle and not on your crossmembers or garage floor. When the oil has drained out of the filter, then you can spin it the rest of the way off and turn it upright to guide it out from under the manifold.

worked for me many times.

steviej

I'll make a note of that......thanks steviej! B)

That is a good idea.

Thanks