Problem after oil change....

[xMike87x]

Ok on wed I did an oil change on my explorer. Its a 96 eb v8. When I went for my test drive afterwards something bad happened. As I pulled outta my neighborhood i noticed a burning smell and my check gauge was lit up. My oil pressure kept fickering from the normal position to completely dead. Then i noticed a huge trail of smoke in my mirror. I pulled over and looked underneath and oil was dripping from all over under my front end so I immediately went home. When I got home i took a closer look under the front end and oil was everywhere.. from the inside of the passenger tire to the inside of the driver tire.. All in all i believe i lost between 1-2 quarts and have no idea how this happened. This all took place in less than half a mile of driving. Does anyone have a clue as to what or how this happened?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[James909]

I would pull the oil filter off and make sure the O-ring isn't stuck to the block. It's possible that when you changed the oil filter the old O-ring stuck the the engine and when you put on the new oil filter you had two O-rings between the filter and the block causing a leak. This isn't unheard of so if you don't already when you change the oil filter lubricate the new O-ring with some motor oil. This should prevent it from sticking to the engine.

 

[xMike87x]

Im gettin ready to pull it into the driveway now and will be sure to take a look at that. Ive also heard thats its easy to cross thread. It didnt feel like it when I put it in but Im tryin to look at all posibilites. If it cross threaded though I would think there would be a constant leak and there doesnt seem to be (rained all evening yesterday so its hard to tell). Does this sound like like a posibilty?

 

[James909]

Cross threading is a possibility but as long as you put the oil filter on by hand (there is no need to use an oil filter wrench) I kind of doubt that it's cross threaded. Tightening it by hand if it were cross threaded you wouldn't get very far and you would probably notice that the filter didn't go on all the way. But I wouldn't rule that out. Even if it were the filter leaking it wouldn't leak all of the time as the oil only flows to the filter when the engine's running. You could take the filter off with the engine oil full and it wouldn't drain the oil out of the pan.

 

[xMike87x]

Pulled into the driveway and its definetly leaking from up around the filter. Went to buddys house to borrow a drain pan (mine is still full of old oil ). Good to know that i can pill the filter without draining the oil.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[xMike87x]

Took off filter and sure enough the old o-ring was on top of the new one. Hopefully this was the only cause of the problem. Thanks for all the help and quick replies.

You guys rock,
Mike

 

[Willard]

Haha, I've done that before. Replaced the oil and filter, started it up, and as soon as the pressure built up I heard a small pop and the sound of oil on the garage floor. Shut it off and looked and I'd lost about 2 quarts or so in about 30 seconds of run time.

I think you got lucky, and this is a good reason to always check for leaks before driving after an oil change. One thing is for sure, I bet you will be checking for that o-ring every time you change the oil from now on!

 

[chapsdeva]

Mike

Been there, done that!!!! It's easy to do, so don't feel bad. It sucks having to clean up the mess though!! The good thing is you didn't kill your engine and trust me, you will never do it again!

 

[Lloyd10977]

There is a certain process that I use that would keep this sort of thing from going unnoticed. When I am changing the filter during an oil change, I rub the rubber gasket of the new filter against that of the old filter. This applies a coating of oil on the new filter gasket, AND lets me LOOK at the old filter gasket to ensure that it was not stuck to the filter mount. If the old gasket is missing or damaged, it forces me to resolve the condition before the new filter is applied.

 

[muhl5443]

i start mine up after im done for a quick sec. so i can look underneath with it running to make sure there are no leaks.

 

[hworksinc]

Haha... I did that myself not two weeks ago...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239595

ALWAYS remember to check the mating surface!!!

 

[gijoecam]

Everyone that changes their own oil makes that mistake once and ONLY once in their life. You'll never do it again.

As mentioned, ALWAYS ALWaYS ALWAYS check the old filter to ensure that the old seal came off with it.

I had one stick just yesterday on the wife's car. Not sure how as I installed it with plenty of oil on the seal the last time, but it did.

-Joe

 

[Upright]

I've done it, too. My oil change ritual now includes visually inspecting the oil filter mounting surface on the engine and wiping it clean. Once bitten....

 

[slyfoxexplore]

Man now i know i wasnt the only one that has done this haha what is a good way to get all that oil out of the engine bay and cleaning under the hood?

 

[xMike87x]

Believe me i wont end up doing this again. I almost fried the motor.. Had to buy 4 more quarts to fill it back up.. and to top that off since this isnt a daily driver i figured why not buy the top shelf stuff. Castrol Edge @ $8.49 a quart nine times

Im sure i will look back and laugh one day though,

Mike