Cleaner Auto Oil Changes

Using 2 liter bottles, milk jugs, and water bottles to address messy oil changes.

Scissors, razor knife, 2 liter bottle, 1 gallon milk jug, empty water bottle.

It's been my observation in doing my own oil changes for 40 years that pulling drain plugs and oil filters can be a messy proposition. The resulting drips and spills require lots of paper towels, rags, or brake cleaner to clean up. This is a tutorial as how to avoid some of it. If anyone has ever changed the oil filter in a Taurus or Sable with a 3 liter vulcan engine, you know what I mean to prevent oil from getting into the starter. The way I see it, oil filters can be set into 3 groups. Vertical (bottom), vertical (top), and horizontal. I wish I had taken photos of the actual changes I've done, but hopefully this will give you some good ideas. BTW, the solution to the Ford vulcan 3 liter is to cut a milk jug into a small tray to set above the starter as seen above.

Removing filters like these normally requires shifting the drain pan to a new location from the drain plug. Often oil oozes from the seal upon loosening and drips out on engine cover or other areas.

Once you have just loosened the gasket seal, push up with the top of the 2 liter. It will grip the filter, oil will run into the spout. Bonus: won't burn hands on hot filter.

Most of these have a drain hole, as you release the filter, oil fills the catch pocket and goes out the drain hole. Most people know you need to catch that oil.

A plastic water bottle can be cut and placed directly beneath drain hole to catch oil. Plastic can be cut to locate better for the hole's location, as I did with a diagonal cut.

Again, removing these requires moving the oil pan from the drain plug area to this area of the vehicle. These will disperse oil dripping down the engine.

Most horizontal filters have a flange that the filter spins on to. Cut off top of 2 liter. Cut the two liter to the filter length using the new replacement filter as a template (2 cuts of filter length, 180 apart) then cut and dispose of top half.. Loosen the filter slightly, slide the two liter next to the block below the flange and continue loosening the filter reaching through the top of the open 2 liter. You might want to notch out the engine side of the 2 liter so it rests flush against the block, a little trial before you remove the filter. Oil will drain into the bottle, not down the engine. If your engine doesn't have a flange, this probably won't work perfectly, but it should catch a lot of the oil.

Our van has an oil plug that initially makes the oil shoot out and splash 2 feet behind the plug. As the oil drained, I needed to move the drain pan forward as the oil poured out. Messy situation. I'm sure someone can relate. I always ended up with splashes on the garage floor.

The next time you go dumpster diving, remember a 2 liter bottle will screw into a water hose. A 2 liter and a short piece of water hose remedy this issue fine. The picture doesn't really show it well, but first you cut off the bottom of the 2 liter. Then cut down the bottle on both sides 180 from each other. Trim off the front side of the cuts. This will leave you a backsplash. The oil goes smoothly from the backspash down the bottle and hose into the pan below.

Why are you wasting time cleaning out dirty funnels to add clean flluids? Hack off the bottom of milk jug. A perfect funnel with a handle even. Same for the two liter. Same goes for pouring used oil back into the bottles for recycling, use the same funnel you had pouring it into the engine.