did my IMS blow? did the RMS explode? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

tonycarreon · 08-09-2009, 04:17 PM

actually, i think the technical term is "dumbass forgot to open air hole on oil catcher."

the oil started racing down the drive-way at me while i'm trying to open the hole after it's filled up. oh my. i can't think of something less fun!

so remember - open the air hole on your oil catcher BEFORE you remove the drain plug.

E Kaplan · 08-09-2009, 06:10 PM

That is the worse case of Boxster Diarrhea I have ever seen!

Flavor 987S · 08-09-2009, 06:13 PM

That's gonna leave a mark!

mptoledo · 08-09-2009, 06:29 PM

I take it the dry patch on the right is were you laid under the car? Damn, hope it it was on sale!! at least you didn't forget to put you oil filter seal on like I did!!

Better get it cleaned up before the environmental police and al gore show up and fine you!!

Frodo · 08-09-2009, 07:27 PM

One of my earliest posts on this forum dealt with my first oil change, which was (more or less) an unmitigated disaster. The post was cut and pasted from an email that I sent my father-in-law, a retired farmer from Nebraska who has always owned/worked on Detroit iron vehicles, including autos, trucks, tractors, earth-moving equipment, etc. (I doubt that he even sees a Porsche more than once every few weeks---months?) Anyway, an excerpt of that email/post (BTW, I also own a Camry, and Colin & Nathan are my sons):

Started by getting a bigger drain pan to catch the oil: it's a hard plastic, self-enclosed affair, with a
shallow funnel arrangement at the top that sends the used lubricant down through a hole in the center,
to be collected in the hold below, which has a spout for pour-off later. The problem arose as I removed
the drain plug from the oil pan (it comes out with a 8 mm Allen wrench---German engineers have to do
EVERYTHING different it seems). Well, it was a quite a bit hotter than I realized and, as I exclaimed
"Ouch" I more or less simultaneously dropped the plug. Ordinarily (as in a Camry oil change) this
wouldn't have been a problem. In this case, however, as I witnessed the oil drain pan funnel (which only
holds maybe a quart) quickly filling up, I suddenly realized that the dropped plug fell INTO THE FUNNEL
(wanted to use a different f-word there) HOLE, more or less blocking it completely. It being entirely too
hot to reach down into the pool of oil to dislodge the somewhat wedged-in drain plug, I haplessly watched
as 9 quarts of nasty used motor oil formed an ever expanding pool beside me and ran on down the
driveway. Colin and Nathan got to watch.

The resulting lake was approximately 4 ft x 8 ft in size, and was undoubtedly one of the nastier
clean-ups I have ever tackled.

Good times...

Lil bastard · 08-09-2009, 09:05 PM

It wasn't the air hole, or the dropped drain plug, it's the type of pan used. Whether you'd opened the air hole, or not dropped the plug, you'd still have had a hazmat disaster using those type of pans.

The Boxster drains oil VERY fast, much faster than any of the 'take it to the recycle center' type of pans can handle... it will inevitably overflow as the oil comes out faster than it can go in.

I use a fairly standard pan like this -

Then I transfer the used oil to a covered 5 gal. kitchen pail to take to recycling.

Frodo · 08-10-2009, 04:30 AM

Quote: "It wasn't the air hole, or the dropped drain plug, it's the type of pan used. Whether you'd opened the air hole, or not dropped the plug, you'd still have had a hazmat disaster using those type of pans.

The Boxster drains oil VERY fast, much faster than any of the 'take it to the recycle center' type of pans can handle... it will inevitably overflow as the oil comes out faster than it can go in."

Posted by Lil bastard.

Oh, it definitely was the dropped drain plug, though I'll be the first to admit what you're using is, in retrospect, a better way to go. I'm now, with reasonably good success, using the same catch pan that I used with such disastrous results a few years ago. Took my drill and 1/2" bit and made half a dozen additional holes in the top. Works pretty well now, especially since I never drop the drain plug anymore.

It does splash a bit---newspaper catches that little bit pretty well.

Brucelee · 08-10-2009, 05:31 AM

I have to say that I purchased and returned one of those pans without using it. Once I figured out how the really work, I thought better of it.

Better luck next time!

Frodo · 08-10-2009, 05:39 AM

BTW, if anyone ever has this kind of problem in the future (which they probably shouldn't, after reading this thread, but you never know...), I found that by scooping with a dust pan (one of those rubbery-plastic ones), I was able to pick up probably 95% of the mess before reaching for the cat litter, etc.

Beats using like 800 paper towels!

mptoledo · 08-10-2009, 06:16 AM

This is what I used. I opened up the spout and it didn't spill a drop(until i tried to recycle it back into the jugs). So it could definately be the drain plug

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/accessories/accProductDetails.jsp?displayName=OilDrainPan&itemId=1035-10&navValue=101035&parentId=1311-10&productId=2278&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=2278_0_0_&filterByKeyWord=oilpabn&categoryNValue=101311&store=1795&skuDisplayName=15qt.OilRecyclePan&categoryDisplayName=OilandFluidChange&_requestid=1483138

tonycarreon · 08-10-2009, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mptoledo

This is what I used. I opened up the spout and it didn't spill a drop(until i tried to recycle it back into the jugs). So it could definately be the drain plug

yeah that's what i have. i didn't open the little yellow ( green in my case ) hole at the top . after i realized what was wrong i just opened the drain hole in the front nozzle and it drained in fast enough to keep up with the car, but that's hard to do when your hand is covered in oil. by the way. after sloshing it up to advance auto, i don't like the pan anyway. lil's idea is better. one "open" bucket to catch the oil, another container with a lid to transport.

the day wasn't the best anyway. we tried doing the jetta first and ended up turning the oil plug the wrong way so now it just spins in the pan rather than coming out. so i guess i'm stuck ordering a new oil pan for the jetta. (unless someone has any ideas) at least i didn't do that with the boxster. *phew*

MarkOfZero · 08-10-2009, 07:10 AM

O.K., since this is a current topic, I'm needing to get a new Oil Catch Pan. Anybody found one that they REALLY like? Thanks.

Mark

Samson · 08-10-2009, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkOfZero

O.K., since this is a current topic, I'm needing to get a new Oil Catch Pan. Anybody found one that they REALLY like? Thanks.

Mark

I second the Blitz 15 qt. drain pain. $10 and it's never failed me. The open top pan is also not a bad way to go. I used to have the Blitz 10 qt. drain pan that was a little bit of both of those designs, but the Boxster oil capacity is a little too close for comfort for that guy.

Look here:
http://www.blitzusa.com/oilchange.htm

The Mess Buster look interesting...

Bladecutter · 08-10-2009, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frodo

In this case, however, as I witnessed the oil drain pan funnel (which only holds maybe a quart) quickly filling up, I suddenly realized that the dropped plug fell INTO THE FUNNEL (wanted to use a different f-word there) HOLE, more or less blocking it completely. It being entirely too hot to reach down into the pool of oil to dislodge the somewhat wedged-in drain plug, I haplessly watched as 9 quarts of nasty used motor oil formed an ever expanding pool beside me and ran on down the driveway.

The best thing to do in this type of situation is to keep a magnetic pick up tool on hand. Once the drain plug fell into the oil pan, the pick up tool would have spared your fingers a dip into the hot oil.

Don't ask me how I learned this, but lets say that it was similar to your situation.

BC.

mptoledo · 08-10-2009, 08:01 AM

as for the oil drain pan, I got mine at wally world for around $8. I really like it as it is big enough to catch the filter also. You can seal it up, put it in a garbage bag and stick it in the back of my suv. I return it to walmart to drain it as they have free oil recovery up to 5 gallons. I learned the hard way not to put it back in the quart containers.

As for the drain plug, I just grab it, before I have unscrewed it all the way, with my fingers, not really that hard

. I didnt spill a drop. Might be a little more drama if your oil is hot.

I unscrewed the fron pour spout and didn't do the top round thingy. you get more flow with the spout off. Just screw the spout back on before you move it.

yimmy149 · 08-10-2009, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

actually, i think the technical term is "dumbass forgot to open air hole on oil catcher."

the oil started racing down the drive-way at me while i'm trying to open the hole after it's filled up. oh my. i can't think of something less fun!

so remember - open the air hole on your oil catcher BEFORE you remove the drain plug.

I did the same thing a couple weeks ago when doing a transmission fluid change. I did not realize 3 quarts of oil could come out of that small a drain hole in 5 seconds.

-james