I Just Did The Weirdest Oil Change

"Andrew P. Collins" (andrewpcollins) 11/28/2015 at 09:01 • Filed to: Huh., Acura TL

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Just went to do my TL’s 67th or so oil change and noticed some strange things.

So the last two oil changes were done by Honda dealers. I know, I suck. I didn’t have time to do it/couldn’t be bothered on our road trip from NYC to LA, so Morehead Honda in Newburgh, NY and Premier Honda in New Orleans, LA got the privilege.

Whatever. I broke out my new Harbor Freight Low Profile jack, which worked so well I can’t wait for another excuse to raise a car, set the stands, removed jack, and crawled under with a few sockets and a ratchet.

What size was it again? 14? 17? Naturally, I’m going to try every one before looking at the manual. Then the first socket I try first will end up being the right size. Surely, you know how this goes. But when I got to the oil pan I found something else entirely.

This... slot. Thing.

I was livid. I know it didn’t use to look like that. Sure as shit didn’t feel factory, anyway. I dug out the manual to see if I was nuts and nope, I should have been fondling at a 17mm socket.

“Some fucking chum guzzler at one of those dealerships must have either overtightened, lost or broken my drain plug and taken it upon themselves to affix this wind-up toy piece,” I reckoned.

But what recourse did I have? The shops were a half and a whole country away, and they saw my car months and months ago.

More to the point, I needed to do an oil change and figure out how I was doing oil changes going forward. So I set to loosening the drain plug.

It wasn’t budging against my fingers, but a quick twist with a plier broke the seal and after the at the thing popped out.

Well, two centimeters or so out. Instead of dropping into my waste oil catch bucket, it clung to the oil pan by a little steel wire umbilical cord that appeared to go inside the hole from which oil is expelled.

It’s actually pretty trick.

There didn’t appear to be any leakage, and holy crap was this little twist-plug easy to use.

I uneventfully swapped filters and re-affixed the plug, which took a lot of fiddling but eventually returned to a seal.

Then I opened the oil fill cap on top of the engine to replenish its blood and.... what the hell happened here?

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

It looked like someone had taken a bite out of the threads on the cap. Was that little chunk of plastic eaten by my engine? I never heard anything. Could an engine pass a piece of plastic without being damaged? How would this even happen?

I looked up the part just to make sure. Yeah, no, there’s not supposed to be a chunk of the thread missing.

With no choice but to finish the change, I ran the car with a full belly of dinosaur blood and looked for leaks. And looked and looked. And test drove it, and looked again. Apparently solid underneath. But that filler cap is going to need replacing.

Moral of the story; never let anyone touch your car. Obviously. But if they do, maybe they’ll give you some weird drain plug technology you end up liking?

But seriously; anyone have any experience with this type of drain plug or have any idea what could have happened to my filler cap?

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Contact the author at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

pip bip - choose Corrour > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 09:09

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never heard of it or seen it before.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 09:26

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Well... Actually what happened is that the dinosaurs were angry that you were filling your car with their blood so they decided to munch on the filler cap to try and escape to exact their revenge. Wait... you’re telling me that’s not how engines work? shit.

deekster_caddy > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 09:26

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So some dealer joker overtightened and stripped the drain plug threads out of the pan, and busted the fill cap? Where are the plastic chunks that are missing from the cap? Get your receipt and go back to the last place that changed it. I’d be livid. They own you a new oil pan (not a thread repair kit) and fill cap.

edit - as for that drain plug, nifty idea but I don’t want one in my car.

Nibby > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 09:34

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Stuff a buttplug in there, should work well as a replacement.

EL_ULY > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 09:35

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story fits the title 1,000,000%

all the WTFs ever!!!

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 09:40

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Yes I put on of those on my Jag the last oil change I did on it before I sold it. It is a universal piece I had to buy when I dropped the drain plug and it rolled down the driveway into the storm drain.

StoneCold > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 09:48

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Introducing strangers to your car?

Unfamiliar slot-like things in your drain hole?

Engine love bites?

On a serious note, did either of the oil changes seem like they took too much time? Like an oh-shit-we-rounded-out-the-plug-and-have-to-drill/rethread-it amount of time?

DasWauto > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 10:14

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If my car was missing a chunk out of the fill cap I’d probably be taking the valve cover off to make 100% sure the missing piece isn’t in there. That said, with no apparent noise or other issue in the time since the offending oil change(s) the damage to the cap probably happened on a shop floor and the missing part is not in your engine. Get a replacement and it’ll be fine.

As for the drain plug, that’s not something I’d be happy about. Maybe call on the the dealers or hit up Honda’s customer service to see if they could do you a favour on that. In the end I wouldn’t make too much of a fuss but it’s worth a shot.

desertdog5051 > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 11:08

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Commuting 73 miles each way, 6 days a week, I would take my car to a nearby Shell station for oil changes.

It was convenient and I had a young child that I needed to pay more attention to.

One day I was looking under it and found this in the drain hole of the pan.

I seemed to work OK. But I was livid at the dick heads at the Shell station for stripping my plug and not telling me about it.

After that I paid a mechanic at work to do my changes. I have never taken any of my vehicles to an oil change place since.

Andrew P. Collins > StoneCold 11/28/2015 at 11:12

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Both were drop-off deals while we were traveling. Just dumped the car, went about our day, and picked up later.

Andrew P. Collins > deekster_caddy 11/28/2015 at 11:14

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I’ve got the receipts of course but at this point it was 3,000 and 6,000 miles ago and both shops are thousands of miles away. Not worth escalating to lawyer territory, so I could call. And no offense to anyone who works in auto service, but, I don’t think I’d get too far without at least being there in person.

Urambo Tauro > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 11:14

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Your manual tells you what size tools you need? I’ve never seen that before. Part of me thinks that’s unnecessary, but that’s actually really cool! I can never remember if mine takes a 15mm or 16mm. (It’s 16mm.)

I have to admit I’d probably just grab both sizes on my way underneath the car, rather than pull the book out. But having the tool sizes listed in the book sure would be handy on larger projects that I would have the book open for, like an intake manifold job or something.

Urambo Tauro > Nibby 11/28/2015 at 11:18

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LOL

I heard a story once about pranksters going into a dealership, who removed the oil drain plugs on several cars. Before too much oil poured out, they would twist a candle in place and break off the excess. The engine retained oil just fine... until it warmed up enough to melt the wax.

Andrew P. Collins > DasWauto 11/28/2015 at 11:20

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Hm. Taking off the valve cover isn’t the worst idea. But then the gasket will break... and I’ll need a new one... and I’m scared to open things I do’t have to!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 11:30

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I am reading this while sitting in the waiting room at the Ford dealership where they are in the process of changing the oil in my wife’s explorer. I did the math this morning. For ten bucks more than the supplies, someone else gets to do the dirty work and save me half an hour of work. The best part about this dealership is the wall of windows between the shop and the waiting room. I watched the entire process from the comfort of a leather chair.

I feel no guilt.

Birddog > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 11:31

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Hmm...

Rides in one of the most grueling off road events in North America.

Is afraid to take off a Valve Cover.

There’s something wrong here.

Nibby > Urambo Tauro 11/28/2015 at 11:38

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Wow what a dick move

Tohru > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 11:42

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Hiding your license plate like a buster instead of photoshopping it out completely like you should?

they-will-know-my-velocity > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 12:26

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I watched a tech over-torque a pan plug at work the other day. Big ol Detroit DD15 engine in a Freightliner getting an oil change. He was finishing up and used an impact on it and you could hear the oil pan crack. Proceeded to dump just short of 12 gallons of oil all over his bay. Whoops.

wafflesnfalafel > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 12:53

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That just bites... Before we got married my wife used to get her oil changed at an Oil Can Henry’s where one of her friends worked and they stripped the plug on her 92 Accord using a damn impact wrench to tighten it. But that filler plug - I can’t even imagine how they did that. They must have thought you’d never notice...

Urambo Tauro > Nibby 11/28/2015 at 13:06

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No kidding; my rage would be off the charts!

I wish I could find a news article or something, but I can’t seem to come up with the right search terms to narrow it down. I want to say it was a bunch of pickup trucks or vehicles with a similar ride height.

TheRealBicycleBuck > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/28/2015 at 13:25

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Well, dang. So the Ford guy offered to sell me a new air filter for $30. I told him I’d pick one up for $10 on the way home.

I opened it up to put in the new filter and found engine oil in the intake on the clean side of the filter. I figured the tech overfilled it, so I checked the oil level. It was fine. The next thought was that the tech was either sloppy or purposely lubed the airborne connection. There wasn’t oil anywhere else, so sloppiness wasn’t a factor.

The next step was to call the dealership. The supervisor that answered listened to my story. He remembered a tech service bulletin about this. There’s a problem with the valve cover baffle whic leads to oil in the intake. I found the full TSB:

ON SOME VEHICLES, THE INTAKE AIR SYSTEM COMPONENTS MAY HAVE ENGINE OIL ACCUMULATION, IN LEFT HAND VALVE COVER BAFFLE MIGRATING THROUGH FRESH AIR INTAKE OF POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION (PCV) SYSTEM. MODELS 2011-2013 EDGE, EXPLORE

Now they have to order parts to make the repair under warranty.

The annoying part? The tech didn’t catch it, even though he took apart the air box just like I did. Even the supervisor commented on that one. I see an ass chewing coming in that guy’s future, even if I have to do it myself.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > they-will-know-my-velocity 11/28/2015 at 13:26

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Did the “tech’s” boss give him a smack up the side of his head?

And I put tech in quotes to imply he’s not a real tech. A real tech should know better...

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 13:31

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Is it a broken chunk, or did the tech stuff it on top of the engine near the exhaust manifold and it melted? It’s hard to tell from the pic on my phone, but it looks more melted than cracked.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 13:31

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It boggles my mind how some service monkeys pretending to be “mechanics” or “techs” can’t get a simple oil change right.

I’m a friggin’ IT guy and I know how to do oil changes properly.

But I can see why it happens... they don’t make any money on oil changes. They’re basically just covering their costs. It’s just done to get people into the shop in the hopes of getting some other work done.

But I’m of the school of thought that if you’re not going to do it properly, then don’t bother doing it.

they-will-know-my-velocity > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 11/28/2015 at 13:39

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The entire shop came over and laughed at him and watched him clean up oil for the rest of his shift.

McMike > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 13:43

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Looks like you’ve got yourself one of these. I would be pissed, too.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…

Whatever you do, don’t pull it out.

I went to change oil this evening , and discovered an odd drainplug. I didn’t think much of it, when I unscrewed it, it didn’t want to come out all the way. The oil stopped draining, and I went to screw it back in, and it “popped” loose. Now it will not thread in AT ALL. It doesn’t thread in the normal way (as a bolt), rather it has a threaded shaft that screws into something else, kind of like certain wall anchors do. In any case, at this moment, I’m screwed and have no way to plug my oil drain.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 14:03

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If it’s doable, drop your oil pan and check either the bottom, or your oil pickup for the plastic piece.

McMike > Andrew P. Collins 11/28/2015 at 14:25

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I suppose there’s something in the Gawker employee handbook prohibiting writers from gaining from front page articles?

If not, get to it if you know the department that did it.

This is the kind of shit we hate. Dealers/service departments sending you on your way with half-assed repairs instead of doing it right.

Boxer_4 > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/28/2015 at 19:01

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I bet the tech didn’t even check the filter. I’ve had dealers want to change an air filter they claimed was dirty. They changed their tune immediately after I said I replaced it a week earlier.

Nobi > Andrew P. Collins 11/29/2015 at 00:15

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It's a lube tech trick to keep them from forgetting to reinstall the oil cap to put it on the hood latch so that way the hood won't close until the cap is reinstalled. What you have is what happens when someone needed to be reminded and tried to shut the hood.

Mr. MiniBig, where's my coffee? > Andrew P. Collins 11/30/2015 at 16:16

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The oil filler cap seems to have been melted. What I suspect happened was that the tech took off the cap and put it on a hot part of the engine and left it there. I’ve seen techs take off caps and drop them in all manner of places. I once saw a guy take off the cap and wedge it in between the pipes of the exhaust manifold. Of course, being hot they melt.

mfennell > desertdog5051 11/30/2015 at 16:22

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On stamped oil pans, a nut or similar is tacked on the inside. I’ve seen those fail when removing the plug. No butchery required.

Berang > Andrew P. Collins 11/30/2015 at 19:49

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There is all sorts of innuendo about bad men touching this or that that I’ll let somebody with less taste than myself make.

shop-teacher > Urambo Tauro 11/30/2015 at 21:47

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I always bring a 13mm and a 14mm under my truck with me. Pretty sure it’s 14 ... But not sure enough.

desertdog5051 > mfennell 12/01/2015 at 01:14

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When I can see the threads curled over about 60 degrees, or more, it is a stripped thread.

Plompy Lfeata > Andrew P. Collins 12/01/2015 at 04:03

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looks like they might have set the oil filler cap on something too hot and it melted? or maybe they lost both of your parts and had to pull this out of the garage guard dogs toy bin.

Andrew P. Collins > TheRealBicycleBuck 12/02/2015 at 14:00

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It’s always something. As Boxer_4 says, probable the tech didn’t even look at the filter.

Economically, it is far cheaper to have an oil change done. But I haven’t left a service bay feeling good or satisfied in as long as I can remember. Speaking of which, if anyone can recommend a good LA-area Honda and/or Toyota shop...

Andrew P. Collins > Birddog 12/02/2015 at 14:01

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Haha

TheRealBicycleBuck > Andrew P. Collins 12/02/2015 at 14:11

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He not only had it out, it was the first thing he pulled. The dealership has a wall of windows so their customers can watch their techs in action. He physically removed the filter and set it upside down on the top of the radiator support.

They just called this morning to tell me the new parts are in. Now I have to coordinate with my wife to get the car to the dealership.

Andrew P. Collins > Urambo Tauro 12/02/2015 at 14:20

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Service manual has it.

McMike > Andrew P. Collins 12/02/2015 at 14:42

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I usually write the oil capacity with/without filter, and the oil plug size on the first page of my service manuals.

It’s the thing I do most often to a car, so it’s nice not having to look it up. Besides, I would have to put my beer down to flip through all those pages.

Andrew P. Collins > McMike 12/02/2015 at 15:01

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That’s a good tip.

McMike > Andrew P. Collins 12/02/2015 at 15:18

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My shop manuals are also filled with post-it notes with TL;DR cliffnotes to coolant bleeding, and other things that they take a few pages to describe. Sometimes with a list of wrenches for a job. (typically brake tools, bleeder sizes, and other regular maint. fasteners)

It’s about 25 feet from my tool cabinet to where the vehicles usually are. I hate carrying a hand full of tools over there if I don’t need to.

......No matter how small they are.