So last time I paid the local A&P to do it but being the mechanically inclined DIY guy that I am I figured I'd do it myself this time.
What a frigging mess I made!! Spent 2 hours just cleaning up the spilled oil!
How the heck do u get the filter off without oil running all down the firewall? I'd heard that a plastic bag over the filter helps but it didn't catch much!
BTW it's a 206 w/a Lycoming 540 and the oil filter is about an inch from the firewall. It's so tight u can't get the plastic bag completely around the filter, let alone get a bucket or somesuch in there.
Any pointers?
Oh, and it only took me about ten tries to get the wire twisted just the right length. My hands look like I got in a fight with a bobcat.

Sorry man. I used a plastic bag or a bread bag, but I've got a little more room it sounds like. I've seen guys wedge a piece of cardboard under the filter to channel the oil to where it can be caught by a container. I hate spilt oil!

You can pierce the filter with a needle punch if it is a horizontal mount unit. One top and one bottom. The filter is mostly empty by the time the oil sump is empty. If it is vertical, a single hole about halfway up is all you need. This is for tractors where the filters are bigger than a bag to manage easily.

I just use a bag and position rags under it to catch stragglers on my easy to reach 182 filter.

I use quart size ziplock bags, they fit perfectly over the filter.

My 185 has a firewall mounted oil filter. I use the PIG Form-A-Funnel. Works great, keeps everything clean. I put a 5 gal bucket on top of a stool or step ladder and the form-a-funnel directs all the oil into the bucket.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/stpages/pigfunnel2.php?clickkey=8838

The SQ-2's filter is on the back of the engine facing downward at an angle. No way to use any kind of funnel or bag to catch the oil. I use a PIG Mat. Stuff under/around the filter and it is so absorbent that all the oil stays in the mat.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php?cache=e70c53ebcfd770328f6dbef3e3e6a4f2&pageno=1&filter=B.pig

Barnstormer that PIG stuff looks just about perfect!! Thanks a bunch!

robw56 wrote:I use quart size ziplock bags, they fit perfectly over the filter.

The filter is so close to another whatchamacallit that I can't get a bag over it all the way.

lesuther wrote:You can pierce the filter with a needle punch if it is a horizontal mount unit. One top and one bottom. The filter is mostly empty by the time the oil sump is empty. If it is vertical, a single hole about halfway up is all you need. This is for tractors where the filters are bigger than a bag to manage easily.

I just use a bag and position rags under it to catch stragglers on my easy to reach 182 filter.

Great idea! Thanks!

That engine is really tough to not make a huge mess with. Good tips.
I just take the filter off. Let it make huge mess. Solvent wash clean.
Didnt someone make a puncturing apparatus with a hose to do the filter drain thing?

A disposable aluminum foil pan, available at any supermarket, performs the same as the PIG funnel, and costs about $1.50.

I've seen guys use big garbage bags over the filter but I never could manage that without tying the whole airplane in a knot with the bag. I bought 8-packs of Tempest spin-on filters for my old C150/150 which come individually wrapped in form-fitting clear plastic bags. Those bags work great for wrapping around the old filter before removal. But doing a minimum-mess oil change (just like doing the safety wire job) is subject to a learning curve, takes a few tries with each new airplane to get it right.

I've only changed the oil on the new 180 once so far. I figured since the screen is almost vertical, all or at least most of the oil in it would drain down when I let her rip at the oil sump, & it would be relatively easy to avoid a mess. Not! Pulled the screen up & out and the recess where it goes was not only full of oil, but seemed to get fuller. So it turned into a big rush to wash out the screen in a bucket of gas, and as we all know the hurrier you try to go the messier it gets. Nuff said!

Thanks for the input fellas. Sounds like there's no way right or wrong way to do it. Just need to fly a bunch so I get lots of practice doing it!

Hotrod180- On your 470 with a screen. If you turn the prop backwards a bunch it will suck all the oil out and back to the pan. Makes for a clean job. I have always done it with the plugs out at 100hr so you can really get most of the oil out without killing your arm.

Sierra Victor wrote:Thanks for the input fellas. Sounds like there's no way right or wrong way to do it. Just need to fly a bunch so I get lots of practice doing it!

If you do figure out how to do it really neatly, let us all in on the secret. I ran 185s and 206s for a lot of hours, and pulling those filters was always a treat.

MTV

PAMR MX wrote:Hotrod180- On your 470 with a screen. If you turn the prop backwards a bunch it will suck all the oil out and back to the pan. Makes for a clean job. I have always done it with the plugs out at 100hr so you can really get most of the oil out without killing your arm.

Thanks for the tip! I guess turn it after draining the pan but before pulling the screen?

Afterthought........I've heard people say that if you have to turn the prop, you should always turn it backwards "just in case" (switch is on, p-leads are broken, etc) which makes sense. But I've heard others say you shouldn't turn an engine backwards if it has a vacuum pump, as this can damage it. Old wives tale, or ??

I use heavy duty aluminum foil. Similar to the PIG funnel, but cheep and disposable. Usually works pretty well.