Repairs Way to avoid a mess changing oil?

T

tkrotchko

Forum Newbie
I have an x540 and after two oil changes I'm trying to figure out a way to avoid making a mess when I change oil.

There are two issues, first, the oil change bolt is in a place where different parts of the body, supports & mower deck are in the way. Second, the filter always drips a fair amount of oil as its being removed.

Is there some sort of extender people are using to avoid the mess?

I'm buying a PIG Form-A-Funnel Flexible Draining Tool to see how that works, but it would be helpful is there was a way to extend the oil drain pipe a few inches.

Any ideas?
 
tkrotchko said:
I have an x540 and after two oil changes I'm trying to figure out a way to avoid making a mess when I change oil.

There are two issues, first, the oil change bolt is in a place where different parts of the body, supports & mower deck are in the way. Second, the filter always drips a fair amount of oil as its being removed.

Is there some sort of extender people are using to avoid the mess?

I'm buying a PIG Form-A-Funnel Flexible Draining Tool to see how that works, but it would be helpful is there was a way to extend the oil drain pipe a few inches.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

What I have been doing on my X520 is I take a funnel and a one gallon milk jug or empty 2 liter soda bottle to catch the oil. It is a little messy but if you have a can of brake cleaner spray that on the spilled oil and take a clean rag to wipe it up.
 
I've not tried to do this, but I wonder if you could use rags to protect from the oil dripping whilst you are doing it? Old sheets or whatever could then be thrown away afterwards, and would be absorbent.
 
tkrotchko said:
I have an x540 and after two oil changes I'm trying to figure out a way to avoid making a mess when I change oil.

There are two issues, first, the oil change bolt is in a place where different parts of the body, supports & mower deck are in the way. Second, the filter always drips a fair amount of oil as its being removed.

Is there some sort of extender people are using to avoid the mess?

I'm buying a PIG Form-A-Funnel Flexible Draining Tool to see how that works, but it would be helpful is there was a way to extend the oil drain pipe a few inches.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
My JD has a huge, close fitting mower deck and it is impossible to get any good size drain pan under the plug...I use a four foot long section of old PVC rain gutter to direct oil to the pan, it also works great for when I pull the filter on the side of the engine, first I put some paper towels under the filter, then place the gutter section under the filter, then remove the filter. Works great for both tasks. :thumbsup:
 
I use a method similar to JDGreen, instead of gutter I use a short length of 4" sheet metal pipe that isn't seamed together this makes a good trough to catch the oil.
 
The filter - loosen the filter so it can be turned by hand but doesn't leak. Drill about a 1/4" hole into the filter bottom at 12:00 o'clock. Place drain pan under filter and rotate filter counter clockwise until the drilled hole is at 6:00 o'clock.
 
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SandburRanch said:
The filter - loosen the filter so it can be turned by hand but doesn't leak. Drill about a 1/4" hole into the filter bottom on about a 45ｰ angle at 12:00 o'clock. Place drain pan under filter and rotate filter counter clockwise until the drilled hole is at 6:00 o'clock.
Click to expand...

Filters are always going to be a bit messy... your method sounds as good as any I have seen... they are just usually located in bad spots to get to cleanly... :smile:KennyV
 
SandburRanch said:
The filter - loosen the filter so it can be turned by hand but doesn't leak. Drill about a 1/4" hole into the filter bottom at 12:00 o'clock. Place drain pan under filter and rotate filter counter clockwise until the drilled hole is at 6:00 o'clock.
Click to expand...


Good Idea:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Hope I can remember this:biggrin:
 
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