Oil change gone awry

HighPockets

Active member
Steps I took:

1. Removed drain plug over a big bucket.

2. Removed oil filter with special to sprinter wrench,

3. Let oil drain overnight and replaced drain plug with new crush washer.

4. Replaced the tiny "O" ring and the large "O" ring on the filter housing. Inserted the new "MANN FILTER no. HU821x" (made in Bosnia and Herzegovina) into the housing. Inserted the combo unit into the housing base and screwed down, no problem. put filter wrench on and snugged it up, replace air filter, added 12 qts. of oil and closed the hood. Did not try it at that time.

Today: Stared the engine to make some radio adjustments, heard weird noise coming from engine compartment, rushed around to open the hood, saw oil being flung everywhere and heard the noise coming from the oil filter. Shut off the engine and stood there looking completely bewildered. Easy job, I had even watched a youtube. There is a puddle of oil under the van in a hole the dogs had dug. The radiator fan spread the oil all over the front of the engine bay. No oil shows on the dipstick, not even a drop of clean new oil. The oil in the puddle was a clear gray (new oil). Old black oil still in the bucket. I took the filter back out and everything seems OK. I don't even know how much oil is still in the engine. What could have gone wrong. :idunno:

Gene
 
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CJPJ

2008 3500 170 EXTD 3.0 V6 OM642.993 4.182
after a oil change: Always start the engine and check for leaks. Look At the oil filter, the drain plug, the engine top to bottom, takes one minute.
_________________
Did you check the oil level on the dip stick. I assume you put the N oil in the correct hole. Seeing new oil in the dogs hole suggest the oil drain over night, maybe all of the oil. The thing low where the oil resides is the drain plug. Suggest look a the plug for wetness. Hopefully starting the engine with no oil for a minute didn't damage the bearings.
:idunno:
Bty; if you run the engine with the oil fill cap removed; the timing-chain will convey fling pump the oil out the fill cap hole.
 
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HighPockets

Active member
after a oil change: Always start the engine and check for leaks. Look At the oil filter, the drain plug, the engine top to bottom, takes one minute.
_________________
Did you check the oil level on the dip stick. I assume you put the N oil in the correct hole. Seeing new oil in the dogs hole suggest the oil drain over night, maybe all of the oil. The thing low where the oil resides is the drain plug. Suggest look a the plug for wetness. Hopefully starting the engine with no oil for a minute didn't damage the bearings.
:idunno:
I didn't add the new oil until after I replaced the oil plug. I can't imagine any way the oil could get out. The engine had oil in it when I cranked it because it blew it all over the front of the engine and was running down the passenger side inside fender. I will have to find a clean bucket and drain the balance of the oil to see what I have left. I am 77 and have changed my own oil all my life and this is still one gigantic mysterious puzzle to me.
 
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Düsseldorfer

New member
Hey Pockets,

Years ago I bought a WIX-branded filter for an oil change (made in Poland, as I recall) and got the same Spindletop effect. It turned out there was a run of filters which had the large oil cap o-ring in a size too large. It wasn't terribly obvious when putting it together, but it allowed the engine to pump a huge amount of oil out of the motor pretty quickly.

So: you need to replace that large o-ring again. Maybe it's a bad part, or maybe it got pinched going together, but a bad o-ring there can pump out a couple of pints PDQ. No biggie though, you haven't broken or damaged anything.

There's no easy way to get all that oil cleaned up... you might want to let it drip for a couple days first. :)


Edit: not knocking the Poles. Or the Bosnians, come to that. But the "made in Austria" filters I've been using have worked out ok.
 
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HighPockets

Active member
Hey Pockets,

Years ago I bought a WIX-branded filter for an oil change (made in Poland, as I recall) and got the same Spindletop effect. It turned out there was a run of filters which had the large oil cap o-ring in a size too large. It wasn't terribly obvious when putting it together, but it allowed the engine to pump a huge amount of oil out of the motor pretty quickly.

So: you need to replace that large o-ring again. Maybe it's a bad part, or maybe it got pinched going together, but a bad o-ring there can pump out a couple of pints PDQ. No biggie though, you haven't broken or damaged anything.

There's no easy way to get all that oil cleaned up... you might want to let it drip for a couple days first. :)

Well I looked at the oil fill cap, it looked normal to me, relatively clean. I DID drain the oil, about one pint, very dirty for clean oil. Well, that was about $100 worth of Amsoil. I would have preferred to at least get the engine hot before I changed the oil so soon. :cry:
The large oil ring seemed right, I had to take my thumbnails to move it across the threads but that is the only logical thing I can think of - but nearly 3 gallons in a minute or less. I probably didn't hear it until it ran out of oil and was pumping air.
 

CJPJ

2008 3500 170 EXTD 3.0 V6 OM642.993 4.182
Placement of the large O-ring: it goes in the ö-ring channel that is a little below the top flange. Notice there are three o-rings ...

Photo by: Altered Sprinter Happy Little Vegemite
 
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dbuzz77

Dbuzz77
on my jeep with the OM642 everyone said to pour half of the change in the filter housing before you put in the filter and the other half in the fill cap. could it have built up too much pressure pumping up to the filter because of an air bubble?
 

HighPockets

Active member
on my jeep with the OM642 everyone said to pour half of the change in the filter housing before you put in the filter and the other half in the fill cap. could it have built up too much pressure pumping up to the filter because of an air bubble?
Tomorrow I will take the filter out again and move the "O" ring to the correct position. If it looks damaged I have another new filter I can rob one from. Then go to town and buy more oil. I will add half the oil into the filter housing as you suggested especially since I know the oil pump may be empty.
Thanks for the suggestion. :cheers:

Gene
 
Tomorrow I will take the filter out again and move the "O" ring to the correct position. If it looks damaged I have another new filter I can rob one from. Then go to town and buy more oil. I will add half the oil into the filter housing as you suggested especially since I know the oil pump may be empty.
Thanks for the suggestion. :cheers:

Gene
The pickup screen is at the bottom of the sump so I doubt if your pump is empty. Also oil added through the oil filter housing doesn't go to the pump as the one way check valve from it prevents that. It will flow down the drain hole (that's normally blocked by the small O ring) straight to the oil pan.

The small O ring hole allows the oil from the housing to run back to the pan when you remove the filter to change oil.

Here's my advice on the subject:

Make sure the large O ring gets in the groove and is not twisted. Pour some fresh oil into the housing and use your finger to oil the threads and upper sealing lip of the housing with it so the O ring can slide smoothly. There is no need to bother with torquing the cap as the seal comes from the compression of the O ring between the cap and housing. Just be sure the cap is fully seated.

I've changed the oil on this type of filter setup at least a hundred times over the years and I've never had one leak doing it this way.

I hope this helps.
 

HighPockets

Active member
:eek:I just verified that is correct. I knew immediately when I saw CJPJ's post what I had done wrong. If you think about it there is nothing to keep the "O" ring from blowing out the other way. I also learned the lesson to ALWAYS check your work visually immediately after finished. I think rain started about the time I was finishing so I closed the hood and headed for cover. Since I had never had a problem before the thought of checking didn't linger long. I'm just glad I was in the truck working on the radio when it happened. I could've been a mile down the road.:eek:
 
D

Deleted member 50714

Guest
...There is no need to bother with torquing the cap as the seal comes from the compression of the O ring between the cap and housing. Just be sure the cap is fully seated...

I noticed the exact same thing. Feels like the cap bottoms-out hard.
 

norson

Member
Simple job, right? I've been changing my own oil for 60 years, but because this was going it the first time for a Sprinter I thought I'd check here first. GLAD I DID!! I think I could have screwed it up.
Norm
Going to check before changing trans fluid too.
 
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D

Deleted member 50714

Guest
Simple job, right? I've been changing my own oil for 60 years, but because this was going it the first time for a Sprinter I thought I'd check here first. GLAD I DID!! I think I could have screwed it up.
Norm
Going to check before changing trans fluid too.
Devil is in the details. :thumbup:
 

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