Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 15:37:58 MST
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Mike White" <MIKE.WHITE@law.utah.edu>
Subject: How not to change your Oil!
Sit back with your Coke and enjoy my tale of misfortune:
It was a windy spring evening as I arrived home, bag full of goodies
to change my oil and give the Pioneer a quick tune-up. I ate
some "Cheeze" flavored Lay's chips (trust me, the are "Cheeze"
flavored--not a hint of cheese!), watched Seinfeld and changed
clothes. Under the Pioneer I went. Feeling good inside to once
again be doing something nice for her.
I unscrewed the various bolts that hold her sump plate on, and out
flowed that icky dark oil. As usual running down my arm. But I was
not angry, because I knew I'd invested wisely in a new fancy-dancy
sump plate with drain plug to put back on in place of my old tired
plug-less sump plate.
I noted something odd as I wiped the remaining oil off the old sump
plate. A layer of what looks like metal particles. Looks like
aluminum. I've not noticed this before. Then again it's been quite
a while since I did my own oil change on her. Any ideas?
I opened the new gasket kit, noting that they've gotten crummier.
The cardboard gaskets are even thinner than before. What next?
Paper?
I put on the gaskets, cleaned off the oil screen and proceeded to
install the new chrome sump plate (with plug!) I tightened down the
six bolts in a logical criss-cross pattern. I guess I've changed one
too many tires. As I was finishing the last bolt, tighter and
tighter, SNAP!
Ratchet knocks off my glasses, nose bleed ensues. I feel sick inside
knowing I might have done something really serious. I hope that stud
comes out, I say to myself...
I get out the old channel locks and start to twist it out. It works
its way and stops. Oh no I think. I find the VERY WELL HIDDEN
flashlight from inside the house, noting what I nice guy I am for
lubing the doorknobs with my oily hands.
I point it up into the hole to see what I have. Oh, a nut is on the
top of the stud. It looks like the stud holds this little black
guard in place. So I spend twenty minutes with my baby 10mm crecent
wrench halfway gripping the nut, and my channel locks eating the bolt
and finally get it all undone. I can't get my fingers in to pull the
nut off of the edge of the sump hole, and I DON'T want to push it
back into the engine, so I use that silly 10mm to gingerly work it
out.
So as we sit, it's off to the parts store to get a new stud and try
to put it back together. Getting that nut back on should be the
funnest thing this side of my dentist visit yesterday!
BTW, I've been a Pennzoil SAE 30 man since the day I bought the bus,
and yesterday all my parts place had was Castrol 30. I bought it. I
still feel uneasy about it. My only experience with another brand
oil was the fiasco with Valvoline Synthetic. ACK. Anyone else out
there running Castrol? Good? Bad? Ugly?
- Mike White
[Mail: mike.white@law.utah.edu - mwhite@eng.utah.edu]
Visit my '57 23-Window VW BUS at: [http://cloud8.law.utah.edu/]