Major Oil Spillage

[gregor]

Well it was not intended to be so. Got the bike nice and warm and came home to the garage where I'd lain out the tools and necessaries for the triple oil change.

Despite remembering to open up the air hole on my oil catch can the flow from the sump still overflowed the sides. The old newspapers caught most of it.

Then on to the gearbox. Gently tricked in the oil (almost clear semi synthetic) and a few drops spilled out from the filler plug. And then kept flowing for the next 1/4 hour. I tried to suck some of the surplus out with a turkey baster, which stopped things eventually.
Put an Allen key in the filler plug for the final drive , no crack like I'd expect. I thought I'd stripped out the plug but the key had twisted. A different key survived.
Just waiting on the last of the oil to drain from the final drive. Then will top up the engine oil.

Does a pro mechanic do things differently to avoid the mess?

The garage now reeks of spilled oil and soggy paper. But it is fun.

[Roy1150R]

I did the triple oil change yesterday as well. My luck was not much better.The final drive was last. After I was done, I turned to speak with my son, when i turned back, I stepped on the edge of the drain pan and it flipped over. It covered the tire, rim, the driveway, my jeans and my running shoe in gear oil! The jeans and the shoes are in the garbage now. The bike is clean again, and the driveway bears a permanent reminder of what a klutz I can be.

[towerworker]

Well I may as well tell a story on myself. Several years ago I had changed the oil, trans and final drive on my R. Being the smart fella that I am I never throw out a plastic jug if I think it would be a good vessel for old oil. A big red Tide detergent jug (64 oz) would be a really good place to drain old oil into. So into the jug went nearly all the R's old oil. Put the cap back on the jug and set it by the garage door. A week goes by and unbeknownst to me the little lady picked up the jug and thinking it was a new jug of Tide she set it next to the washing machine.

Well me being the smart guy that I am and not to mention being real helpful around the house I volunteer to do the laundry. Y'all can probably figure out what happened next. An entire washing machine load of laundry was quickly ruined. You got any idea how much detergent you can pour into a washing machine before you realize that something very wrong has happened?

[CycleRob]

I found that plastic gallon milk jugs work OK for a while, but are not a good choice for oil storage. No disaster story to repeat, just a better solution. The very best long term gallon jug comes free with Arizona Ice Tea in your grocery store. It is a very heavy translucent plastic jug that can take a drop or big bump without damage. The tea is excellent too, even the diet sugar free.

About that oil drain pan overflow, that happens when the oil puddle overwhelms the drain opening(s) and covers the air escape vent. Use an open tub type drain pan -or- use an extension on a socket to hold over the drain opening to slow down the hot oil flow. That is not without flaws either as you need to always leave the tilted drain opening on the bottom of the socket so the squirting hot stream of oil only comes out the bottom!

On draining the transmission, I tilted the hot engined Boxer to the right and put a board under the centerstand's left foot and let it drain overnight in the breeze free garage.

On adding the new oil, use your head. Just add 3.75 quarts (8 oz left in the 4th quart), then WALK AWAY and forget about checking the oil for at least a month! What you will find is that the oil level will be at center red dot of the oil window . . . Exactly where it belongs to minimize oil consumption. Then resist the temptation to add that remaining 8oz of oil until the level hits the lower edge of the red circle. When at that lower red circle level there is still three quarts left in the engine, a very safe operational oil level, obviously determined by BMW engineers when, maybe even after, they designed the engine. If you insist on keeping the oil level above the center red dot by repeatedly adding oil as often as twice a month, you will ensure it burns more oil than it should. In theory this is because the crankcase air space volume is decreased, making the normal simultaneous TDC/BDC pulsations of those 4 inch pistons more powerful for the crankcase breather and piston rings to control. Another reason to only put in the 3.75 quarts (3.5 Liters) is that it prevents the inexperienced worry warts from OVERFILLING the oil because the oil level was checked after a short warm engine ride or run on the centerstand. The thermostatically flow controlled oil coolers will not drain back into the crankcase and the oil level barely shows in the window. They then freak out and not only add those remaining 8ounces, or the whole half Liter(!!!) but will even open an additional bottle and pour some of that in! PLEASE stop worrying about the oil level as long as it shows in the window HOURS after a HOT engine shutdown. Learn the OilHeads perfectly normal idiosyncrasies, know when the oil level window is LYING TO YOU and enjoy the ride.

[BoxerSteve]

CycleRob, thanks for your excellent post.

I use the 1 gallon container the oil came in for storing the old oil, until I can get it to the auto parts store for recycling. But I try not to leave used oil laying around for very long (no more than a few weeks) as it is toxic and corrosive. Eventually the used oil will corrode the plastic bottle and start leaking. Unfortunately though the oil I usually buy (Valvoline 20W-50) no longer comes in 1 gallon containers, that way they can charge you twice as much for the 1 quart containers. So now I have to figure out something else.

It's difficult to change one's own oil without making a bit of a mess. In fact for me it's seemingly impossible. When I am preparing to change the oil in my bike I put down a number of pieces of old cardboard. Then I park the bike on top of the cardboard after at least a 20-30 minute ride, preferably on the highway to make sure the engine oil is nice and hot. Then the oil drain pan sits on top of the cardboard. When draining the oil though no matter how much cardboard I put down I always manage to get some on the floor. It's just amazing how despite being as careful as I can, the hot dirty oil still always manages to find a way to get on the garage floor, staining it. Dangit!

Just part of the game I guess, I'd still much much rather do it myself than let the stealership overfill the oil.