Changing oil on 2006 Mercury 4 stroke

[bruceb58]

Did my first oil change on my 2006 Mercury 4 stroke.

What do you guys do to keep the oil from going everywhere when you pull off the filter? I think next time, I am going to pierce the filter and catch as much oil as I can before I unscrew it.

 

[Georooney]

Stuff some shop towels down under the filter first. That should catch most of the oil. Wipe up the bit that the towels missed.

 

[bruceb58]

Stuff some shop towels down under the filter first. That should catch most of the oil. Wipe up the bit that the towels missed.

Did that. Didn't work well at all. Not enough room.

 

[ahicks]

We used to have a problem on a plane I had for a while. Dreaded the filter change due to the mess I had to clean up afterward - until somebody showed me a trick/how they did theirs without loosing a drop. You break the filter free, but leave it snugged up to the point it's not dripping yet. Then take a freezer bag (considerably bigger than the filter) and put it over the filter, holding it snug against the engine under the filter (so any oil that comes out runs into the bag) while you finish loosening and removing the filter with your other hand. If done carefully, the freezer bag is sealed with the filter and the oil you normally loose inside, and you won't loose a drop (well, maybe one or 2). Easy!

 

[bruceb58]

I do that trick on vertical filters. Horizontal filters are another story.

 

[ahicks]

Yup. You need to be a little more careful. Very "doable" though!

 

[WrenchHead]

When changing the oil and filter on my 2005 Merc 60 4-stroke I first drained all the oil from the engine then I made a "trough" out of aluminum foil to place under the filter. Any oil that dripped from the filter landed on the foil and ran out to the end of the foil where I caught it in a container. Yep, I also had a shop towel under the trough.