The Longest Oil Change Ever aka, Why not to take your car to the dealership

10:00am	Jack up car.
10:03am	Remove oil pan drain plug.
10:05am	Go to the lab to pick up soldering iron; oil should be fully drained by the time that I return.
10:45am	Return home and get sidetracked, oil can be changed later.
11:55am	Remember that the oil filter was stuck and not changed last oil change, and decide to go try it again.
12:00pm	Try to remove filter, but hand keeps slipping on oil.
12:05pm	Realize that a rubber glove would provide better grip.
12:10pm	Return to apartment, search for rubber gloves, find nothing.
12:15pm	Call neighbor and borrow a single rubber glove.
12:20pm	Realize that I grabbed the left glove instead of the right and deal with the awkwardness instead of running back to the apartment to switch.
12:40pm	Realize that the oil filter is moving nowhere fast and call Trung for suggestions. Trung suggests to puncture the oil filter with a big screwdriver to relieve pressure.
12:45pm	Before such a drastic measure, call another friend to see if he has an oil filter wrench. He doesn't, but he has a rubber strap tool that might work.
1:10pm	Return home with the strap tool and realize after 5 minutes that it wont work because of the angles.
1:16pm	Take a break, call for dinner reservations.
1:30pm	Go out and try rubber straps and rubber glove and good old elbow grease again, none of the three work. Curse at the filter a lot.
1:40pm	Decide to puncture the filter, no turning back now.
1:41pm	Puncture filter, let oil drain.
1:48pm	Filter still doesn't budge, give up and curse even louder. Wonder what to do if the filter cannot come off now that it has a huge hole.
1:50pm	Decide to go buy an actual oil filter wrench while oil drains some more from the punctured filter. Get a decent one from Paul's Discount for $3.50.
2:10pm	While lining up the filter wrench, notice marks from the previous (Dealership's) attempts to remove filter with wrench. Realize that the filter has not been changed for (at least) THREE oil changes. Also notice that the filter cover is bent at the main pressure point of the wrench, rendering the wrench almost useless because of the angle. Curse at dealership, and filter.
3:10pm	After an hour of work alternating between the rubber strap, rubber glove, filter wrench, and good ol elbow grease, give up and go to pick up girlfriend from work.
3:30pm	A friend calls and happens to ask about what Ive done all day, explain the oil filter problem and friend offers to call his father for ideas. Drive home and wait.
4:02pm	Friend calls back with ideas: Put the filter wrench all of the way at the top of the filter for better torque. Poke a large screwdriver all of the way through the filter and use it for leverage. Use a vice grips and tear the entire casing off of the filter and then remove.
4:05pm	Fails, no space to move the wrench any higher. Attempt to drive screwdriver all of the way through the filter and cannot pierce the other side. Also very little room to hit Screwdriver with a hammer any further. Begin to twist on filter and realize that large screwdriver is bending. After 45 minutes, give up and curse more. Before attempting #3, decide a better angle and more space is a requirement.
4:50pm	Begin to remove active aero assembly. Break the head off of two bolts. Curse.
4:52pm	Get to last two bolts and notice that bent steel bar blocks removal. Realize why active aero light kept coming on. Use vice grips and (bent) large screwdriver to unbend the bar and remove the last two bolts.
4:57pm	Take 5 minutes trying to figure out why air dam will not move until noticing that the front is clipped in place near bumper and to jack must be moved first.
5:00pm	Put car on jack stands and remove hydraulic floor jack. Remove air dam. Replace hydraulic floor jack.
5:10pm	Using (bent) large screwdriver and new different placement of filter wrench, pry on filter one last time. Begin to curse until filter actually moves.
5:11pm	Shout in jubilation. Time for some beers!

My 3000GT ._oOo_. Current Projects ._oOo_. My Boost Gauge ._oOo_. Oil Change ._oOo_. Bike Accident