Learning to change your own oil

How did you learn to change your airplane engine's oil?

  • Local A&P

    Votes: 31 32.3%

  • Friend

    Votes: 14 14.6%

  • YouTube

    Votes: 4 4.2%

  • EAA Chapter

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Self taught

    Votes: 30 31.3%

  • I was born with the knowledge

    Votes: 17 17.7%
  • Total voters
    96
NealRomeoGolf

NealRomeoGolf

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I want to learn to change my own (airplane) oil. How did you learn?
 
The hardest part is learning to safety wire properly. Have your mechanic or someone with experience teach you.
 
After I bought my plane I called up the mechanic and told her I needed an oil change. She said, bring it by on Saturday. I did and watched her change the oil.
The next time it was due, she says "bring it by on Saturday." I showed up and she handed me a bucket and a screwdriver and told me to get to it.

Bobbi divides her customers into two categories. Owners who are willing to turn a wrench on their own plane and those who are "Just Pilots."
We were in the middle of the annual one year, eating pizza for lunch in the back of the shop when a guy came in and said he thought his battery was failing. Bobbi says "Well, bring it over to the bench and we'll test it." The guy looks at her with a blank stare. She goes, "Oh, yes, you're just a pilot. Ron, go help him take his battery out."
 
I asked my mechanic. I still let them do the pickup screen at annual because that’s a PITA to get to.
 
flyingron said:
After I bought my plane I called up the mechanic and told her I needed an oil change. She said, bring it by on Saturday. I did and watched her change the oil.
The next time it was due, she says "bring it by on Saturday." I showed up and she handed me a bucket and a screwdriver and told me to get to it.

Bobbi divides her customers into two categories. Owners who are willing to turn a wrench on their own plane and those who are "Just Pilots."
We were in the middle of the annual one year, eating pizza for lunch in the back of the shop when a guy came in and said he thought his battery was failing. Bobbi says "Well, bring it over to the bench and we'll test it." The guy looks at her with a blank stare. She goes, "Oh, yes, you're just a pilot. Ron, go help him take his battery out."
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tenor.gif
 
Trial and Error, a lot of ERROR! But I also learned how to clean up oil on the hangar floor.
 
Need another option....in between real jobs (translation: full-time, well-paying) I took the A&P General course. Learned safety wiring, changing oil, and writing FAA logbook entries. The rest of the time was avoiding boredom in between contracts.
 
Check out youtube. There's probably 5-10 videos for your particular make/model. Depending on make/model the hardest part is not making a mess and/or installing the bottom cowl single-handedly...
 
idahoflier said:
Check out youtube. There's probably 5-10 videos for your particular make/model. Depending on make/model the hardest part is not making a mess and/or installing the bottom cowl single-handedly...
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I've got a couple patio chairs, wide arms. I put one under the cowl - makes it easy to remove and replace the bottom cowl. Advantage of the cherokee.
 
Started with some research. There was a great write-up on the Twin Cessna Flyer forum, then my A&P gave me some over-the-shoulder training on the first oil changes. I was sure to walk away with the correct torques for the drain plug and oil screen, as well as the correct PNs for the crush gaskets. I leveraged my experience as a helicopter crew chief back when I was enlisted for the safety wiring required. I've done about 10 oil changes this year since. Like my old man used to say, anything's easy after you do it 200-300 times ;)
 
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murphey said:
I've got a couple patio chairs, wide arms. I put one under the cowl - makes it easy to remove and replace the bottom cowl. Advantage of the cherokee.
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Good tip! I have a quick drain installed so don't fuss with the bottom cowl anymore unless it's screen time...
 
idahoflier said:
Good tip! I have a quick drain installed so don't fuss with the bottom cowl anymore unless it's screen time...
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My old bottom cowl had an access plate directly below the oil sump so getting to the quick drain was easy. This is good, because removing the standard Navion bottom cowl is a royal pain. The new fiberglass one that came with the tubular IO-520/550 mount however lacks that convenience. It's pretty easy to take the bottom cowl off now, but you do have to disconnect the cowl flap linkages.
 
idahoflier said:
Good tip! I have a quick drain installed so don't fuss with the bottom cowl anymore unless it's screen time...
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I've got a quick drain, too. But in nice weather, I'll take the bottom cowl off and clean the inside of oil drips and such. It's easier to clean and wax the outside the bottom cowl, too.
 
When you have the cowl off, start doing what your A&P does; spend time inspecting your entire engine compartment for defects. Tons of things are found during properly conducted ‘oil/filter changes’.

And.
RTFM when it comes to lubing the oil filter gasket. Some are not supposed to be lubed at all! Someone show him that thread lol.
 
Do it on your car a few times for the general process, then stop by a shop at your field and watch a change learn some specific tricks and specialty tools to my your life easier(and cleaner) then you’re good to go. Yes the safety wire is the most difficult part but that can be practiced. Many A&Ps don’t do that well either!
 
Ryanb said:
Meh, the two are kind of apples to oranges in all honesty.
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Eh. Almost identical except for a screen that gets changed at annual time and some safety wire. Otherwise no difference.
 
Geosync said:
Yes the safety wire is the most difficult part but that can be practiced. Many A&Ps don’t do that well either!
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A very common trick is to accidentally install the safety wire so it is pulling the filter off..... this usually happens when the filter is mounted 'upside down' (ie the open end up) so that you have to work from below the filter to safety it.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
A very common trick is to accidentally install the safety wire so it is pulling the filter off..... this usually happens when the filter is mounted 'upside down' (ie the open end up) so that you have to work from below the filter to safety it.
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That's not as bad as the just as common "tighten the living crap" out of the filter instead of taking it off, when it's 'upside down'. Which is commonly followed up with the 'hammer a screwdriver through the filter and unscrew it' "fix".
 
Salty said:
That's not as bad as the just as common "tighten the living crap" out of the filter instead of taking it off, when it's 'upside down'. Which is commonly followed up with the 'hammer a screwdriver through the filter and unscrew it' "fix".
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Righty-Tighty, Lefty-Loosey is easy to get a little mixed up when things are on the other side.

I use "Clockwise it goes away from you. Counter-Clockwise it comes toward you." That works regardless of your relative position to the device you are turning...

Of course if you are trying to take the lugs off a passenger side Dodge wheel from the late 60's, that might not work either... :mad:
 
Pretty simple on my aircraft. I'm about to do it this weekend as it's that time of the year again when I get to take it all apart and see what I can spend money on ...
 
I wonder happened to the theory of do the whole inspection while you are in there.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
When you have the cowl off, start doing what your A&P does; spend time inspecting your entire engine compartment for defects. Tons of things are found during properly conducted ‘oil/filter changes’.

And.
RTFM when it comes to lubing the oil filter gasket. Some are not supposed to be lubed at all! Someone show him that thread lol.
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Ah.. yep.. do it right :)
 
I used to teach an FAA safety seminar about it, hands on. I probably still have the little booklets we used to pass out with photos and instructions. We were able to give out wings credits too.

I was lucky and had my first CFI not be a total mechanical dunce, and he was able to make a lesson out of my first oil change. I like systems, so it was one of the best ground lessons I've received to date.
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
I want to learn to change my own (airplane) oil. How did you learn?
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My partner in the airplane I had at the time was a retired Navy airplane mechanic with carrier experience. He figured "the kid" in the partnership should take care of that sort of thing, so he was motivated to teach me properly.

(btw, Navy mechanics know every trick to get a frozen or rusted fastener out without damaging anything else. Must come from years of working on salt encrusted airplanes I guess).
 
i am planning to learn and do it myself or about 3 years now. the thing is i can do it just fine in summer, in winter not so much in unheated hangar ... OR the fact that i am lazy.. not sure which one. for 1.25 hour that he charges... its fine by me
 
WannFly said:
i am planning to learn and do it myself or about 3 years now. the thing is i can do it just fine in summer, in winter not so much in unheated hangar ... OR the fact that i am lazy.. not sure which one. for 1.25 hour that he charges... its fine by me
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My guy is a lot slower. Don't ask....
 
Sounds like I may get my first lesson next week. In the meantime, today I learned where my strobe light power supply is, along with my ELT and Garmin boxes (for the G5).

If you think that's lame, I've only had the plane a month. Gimme a break.
 
flyingron said:
After I bought my plane I called up the mechanic and told her I needed an oil change. She said, bring it by on Saturday. I did and watched her change the oil.
The next time it was due, she says "bring it by on Saturday." I showed up and she handed me a bucket and a screwdriver and told me to get to it.

Bobbi divides her customers into two categories. Owners who are willing to turn a wrench on their own plane and those who are "Just Pilots."
We were in the middle of the annual one year, eating pizza for lunch in the back of the shop when a guy came in and said he thought his battery was failing. Bobbi says "Well, bring it over to the bench and we'll test it." The guy looks at her with a blank stare. She goes, "Oh, yes, you're just a pilot. Ron, go help him take his battery out."
Click to expand...

yes she’s so right. I’ve had pilots ask me if it’s ok to be changing those brake pads or whatnot...

I feel very humbled and complimented that my IA must be impressed with my maintenance as the last two things I’ve asked him to do he’s said “you can do that under my supervision”

learn your bird... it makes the experience more whole
 
Huckster79 said:
I like the cowl off just to go over my baby...
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Huckster79 said:
...learn your bird... it makes the experience more whole
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Hey, we're running a wholesome family site here. Talk about undressing & going over your baby and that whole experience thing with your #1 "mistress" might get you banned. ;)
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
Sounds like I may get my first lesson next week. In the meantime, today I learned where my strobe light power supply is, along with my ELT and Garmin boxes (for the G5).

If you think that's lame, I've only had the plane a month. Gimme a break.
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There are no boxes for the G5 per se. I’m guessing you mean a gmu11 and maybe a gad29, gad13? I’d bet the vast majority of owners don’t know where those are.
 
Salty said:
There are no boxes for the G5 per se. I’m guessing you mean a gmu11 and maybe a gad29, gad13? I’d bet the vast majority of owners don’t know where those are.
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Yes. But I only have those boxes because I have a G5. Ergo.... :)
 
Ryanb said:
The hardest part is learning to safety wire properly. Have your mechanic or someone with experience teach you.
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone ever showed me. Probably the biggest learning curve for me was just learning that a tool exists for that purpose. When I became a partner on a plane that was owned by a buddy, I watched him do the oil change and struggle to safety wire the filter with a pair of needle nose pliers. Needless to say, his safety wire jobs were less than optimal. A few minutes with my nose in the Aircraft Spruce catalog revealed a handy do dad known as safety wire pliers.

Ordered a pair, put in about 15 minutes of fiddling on the bench and my filter safety wires were indistinguishable from what you find on any other airplane. Youtube didn't exist in those days. Watch a couple youtube clips and you'll be off the races in no time.
 
I learned in the Navy where there were certain things where we put safety wire on everything.

People get fiddly with the technical specs of safety wire, how big the loop can be and exactly the right number of twists, but ultimate if it isn't broken, you did it right.
 
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