"Intruder's"
Painless Oil Change
Thanks to "Intruder" for posting this on the Intruder Alert
Board.
1) Start early Sunday morning, so you don't feel
pressured and will be sure to finish in time for ride with
friends
2) Search for Owner's Manual; make note to buy
one later
3) Warm engine (not hot) and park bike over a
large piece of cardboard (newspaper can substitute, you won't
have time to read it anyway)
4) Position oil pan beneath crankcase of
motorcycle
5) Remove oil filler cap and place on floor
where it can't fall off and roll under a cabinet
6) Try to loosen oil drain plug with your wrench
which is closest to the proper size
7) If your last service was done at a shop with
a young, strong apprentice mechanic, get a piece of pipe to put
over the wrench handle for more leverage.
8) Borrow large vice-grips (locking pliers),
apply to stripped oil drain plug head and loosen plug until it
can be turned by hand.
9) Turn plug out slowly by hand until oil starts
to seep out... then turn it out as fast as you can to remove it
before the hot oil becomes unbearable.
10) As quickly as possible, re-position oil pan
under crankcase so the oil is no longer pouring out onto the
floor
11) Try not to drip too much oil on floor
walking to corner of garage to get rags, wipe oil off hands
12) Look for more newspapers... if necessary get
some of your wife's old towels (more on this later) to mop up
excess oil from garage floor
13) Using an ordinary hammer and the minimum
force necessary, pound your longest screwdriver through the oil
filter to obtain the leverage required to break loose the
overtightened threads of the filter (see reference to young
technician, Step 7).
14) Remove oil filter, which will then remind
you to re-position pan to receive the remainder of the oil; check
to make sure you didn't drive the screwdriver through the
crankcase
15) Crank starter to scavenge the last little
bit of oil, trying not to knock over bike in your haste to shut
the engine off before permanent damage occurs
16) Remove, install cap and clean your oil drain
pan (and the mess on the floor)
17) Go to buy replacement oil and filter,
dumping your drain pan at a recycle facility on the way
18) Returning home, place a little oil on the
filter gasket and install filter
19) Place funnel in oil filler hole and pour oil
carefully into funnel, this will remind you that you haven't re-installed
the oil drain plug.
20) Clean up mess and look for oil drain plug;
shortly you will recall that you dropped it into the oil drain
pan due to the 'WARM' oil.
21) Look in oil drain pan and shake vigorously
until assured it does not contain drain plug
22) Go to recycle center to be assured plug is
not retrievable
23) Buy another quart of oil while you're out
24) Call friends and inform them of child's
illness which prevents you from riding with them today
25) After work on Monday (Tuesday if your bike
dealer is closed on Monday) go to bike shop and buy new oil drain
plug...they always have some in stock for just this reason.
26) While there, surreptitiously practice with a
torque wrench to see what 18 ft.lbs. feels like
27) Arriving home, install oil drain plug and
tighten to approximately the feeling you remember from 25) above
28) Put in 4 quarts of oil, plus a little left-over
in the can you tried to put in Sunday
29) Look for oil filler cap; after searching
thoroughly in the garage, go out to trash can to search through
oily papers and wife's old towels (more on this later), remember
that trash was picked up this morning.
30) Rush back to bike shop hoping someone will
still be there
31) Tuesday (or Wednesday, as the case may be),
go to bike shop after work and buy new oil filler cap...they
always have some in stock for just this reason.
32) Go home, install oil filler cap and start
engine; ride bike for short distance
33) Pull into garage and check under bike for
leaks, tighten oil filter and oil drain plug until seepage stops;
DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.
34) Call friends and explain you can't go riding
Sunday because you will be taking a cruise with your wife... to
appease her for ruining her family heirloom towels.
These are the steps I follow... hopefully, this has been some
help. Performance improves with practice; after many years of
experience I can now perform this work in as little as two dozen
steps. Good luck!
intruder
| Thanks for the laughs, my friend! |
