Sorry for my rant but... I have a college degree and 57 years of life experiences and am pretty mechanical on cars but for the life of me I can't seem to ever get the old oil filter off of my 2003 Disco without hot dirty oil streaming down my arm! Then the oil filter comes loose from the mount, slips out of my hands and flips upside down dumping the rest of the oil. Long ago I even removed and discarded that plastic panel that was there doing nothing that I could see as useful but get in my way. Something about that 4.6 L engine that it holds it's bladder full of oil until you remove the filter and then pees all over you. It also splashes all over the diff and steering linkage. I used a whole can of engine degreaser afterwards just cleaning everything up.

FYIW, today with the colder weather due to hit Houston by the weekend and I was due for an oil change and so I went with the Shell Rotella T6, a WIX 51515 filter and a can of BMG MOA. I switch back to the 15-40 Rotella in May or so, the miles and timeline seems to work for me if I am not doing long road trips.

All I know is since I switched to Shell R oil and the BMG product my engine runs great! No ticks or taps or knocks, just smooth.

 

We just got our 2002 so I have only done it once, but it was nothing particularly bad. Im glad they have a cutout in the plastic. I was able to easily remove the filter and gingerly lower it with my hand off the side to avoid spillage.
I don't think it got any on the diff either. Maybe 4.6 is just arranged differently.


I'd like to mention I had a lifter tick when I got the car and within just a few hundred miles the quart of Marvel mystery oil cleaned it right out.

 

Some cars have the oil filters on top of the engine and the oil runs all the way down the side of the block ALWAYS leaving a few drops in the garage....

 

I always unscrew the filter to point I see oil start to leak down the side of the filter. I stop rotating the oil filter until the oil stops dripping. Then, slowly start to unscrew the filter until I'm able to fully extract without having oil dump all over my arm.

UnScrew the filter incrementally until the oil drips down one side of the filter. Works for me.

My Audi oil filter sits in a canister atop of the engine. It's the greatest thing since Sliced bread.

 

You could always drill a hole in the bottom of the filter and let it drain.

I do the same thing coors does.

I also always wear rubber gloves. Dirty oil is carcinogenic.

Also, as I recall you're supposed to drain the oil, then refill it, then change the filter. This prevents the oil pump from running dry.

 

"I also always wear rubber gloves. Dirty oil is carcinogenic."


Yes, but the little contact the average owner gets, especially when that is compared to the contact the old time mechanic got, who worked on engines 8 hrs a day, 40 hours minimum per week, is nothing. So risk is extremely low, and if you do get cancer, you would get only a small amount of cancer----LOL

 

" I HATE DOING OIL CHANGES! but it only happens a few times a year."
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You could stop making oil changes, and instead, just install a new engine every few years, or months!

 

I'll fill a third of the filter with fresh oil before reinstalling. This always clean oil to spill down my arm!

 

What I have done is to take a empty washer fluid bottle and I cut some of the bottom and side of it open so I can hold it under the filter to catch the oil and filter. I save it with my stack of funnels.

 

yeah just fill the oil filter up to prevent the dry start issue