Oil change FUBAR.

[raytwntrvlr]

Yesterday I posted about a crummy oil change experience I had at Metro Ford in the Kansas City area. After getting home, I had spotted a small puddle of oil under the Ranger. So I crawled under to get a look and saw all kinds of oil on the skid plate. This morning I pulled it and saw this:

Pretty obvious the oil change guy had not taken the plate off and just drained the oil onto it. Nasty. Has anyone else had this happen? Anyway, I checked the oil level and saw it quite high on the dipstick. So, I am wondering the best way to get it where it should be. I am tempted to just drain and refill. I had requested full synthetic but I see on the receipt they used the blend.

I am also going to check the torque on my lug nuts as this same guy did the tire rotate.

BTW... when I emailed the service writer, he offered to clean it up if I would bring it by. Also, he claimed the tech was his newest employee. No surprise there.

Sponsored

 

[Grumpaw]

Me....I would have already been back at that dealership, with photos of that pan and puddle of oil on the floor. Direct to the service mgr and request that it be done, again, by another tech, the right way . And, have them clean up the mess to the truck area.
As mgr told you, bring it back in and give them a chance to make it right, with a proper tech, of course.
Oil....the blend is what they will use...probably don't have any full synth on hand.
Also check to see if they used a Motor Craft filter and not some off brand.
Just another reason why I have a Fumoto Valve, and change my own oil/filter.

 

[raytwntrvlr]

Me....I would have already been back at that dealership, with photos of that pan and puddle of oil on the floor. Direct to the service mgr and request that it be done, again, by another tech, the right way . And, have them clean up the mess to the truck area.
As mgr told you, bring it back in and give them a chance to make it right, with a proper tech, of course.
Oil....the blend is what they will use...probably don't have any full synth on hand.
Also check to see if they used a Motor Craft filter and not some off brand.
Just another reason why I have a Fumoto Valve, and change my own oil/filter.

Like you Grumpaw, I tow a lot and am on a 5K oil change plan. I do every other one and take it to the dealer on the 10,20, 30 and so on so they can rotate the tires. I had the Fumoto on my RAM. I may go back to that on the Ranger. Decided not to go back to the dealer after seeing it overfilled. Just another chance for them to eff it up.

 

[Wytchdctr]

I got a job once because some goofball in Colorado kept screwing up the oil change on an 87 LTD. Forgot the front sump. Then forgot to tighten the rear drain bolt, then overfilled it because front sump.

I asked their boss if they had nothing but idiots working and could he use a non idiot on the weekends. He said yes and I was making a good bit of money per hour to change oil for about a year thanks to morons.

And oh boy... they did dumb stuff.

That is why I'll change mine as long as I physically can and/or live where I can and not get in trouble.

 

[Scott_Anderson_]

I’d be pissed about all of the above. Had a similar experience with oil change on my last vehicle I took to the Ford dealership.

I requested full synthetic, and they used the blend. I didn’t realize either until I looked at the receipt. Maybe a mistake, but I would think if they were out of full synthetic, they would call the customer to let them know before just dumping in a blend. But, I don’t know, maybe not ?

 

[OregonRangerTremor]

Yesterday I posted about a crummy oil change experience I had at Metro Ford in the Kansas City area. After getting home, I had spotted a small puddle of oil under the Ranger. So I crawled under to get a look and saw all kinds of oil on the skid plate. This morning I pulled it and saw this:

Pretty obvious the oil change guy had not taken the plate off and just drained the oil onto it. Nasty. Has anyone else had this happen? Anyway, I checked the oil level and saw it quite high on the dipstick. So, I am wondering the best way to get it where it should be. I am tempted to just drain and refill. I had requested full synthetic but I see on the receipt they used the blend.

I am also going to check the torque on my lug nuts as this same guy did the tire rotate.

BTW... when I emailed the service writer, he offered to clean it up if I would bring it by. Also, he claimed the tech was his newest employee. No surprise there.

When I take mine in I give them written explicit instructions of what I expect. Have not had an issue thus far.

 

[Msfitoy]

Minimum wage hires to change oil on my $40K truck? No thanks...

 

[9zero1790]

worst part of owning a ford is ford dealers lol. id be upset about the situation. however my main concern would be what else have they "serviced" for me, seeing the quality of the work they do... I would make a list and check stuff for myself carefully or go to a trusted mechanic and have it looked over. small mistakes from bad techs can lead to huge problems.

 

[Scott_Anderson_]

When I take mine in I give them written explicit instructions of what I expect. Have not had an issue thus far.

kind of unfortunate it’s come to that, but you are probably right about putting it on paper.

 

[Grandaccess]

Yesterday I posted about a crummy oil change experience I had at Metro Ford in the Kansas City area. After getting home, I had spotted a small puddle of oil under the Ranger. So I crawled under to get a look and saw all kinds of oil on the skid plate. This morning I pulled it and saw this:

Pretty obvious the oil change guy had not taken the plate off and just drained the oil onto it. Nasty. Has anyone else had this happen? Anyway, I checked the oil level and saw it quite high on the dipstick. So, I am wondering the best way to get it where it should be. I am tempted to just drain and refill. I had requested full synthetic but I see on the receipt they used the blend.

I am also going to check the torque on my lug nuts as this same guy did the tire rotate.

BTW... when I emailed the service writer, he offered to clean it up if I would bring it by. Also, he claimed the tech was his newest employee. No surprise there.

Ask who is coming to your house to clean your floor, send them a damn bill for cleaning!

 

[Swishpapasweets]

This is one of many reasons why I changed my own oil in general including my ranger from day one.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

It really is hit and miss when it comes to finding a good place for this simple service. A local garage took a sawzall to the belly pan of my Passat instead of removing it to drain the oil.

Too often, it’s the “new” guy or the PDI person, or the co-op student, and they may not be trained up on what’s involved. It’s completely the wrong person because all they’re focused on is getting the oil changed and the tire rotation done quickly. It’s too bad because a good, experienced tech would spot potential problems before they became bigger issues and would have more insightful comments for the advisors to pass along to clients.

I hope they do better next time.

 

[_TraMor]

Have I seen this before? Hell yeah, I have. I did that shit myself the first oil change. The used oil initially clears the plate until it doesn't.

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

So, I am wondering the best way to get it where it should be. I am tempted to just drain and refill.

I see you've resolved to take it to the dealership but I thought I'd answer this question to make the best of a technical forum.

Your method is the extreme method (costly and time consuming) as you'd most likely need to use brand-new oil unless you've got a pristine capture environment that you can certify is free of contaminants.

1) You could get the drain plug open by a thread and let some dribble out into a pan and then close it back up - this is a slightly messy method.

2) You could change the engine filter - this is a small expense and would remove a few ounces of oil from the reservoir once you re-start the engine and get the oil pumped into the new filter. On some cars this is a great method but thinking about this truck and my meager 2 oil changes - this could be a very messy proposition.

I'd give #1 an attempt, personally.

 

[raytwntrvlr]

I see you've resolved to take it to the dealership but I thought I'd answer this question to make the best of a technical forum.

Your method is the extreme method (costly and time consuming) as you'd most likely need to use brand-new oil unless you've got a pristine capture environment that you can certify is free of contaminants.

1) You could get the drain plug open by a thread and let some dribble out into a pan and then close it back up - this is a slightly messy method.

2) You could change the engine filter - this is a small expense and would remove a few ounces of oil from the reservoir once you re-start the engine and get the oil pumped into the new filter. On some cars this is a great method but thinking about this truck and my meager 2 oil changes - this could be a very messy proposition.

I'd give #1 an attempt, personally.

Hey Doc,
Thanks for the ideas. I actually tried No. 2 . I had stocked up on filters when I saw them on sale. Thats the Motorcraft FL-910S BTW. So having all these filters I thought that's an easy way to get some oil out. But NO. The dang filter is on so tight I could not make it budge. Again... no surprise, I guess.
However, I did check the torque on the lugs and happily found them to be right around the 100 ft/lbs. they should be. None lower and none over 110. Surprise, surprise!
Maybe tomorrow I will try the loosen the drain a few turns and let it dribble.
Glad this puppy sits high enough that I can do these things w/o jacks.

Sponsored