Oil change clean up

DavidR8

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I've never managed to come to a tidy solution of what to do with the mess of the oil drain pan and funnel after an oil change.
What do folks do to deal with with the residual oil in the drain pan?
I spray the funnel out with brake cleaner but cleaning the oil drain pan is a mystery to me.
Any suggestions?


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I've never cleaned one, seems like a waste of time. Put it on a shelf and forget about it.

edit: I try to dump it into a large container while its still hot, seems to leave less residual oil on the bottom of the pan that way. Once I had a full oil container so left the pan sitting full of oil for a couple weeks. When I poured it into the big container a mouse got stuck in the funnel. Can't figure out how he got in my crankcase and slid out of that small oil drain hole???
 
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Paper towels! Wipe the excess out of the pan into the empty/refilled oil bottles you will be returning to Canadian Tire for disposal, right? Wipe the funnel and pan down with paper towels afterwards. Those go into the garbage.
 

skipcurt

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Paper towels! Wipe the excess out of the pan into the empty/refilled oil bottles you will be returning to Canadian Tire for disposal, right? Wipe the funnel and pan down with paper towels afterwards. Those go into the garbage.
+1. Exactly the same as Bush.
 
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I have that one spot in a gravel driveway, 20 years I have put my oil pan there in that same place upside down, rain sleet snow bright sunny day, it just sits there, come to think of it, it was there after a hurricane came thru LOL..
 
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I've discovered old worn out shirts, pants, etc. make great shop rags. Some are not very absorbent and these get thrown away first (I'm talking about old clothes that are frayed - i.e. cannot donate them to thrift stores or any of the charities that collect old clothes). After draining the oil pan and filter for a couple of days into old oil jugs I wipe down the pan with an old shirt (usually) and wrap the filter in it. In the past these have gone in the garbage. In the future I'll be dropping the filter off at my mechanic's service station with the oil - he can crush it and squeeze out the last of the oil to be recycled.

Which reminds me. I knew a plumber years ago who picked up used 3 piece suits at a thrift store and wore them to work. Cheaper than blue jeans or overalls, he said.
 
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My drain pan is the lid of the drain bucket. So after pouring the old oil in the bucket i just put the pan/lid on the bucket and residual oil goes in the drain bucket. I have two of them courtesy of my local dump, and they take the old oil and filters as well. The used filters also have a place in the drain bucket. Chunk.
 

ReSTored

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David- Once I have completed the oil change I stand my drain pan upright against a wall with the drain spout in the funnel that is still in the container of used oil. I prop it up in such a way that the residual oil will have a path to spout.
I do the same thing, works well. Once drained I used an old rag and give the pan a wipe.

When doing the initial drain I check the drainage pan to see what, if anything, came out with the old oil. Last year I completed an oil change, then drained the pan and found my oil plug washer........... Seems it came off the bolt when I let it drop into the pan during the oil change and I didn't notice this when I fished the bolt out with a magnet. I was able to remove the bolt, get the washer back on and then get it back in losing just a bit of oil which I topped up.
 
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After draining the majority of old oil into an empty oil container, I lean the pan (an old litter box) against the wall to let as much residual oil collect to one side, then drain that as well. Then I spread a thin layer of kitty litter into the pan and sift it around to soak up as much oil with as little litter as possible. I then wipe that out of the pan into a plastic bag and toss it in the trash. The litter does a great job of getting the pan dry so I don't have to worry about it gunking up with dust and debris that flies around in the garage. That way I can also store it more easily (small garage) with out concerns about other things getting oily.
 
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I just drain the pan into a jug then slide the pan under the bottom shelf of my workbench. I use that pan to catch all kinds of drips and drabs of odd oil or whatever between oil changes. There is always a little something in it. Doesn't keep me up at night. If I need to inspect my oil after draining, which I rarely do, I clean it with some WD40 or a bit of gas. Never leave oily rags in your shop trash can.
 

dduelin

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It seems like I'm changing oil every week. I'm with those that leans the pan up against the wall. I leave a wadded up paper towel or two in the low spot of the catch pan. It wicks up the last drop and when it's time to for another oil change the pan is clean enough and the towels are evaporated pretty much dry. I have a few funnels and I store them standing upright in an open container with some layered paper towels in the bottom to wick up the oil. These paper towels also pretty much dry out.
 

Blrfl

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I use a catch pan with a large, screw-on lid and a separate cap for draining when I take it for recycling. Oil only ever hits the inside, so there's nothing to clean up.

--Mark
 
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Andrew Shadow;2052206 I then stick the drain pan and the funnel in to a large plastic bag just so it is protected from dust. It stays clean this way as the dust cannot come in to contact with the film of oil said:
I can understand the plastic bag to keep the oil from dripping on something else in your shop or garage, but I don't quite see how some dust will make a dirty oil drain pan a mess. As some say, you can't go crazy if you already are crazy.....
 
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