Oil change question...

[LifeIsGood]

I was going to change my oil and oil filter today, actually drain my oil today, take off the oil pan, install the Oil Pan Baffle Kit from IPSCO, and then fill with new oil. That was until I pulled out my service manual last night to make sure that there wasn't any "secrets" that I needed to know. That's when I found the first step...

(1) Run engine until achieving normal operating temperature.

...son of a *****!

You see...my car is currently hibernating in my garage for the winter...clean interior, clean engine compartment. clean paint, clean undercarriage, clean wheel wells, clean wheels, trickle charger...you get the idea. It is, at this moment, snowing at my house and I'm sure the roads will not be viper inhabitable until March/April...that would be for my 'winter garage queen' I'm sure Tom (Fuels & Lubes Geek of the Realm) or Plum (crazy) would enjoy the donut experience, but me...not so much.

So here is the basic question...

Is getting the engine oil to operating temperature a necessity?

Here are my situational questions...

How about for my set of circumstances where the garage is not heated and the winter temps in there regularly get into the 30/40 range...and that my current plan is not to be starting the engine for several months yet. I'm sure the current oil temperature is in the 40 degree area. Will draining the cold engine oil be impossible? Will this lead to more residual old oil being left in the engine (keep in mind, that I will also be removing the oil pan, so no worries about residual oil in there)? Am I worrying too damn much about nothing?

I would like to go ahead and get this project done, but I could wait until the hibernation is over. I really enjoy working on my viper and I'm getting a little antsy. I've got a few more projects that aren't quite ready to start, so I was hoping to get this one behind me.

 

[plumcrazy]

im sure getting it to operating temps is to get more of it out of the engine when draining

id bet leaving a small bit of older oil is fine. how bad could it possibly be. i know you take good care for your car, im sure that il has been changed once or twice

 

[cfiiman]

^^^ Yeah, getting it to operating temp helps drain the oil because it is hot and more fluid so it drains easy. I wouldn't be worried at all about leaving a little bit in there until you drain it and refill in the spring.

 

[AZTVR]

If you haven't run the engine in a while, all the oil that can run into the pan is there already. No need to pump it back up into the engine again !!

Like the other guys said, I believe that warming the oil is only to get it to flow to, and out the drain hole faster.

 

[LifeIsGood]

It has been hibernating for at least a month already.

 

[67PLY]

If you have a drop cord with a light on the end, put it under the engine for a while, and it will warm it up for you. As long as it isn't a fluorescent light!

 

[Dom426h]

If you haven't run the engine in a while, all the oil that can run into the pan is there already. No need to pump it back up into the engine again !!

Like the other guys said, I believe that warming the oil is only to get it to flow to, and out the drain hole faster.

+1 themotor was parked hot at some point. Any oil that is going to flow to the pan is already there. Starting her up again is only going to leave extra oil up in your motor especialy if your running a quality oil with high affinity for metal.

Life,, Your overthinking this. Change the friggin oil already
What is keeping yyou from starting her anyway? U should turn her over after the oilchange to get everything lubed up in the good stuff...

Also, here is a tip that your manual wont tell you. Prefill your oilfilter before screwing her up .

 

[LifeIsGood]

...Your overthinking this. Change the friggin oil already
What is keeping yyou from starting her anyway?

Thanks for the input...I don't start her when she's in hibernation mainly because my personal belief is that it's not good for the engine to start it, run for 10-15 minutes (to get it to operating temperature) in a stationary position and then let it sit for 3 months. I like to think it's better for her to have been out for a nice run before putting her into hibernation, which she was.

I'm sure there woundn't be any really bad consequences in starting her for 10-15 minutes, but I don't want to do that if I don't have to.

 

[ViperTony]

Since you're installing the baffles and are going to drop your pan, you'll drain out/clean whatever oil was leftover in the pan from draining. Whether it flows out smooth or not, in your case, it doesn't matter. Post pics of the baffle install if you can.

 

[Phun70]

Since you're installing the baffles and are going to drop your pan, you'll drain out/clean whatever oil was leftover in the pan from draining. Whether it flows out smooth or not, in your case, it doesn't matter. Post pics of the baffle install if you can.

What he said. Just drain as much as you can, and then drop the pan. You might find a nice machine shop and have them run the oil pan through the parts washer. There, no more oil or residue. And the pan will be clean enough to eat off of. If you're really brave and have an understanding wife, clean as much of the old oil out of the pan with over the counter brake clean, and then put the pan in your dishwasher if it will fit, add soap and run it, tadah, a poor mans parts washer. Before I bought the real thing, I actually did this with an automatic transmission case before I rebuilt it. Worked like a charm and no harm to the dishwasher. (My wife was a little pissed though!) Then there was the time I checked for a leak in a tire in the bathtub, but that's another story entirely.

 

[daytonprowler]

+1 themotor was parked hot at some point. Any oil that is going to flow to the pan is already there. Starting her up again is only going to leave extra oil up in your motor especialy if your running a quality oil with high affinity for metal.

Life,, Your overthinking this. Change the friggin oil already
What is keeping yyou from starting her anyway? U should turn her over after the oilchange to get everything lubed up in the good stuff...

Also, here is a tip that your manual wont tell you. Prefill your oilfilter before screwing her up .

Agreed, just change the oil. If the Viper engines were that delicate they'd call it a ZR1.

 

[daytonprowler]

......and then put the pan in your dishwasher if it will fit, add soap and run it, tadah, a poor mans parts washer. Before I bought the real thing, I actually did this with an automatic transmission case before I rebuilt it. Worked like a charm and no harm to the dishwasher. (My wife was a little pissed though!) Then there was the time I checked for a leak in a tire in the bathtub, but that's another story entirely.

Did the same thing with an automatic transmission case and the dishwasher many years ago and I checked for a tire leak in my swimming pool once. LOL

 

[plumcrazy]

ive done the pool trick a couple of times....lol

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

You'll be fine. The oil you are likely to put in will be a 0W-xx or 5W-xx and they are rated to be sucked up the oil pump tube and temperatures of -35C or thereabouts. No worries about +30F.

 

[AZTVR]

I was going to ...... take off the oil pan, install the Oil Pan Baffle Kit from IPSCO,

FYI. Check to make sure that the swinging "doors" clear the screws holding the bottom screen in place. Last person that I heard from had the same issue as me. The bottom of one of the doors has to be notched. Additionally, one or both didn't swing back and forth freely and requires some "fettling" as our UK brethern would say. I put spacers = washers between the plates and the mounting posts as required to solve that issue.

This has been fed back to IPSCO last year; but, they may not have changed anything yet.

 

[LifeIsGood]

Thanks everybody!

Clearly, I was over thinking this. You guys make sense...surely the majority of the oil is sitting in the oil pan right now, so why start it up . I will be cleaning the oil pan once it's off the car and I will pre-fill the new filter before installing it.

 

[LifeIsGood]

...Also, here is a tip that your manual wont tell you. Prefill your oilfilter before screwing her up .

Pre-fill done...thanks!

...You might find a nice machine shop and have them run the oil pan through the parts washer. There, no more oil or residue. And the pan will be clean enough to eat off of.

I did find a nice machine shop to clean the pan...the same place that sold me the pan...Mark at IPSCO...here's a picture of the clean pan before installing the Oil Pan Baffle Kit...

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FYI. Check to make sure that the swinging "doors" clear the screws holding the bottom screen in place. Last person that I heard from had the same issue as me. The bottom of one of the doors has to be notched. Additionally, one or both didn't swing back and forth freely and requires some "fettling" as our UK brethern would say. I put spacers = washers between the plates and the mounting posts as required to solve that issue.

This has been fed back to IPSCO last year; but, they may not have changed anything yet.

Mark has changed the gates to include the notches to clear the screws, and the gate lengths have been adjusted...there are two sizes of pans for the GEN II and he provides the correct length gates for your individual size pan...

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Since you're installing the baffles and are going to drop your pan, you'll drain out/clean whatever oil was leftover in the pan from draining. Whether it flows out smooth or not, in your case, it doesn't matter. Post pics of the baffle install if you can.

Here are the the gates temporarily installed for fitment purposes (the top plate will be installed on top of these gates with the screws pictured)...

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Here are a few pictures of the completed installation...

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The gates are fitted so that they open very easily (when not under extreme braking, accelerating and cornering) with the pressure from the movement of the oil into the pick-up area.

 

[ViperTony]

Thanks for posting the pics, much appreciated. Makes me want to get under the Viper and wrench on something, lol.