What a mess! I was changing the oil on my 1997 Toyota Tacoma (4cyl 2.7 liter, 125K. I was in a bit of a rush working in low light and I learned a new, valuable lesson. Long story short, during the process the old rubber gasket from the previous filter had stuck to the vehicle. I screwed on the new filter without realizing it was there, which apparently compromised the seal. I left a huge trail of oil on the driveway and a very embarrassing mess. My question is ? Will this cause me any problems? The oil got all over the place. Could temperatures get hot enough to cause it to combust? Anything else I might have screwed up? I read something suggesting that this could have an adverse effect on my clutch, which has been shuttering heavily in first gear. I should also mention that the friction point of my clutch is very high. Before the oil incident, I was thinking that it might need to be checked out and possibly replaced.
At least you realized the mistake before going too far down the road, else you might’ve run the engine completely out of oil and trashed some bearings. I’m assuming the oil light did not come on?
Any oil that got onto hot engine parts will cause a great deal of smoke, but it’s pretty unlikely to actually catch on fire. I wouldn’t worry about it affecting the clutch unless you can notice a difference in how it operates.
Just to be sure this doesn’t happen again, make sure you compare the old and new filters, and note ANY differences. In this case, you’d see the old filter is missing the rubber gasket. Where could it be? Hmm…
First, I hope you took off the oil filter, cleaned the mounting surface and got rid of the issue by replacing the oil filter with a new one and mated it properly to the surface.
Get a bunch of oil absorbent and put it wherever the oil leaked. It should do a good job of absorption. You can also clean the driveway later with a driveway cleaner. The oil will not combust, but it needs to be cleaned. up.
I think your clutch issues were there already and your oil problem did nothing to harm whatever is left of your clutch. It sounds like you need a replacement, anyway.
Been there…done that…got the tee-shirt.
Most of the oil will eventually burn off. If you want to you can clean it yourself. Get a can of engine cleaner…follow the directions on the can. It’s simple and it works.
Check the gasket or get your a** kicked.Happens all the time.Not to me of course.
It won’t likely combust. Automotive oil doesn’t burn all that easily. Try a bit in a tin can if you’d like to feel more comfortable. Fluids that don’t vaporize well, surrounding themselves with oxygen atoms, don’t readily undergo the combustion process.
I’d be inclined to have it steam cleaned. A shop that does this can properly protect the electronics.
Oh, and you need a new clutch assembly. The oil has nothing to do with this.