Bobbing for drain plugs

patrick_g · Nov 1, 2006

Texasjohn, while the floor is still pristine put a good epoxy coating on it and those couple drops you accidently spill (or a couple gallons) will clean up and leave no evidence behind.

Pat

bx23barry · Nov 2, 2006

Why do you guys build shops if you are afraid to get them dirty?

schmism · Nov 2, 2006

KubotaSteve said:
Chris:
My dad asked why I even bothered to get out the drain pan.

reminds me of a story.... The BMW's i have hold 8 qts (big strait 6's). makes the drain pain REALLY full, but still almost managalbe.

so you drain the oil, taking care to move the pan just right.... carefully slide it out from under the car... lift it and set it aside to finish up the job before you transfer it to my larger 5 gal container....

would you know it after all that carefull moveing... were does one step backward into? lets just say i didnt have to oil that work boot for a while

texasjohn · Nov 2, 2006

hmm... patrick_g, interesting idea... what, exactly, kind of epoxy are you recommending... I haven't looked into sealing the slab.... could do... it's clear span and everything I have inside is on wheels.. well, almost everything.

Anybody else used epoxy on shop floor... experiences to share??

DieselPower · Nov 2, 2006

I have all 4 of my different garage floors coated with a epoxy coating. I get my two part epoxy coating at the local Sherman Williams store. Resistant to most anything you can think of and makes cleanup very easy. The only downfall of a epoxy coated floor is that it is very slick. I alway's add the texture additive that SW sells when I buy any epoxy.

You will need to make sure your floor is very clean before applying the epoxy coating. For fresh concrete you should wait at least 90 day's for the slab to cure before coating.

gemini5362 · Nov 2, 2006

Schmism were you suprised when you found out that it took 8 quarts of oil to fill you BMW. I bought a porsche boxster last year and the first time I took it to get its oil changed they handed me a bill for $115.00 I kind of gulped and said oh well you buy this kind of car you pay for the servicing. When I looked at the bill it showed they had put 10 quarts of oil in it. I complained to the person that I had paid and had them call the service manager out. The service manager listened to me complain that they had made a mistake and there was no way my car could have held 10 quarts of oil. He was very nice and asked me if that was my first Porsche I said yes and he took me into his office and showed me the service manual, it actually takes 10 quarts. When I apologized he said he gets to have this talk with almost every new owner. It is amazing that they use way more oil than my duramax diesel does

patrick_g · Nov 2, 2006

TexasJohn, I think you were given a good answer but there are other options. The big box stores sell epoxy kits for concrete. Do follow the previous respondents example and use the traction agent or you will be likely to take a nasty fall.

+++++ I know I know half of the readers reading this thread finished their concrete floors as slick as a baby's butt and shine them with various lubricants and use silicone spray to help control dust and haven't had a single slip and fall accident yet.+++++

My shop is a confused mess more than it is neat but I hate oil and grease on the floor and never permit that to stay. A little of this paint and a tad of that here and there and some nasty stains from plasma cutting galvanized material but NO oil and or grease.

Pat

schmism · Nov 3, 2006

gemini5362 said:
Schmism were you suprised when you found out that it took 8 quarts of oil to fill you BMW.

sorta, my dad's had bmw's all the way back to the mid 70's with a 1600 so i grew up around them, serviceing them etc.

with the small fleet of vehicals i have i can burn through 12 qts in a weekend in a heartbeat (like an oil change on the bmw and on the truck)

so ya both bmw's and a truck all in the same weekend = 20 qts. the guys at the parts store look at me funny when buy 2 cases at a time

Soundguy · Nov 3, 2006

Heck.. I don't even bother with the cases of quarts.. I buy the gases of gallon jugs, when i change oil on my tractors...

Soundguy

schmism · Nov 3, 2006

Soundguy said:
Heck.. I don't even bother with the cases of quarts.. I buy the gases of gallon jugs, when i change oil on my tractors...

Soundguy

ya but the tractor at least calls out the capacites in GALLONS!!

Doc_Bob · Nov 3, 2006

Soundguy said:
Heck.. I don't even bother with the cases of quarts.. I buy the gases of gallon jugs, when i change oil on my tractors...

Soundguy

Makes life easier with gallons versus all those pesky quart bottles.
Bob

DieselPower · Nov 3, 2006

Since the price of cheap oil pumps with digital measures have droped so much in the last few years I suggest them to alot of my customers to buy their oil in 16 or 35 gallon drums. The drum quantity oil is alot cheaper than quarts or gallon jugs and with that saving's you can purchase a cart/pump/hose reel/digital measure system. Usually what you save purchasing just 2 or 3 small drums will be enough to cover the cost of a pump system. Best of all, no bottles or jugs to get rid of and you have drums you can cut the tops off of and make trash cans or burn barrels.

Soundguy · Nov 4, 2006

The crankcase oil changes aren't bad.. it's the UTF ( hyds, diffy and tranny ) oil changes that get into your pockets. I've got a unit that will drink 40+ qts...

Soundguy

Opti-Mist · Nov 4, 2006

This post convinced me to make hardware cloth screens for my drain pans/buckets.

patrick_g · Nov 4, 2006

Some of the store bought plastic drain containers have provisions to catch the plug and not let it go into the container with the used fluid.

Pat

DieselPower · Nov 4, 2006

If you really want to be drain plug drop proof you might want to check into fumoto drain valves. FUMOTO ENGINEERING I have been using these little baby's in over the road truck/tractors for years. They are great on engines found in trucks like Caterpillar's that have the HUGE darn drain plug in the side of the oil pan.

Champy · Nov 4, 2006

DieselPower - how much do those Fumoto valves cost?

DieselPower · Nov 4, 2006

If I remember correctly they were around $22.95 last time I bought a box full of them. Just got their current catalog in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I spent the last 1/2 hour looking for it. It seems to be lost in one of the piles on my desk. If I run across it and the price has changed I'll be sure to post the new price here.

LBrown59 · Nov 4, 2006

Soundguy said:
For those needing a good laugh!

So there I was.. laying on the creeper, propped up with back against right rear tire...left thumb stuck in tranny drain... UTF generously running down my arm, while my right arm and hand were frantically searching the drain pail for the blasted plug!..

Soundguy

And no thumb extender.
Next time use a 5 gal. drain pan.

LBrown59 · Nov 4, 2006

schmism said:
you know... posts like these dont have me feeling better about my impending oil change that has to happen soon....

but a funny story.... and i know the feeling cept my experience was changing out a fuel filter and having fuel run down my arm as i tried in vain to get the new one installed.

dispite washing for what seemed like hrs i still smelled of gass for the next 2 days.

Put a shut off in the line