Oilchange giving me a headache!

PropThePolecat

PropThePolecat

Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
3,292
Hey my fellow BF'ers

I recently bought a used car, a 2001 Mitsubishi Colt 1.3GL, which ive been very happy with so far. I usually do all the minor maintenance jobs myselfl, as ive done on all my previous cars.

Anyways, this week i was going to change the oil on the Colt for the first time.

I unsrew the oil filler cap, crawl underneath the car and unscrew the drain plug, like ive done a milliont times on other car brands. The first thing i notice, is that theres not much oil that comes out. Much less than a litre trickled out. This perplexed me, and i thought there was not enough oil on the car. Anyways, i change the oilfilter too, before went to fill it up again. Please note, that i checked the dipstick a couple of weeks ago and it showed oil at midlevel.

The manual states, that my model takes 3.3 litres of oil, so i was expecting it to take this amount. But it only took about a litre, then the dipstick showed it completely full. :?: :?:

Apparently, it didnt drain all the oil from the beginning. I made sure the car was level before i drained the oil, so i dont really understand it.

I drove a little trip, to make sure the car was warmed up before i changed oil, and after i filled it up, i started it again, revved the engine a couple of times, turned it off and let the oil settle for about 10 min before i checked the dipstick again. So my readings should be spot-on.

It dosent really make any sense, and the only thing i can think of, is that theres still oil to be drained, but i cant see how i should get it all out when ive done everything one should do.

Today i tried again after i got home from work, which is a 45km drive home. I parked the car (made sure it was level), let the oil settle and checked the dipstick which showed full. I open the drain plug carefully, expecting the hot oil to pour out, but nothing came out!

I even started thinking that i might have removed the wrong drain plug, but i mean, how many options can there be?? The plug is located at the right front of the oil pan, and the screw says: "OIL".

I even tried jacking it up from the rear to make the oil flow out, but to minimal effect.


Its really annoying me :mad:, especially because i gave 90 bucks for 4 litres of oil (and ive already wasted 1 litre), and because its one of the simplest jobs. Ive never had any problems on my prior cars, so whats the deal with the Colt? :confused::confused:


Any ideas to what might be the issue? Does i have to use some secret trick to get it done?

Regards, all
 
Prop, if you have a "Mitchsubitche" dealer close by, I would give them a call & tell them the situation. I have an '88 Mighty Max 4wd p/u & most of the time I have to give them Dodge part #'s to get the right parts. When you find out on yours, please post what it was, I am very curious.
Be safe.
p.s.: BTW, the oil filter isn't like a gallon size or anything is it ??? :)
 
JUST1MOR said:
Prop, if you have a "Mitchsubitche" dealer close by, I would give them a call & tell them the situation. I have an '88 Mighty Max 4wd p/u & most of the time I have to give them Dodge part #'s to get the right parts. When you find out on yours, please post what it was, I am very curious.
Be safe.
p.s.: BTW, the oil filter isn't like a gallon size or anything is it ??? :)
Click to expand...

We've got some mechanics at work, ill ask one of them tomorrow. If that dosent help, ill ask a Mitsu dealer.

Ill be sure to post when ive figured out what it is.
 
When you drain the pan, is there anything reading on the dipstick? Does the oil look normal that does drain? How hot is the oil when it comes out? Are you sure the dipstick is the correct one? I'm wondering about a sludge/blocked pan? Do please let us know what you find.
 
tekapo said:
When you drain the pan, is there anything reading on the dipstick? Does the oil look normal that does drain? How hot is the oil when it comes out? Are you sure the dipstick is the correct one? I'm wondering about a sludge/blocked pan? Do please let us know what you find.
Click to expand...

-When the trickle has stopped, the dipstick still reads full.

-I dont have a oil temp reader, but i had just done a 45 km highway trip and was anticipating real hot oil coming out.

-Im not sure the dipstick is the right one (i dont have a correc one to compare it with), but if its too short the oil should flow out of the drainhole. If its too long, then the idiot light should come on because of low oil level.

-Theres no sludge buildup when peeking through the fillercap or drain hole. The color of the oil was very dark brown. Not the amber color i would have liked to see, but not the black stuff that kills engines either.

That being said, im also starting to think about the condition of the sump/pan.
 
i cant say if your car does but i have heard of older vehicles with either a 2 pan oil res. or one that may have a large baffle inside. so maybe that could explain half the oil?
 
I remember a Lincoln Continental that had two drain plugs, but it was a V-8 and it was easy to see both. I'd not think a tiny 4 cylinder would have 2. But, I guess it's possible.
 
could be a really bad oil sludge blockage somewhere.......i have experienced the same problems in several small cars i have bought.....went to do an oil change, nothing really comes out.......just like yours.

I solved it by pouring a solvent based engine flush (one can use ATF or kerosene too) into the crankcase, idling it for twenty minutes, then draining. LOTS of gooey sludgy muck drained out. I then flushed it again with clean oil (cheap stuff, let it idle for another twenty minutes, then drain. ) Change the filter, then fill with new oil.

hope this helps.
 
It's also possible that you have drained the transmission and filled the engine. This is not uncommon on Saab cars. It generally destroys the transmission, though.
 
Those little Japanese subcompacts are a pain to work on. There is no room to maneuver and you sometimes need special tools.

Take it to a wrench that specializes in Japanese cars and have him drop the pan and flush the system.

You just bought this used from a private party? Off topic story about transmissions. My Dad told me about a car he bought back in the 50s that the owner had dumped dried beans into the transmission to muffle the silverware in a paintshaker noise it was making so he'd be able to sell it easier. When my Dad tried draining the transmission fluid a lot less than expected came out. But your engine probably isn't fulla beans. :)
 
I would check for multiple drain plugs. I know of motorcycles that have 3. if you suspect engine sludge try a sea foam treatment.
 
Multiple oil plugs
Engine sludge
Burning oil/leak
wrong dipstick (not the biggest problem as you said all oil didnt drain)
Gremlins
All or any of these would be what I would suspect.
 
joe-bob said:
It's also possible that you have drained the transmission and filled the engine. This is not uncommon on Saab cars. It generally destroys the transmission, though.
Click to expand...

Guess why i bought this today:

5182302746_1c8bd63f67_z.jpg


Ive never been this embarassed in all my life before. Even behind the anonymity of the internet im still red as a tomato. :o

Let that be a lesson, that you should never work on a unfamiliar car in lowlight conditions. The whole FWD layout had me confused i guess.

Its taking every gram of backbone i have to confess to this idiotic mistake...:o
 
PropThePolecat said:
Guess why i bought this today:

5182302746_1c8bd63f67_z.jpg


Ive never been this embarassed in all my life before. Even behind the anonymity of the internet im still red as a tomato. :o

Let that be a lesson, that you should never work on a unfamiliar car in lowlight conditions. The whole FWD layout had me confused i guess.

Its taking every gram of backbone i have to confess to this idiotic mistake...:o
Click to expand...

Prop, look at the bright side, hopefully the car will be ok, & unless someone here knows you personally, your identity is safe with us . . .:D
Believe me you are not the first one to do something like this. My time came when I was 11 & my brother was 8, growing up on a farm. Dad told us to make sure we had mowed the back 2 paddocks before he got home. I got one of tractors out and filled it & started to mow. After about 5 minutes, it started puffing, back firing, and then finally quit. I called dad at my uncle's house, told him, & his first comment was which tractor was it, the J/D (diesel), or the Ford (gas) ? He then ask if I had matched the gas cap color to the correct pump color when I filled it? You never saw 2 kids learn how to drain gas out of a deisel engine, refill it, & get if fired so fast in your life. Luckily for us, we learned later that you can really mess up the injectors & "kill" the engine. Believe me, after that, I started paying attention to anything that had to do with farm implements . . . :)
Live & learn for another day. . .
Be safe.
 
joe-bob said:
It's also possible that you have drained the transmission and filled the engine. This is not uncommon on Saab cars. It generally destroys the transmission, though.
Click to expand...

Jap cars tend to be tougher than Saabs.

You can drive a car with no transmission fluid and it will not necessarily destroy the transmission as long as it isn't much more than 10 miles. If it is an automatic it will start shifting through all the gears repeatedly, letting you know something is seriously wrong. At least you didn't dump motor oil in the transmission or vice-versa. :)
 
:-D

Pick up a bottle of synth gear stablizer too. Just give it a couple of ounces. Some 911 guys run it straight. I used it to quiet a noisey rear end in a 735.
 
Went down this morning and filled it up with transmission oil. Luckily it was only missing about a half a litre :D.

I also changed the motoroil (finally!), checked my drumbrakes and mounted the winter-tires.

Its purring like a cat and driving like a dream. Tough little car :)

Thanks for all your replies my fellow BF'ers :thumbup:
 
Glad you found the problem and there wasn't any damage.

Is there any chance you were thinking of starting a mirror thread of this in W&C? :D:D:D
 
Don't feel bad, I worked with a guy at the oil change shop who had a brain fart and dumped the front diff on a pickup instead of the oil. Also had a new guy drop the transmission fluid out of a brand new volkswagon. we had to get a flat-deck to take it to the dealership as we could not refill it. After our intrepid manager spent half a day swearing at it convinced he knew what he was doing.... or the guy who got distracted by the hottie in the car and didn't put the oil filter all the way on, (chevy cobalt, cartridge filter on the top of the engine) that made a mess and a half! the list is long and distinguished, and you are by far on the smarter end, you at least thought you might have a problem!
 
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