Just wondering what the best way is to change the oil filter without having oil drip all over the place?

Never understood why Merc puts the filter upside down.

What kind of engines are you running?
With the 496HO/496, which have the oil drain tube through the drain plug hole it make it much easier.
I run the engines on the hose for about 5 minutes to heat the oil up, shut it off, open the drain plug, pop the oil cap and loosen the oil filter. Works perfectly without any mess. No oil left in the filter when I remove it.

Drain the oil when it's still hot/warm. Puncture a couple of holes in the top of the filter to allow the oil to drain out of it faster.
That's how I do it and am sure lot of others.

Here's what I do, and it works well:

Do you drink coffee? The coffee I drink at home is the Target brand, they call it Market Pantry. Anyway, I buy the big can, got one here in front of me. It is the 2lb 7oz. can. I save them when they are empty, and for changing the oil filters in the boat is the main reason.

What I do is stuff a few blue shop towels in the bottom, I position and hold the can under the filter with one hand, and unscrew it with my other. I slowly unscrew it and gently lower it into the coffee can, while letting the residual oil drain in. I then take a few more blue shop towels and stuff them up into the oil filter mount to keep any oil from dripping until I am ready to screw on the new filter.

I take the coffee can with the old filter in it and pop on the lid. That keeps everything contained until I get back to my bench where I can drain it into a pan. Works well.

[QUOTE=MC-BOYS;2985595]What kind of engines are you running?
QUOTE]

502 MPI's

All I do is crack the filters loose a bit and let them sit while I pump the oil out. By the time that is done, I just spin them off and they are empty. No mess what so ever. This is with 502 Mag MPI engines

A few tips here:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...equipment.html
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...er-change.html
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...r-removal.html

I warm the motors, punch a hole in the filters then suck the oil out of the dipstick tube. No mess.

I also do as BGIII mentioned. Works great and not a drop spilled. You unscrew the filter just enough to break the gasket seal. The flow from the oil draining down will actually create a suction inwards. You'd swear it's going to just run all out the crack, but it doesn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BowenCT

Here's what I do, and it works well:

I slowly unscrew it and gently lower it into the coffee can, while letting the residual oil drain in.

Bowen , he has upside down filters like I have >