Well I picked up my son in town after work today and as I was walking out of the gas station after picking him up I get a text from the wife of our garage floor. It's an oil spot I figure she's sending me but it's blurry and I can't see much as I'm getting in my car. I didn't think much of it so I backed out of the parking spot and noticed a 2-3" puddle under the car. It's hot out and my son was in the car so I left it running for 3-4 minutes while I was inside. Ho lee chit. I drive to the other end of the parking lot and back in to a spot away from traffic so I can have a look see. It's motor oil and my filter is wet but so is everything I can see under the car too. I grab a rag to try to tighten it but it's tight as can be and I don't budge it. Then I grab the dipstick and it's only half a quart or so low after sitting 3-4 minutes. So I figure I'll drive it a couple of miles and pull over. Did the same when I pulled over and it was still only a half a quart or so low again. So, I head for home which is another 3-4 miles away. On the way home I'm second guessing myself thinking maybe it's tranny fluid too but I didn't smell anything. I can't believe 1/2 a quart makes that much of a mess. I also have an idea of what it might be ever since the wife sent the pic and am curious to get home and see if I'm right. I parked over my pit and crawled under the car while I had the wife start the car up for me. Sure as chit, it's just what I suspected. The filter had a crack/hole in it. I tightened it an extra 1/8 turn when I did an oil change 2,000 miles ago or so with one of those damn oil filter pliers. I didn't have the right size 3/8" square drive filter socket style cup to do it properly. I remember looking at it and didn't think it looked bad enough to toss a brand new expensive oil filter in the garbage and put on a new one just because it had a flesh wound. I didn't think it would crack and/or have a pin hole in it but I was wrong. I only lost a little over a quart so I dodged a bullet. Man what a mess one quart of oil leaves. It fanned right across the oil pan and coated the entire underside. Even the wheels are a mess. I've been swapping out my PTU lube so I've had the skid plate off of it for a couple of weeks too. Probably a good thing it was off so it made the oil puddles that got noticed by the wife who I always tease that she wouldn't noticed if the sky had turned purple. I turned the new one on as tight as I could by hand and left it.
