I'm a mechanic with 55 years experience

Nov 29, 2023

AN EXPERT mechanic has warned drivers about a common mistake when changing their oil that will RUIN your car.

Scotty Kilmer posted a clip to his TikTok channel detailing how motorists should never "double gasket".

Kilmer said: "Realise the gasket on your oil filter is just sitting there.

"Sometimes when you take it off the engine, the gasket will stick on the engine.

"When you put the new filter on, it has its own gasket - you'll have a gasket on a gasket, it'll squish it and as soon as it gets pressure it can leak all the oil out of your engine."

If a new filter is installed on top of an old seal, a "double gasket" situation occurs and oil security is 100% compromised.

Kilmer described how a friend "blew his engine up" by making the mistake.

A typical engine replacement can cost between £1,500 to £4,000, according to Airtasker.

Kilmer went on to explain how drivers are better off navigating changing their oil.

"Before you put the new oil filter on, get a flashlight," he said.

"Get a flashlight pointed at your engine where it screws on, make sure there isn't a gasket stuck on there.

"And if you pull your old oil filter off and it looks like this with no gasket, you know the gas gets stuck somewhere."

And viewers were quick to react to the video, which has nearly a million views and more than 80,000 likes.

One said: "Yup I'm guilty of that… oil spilled EVERYWHERE."

Another commented: "Wrong filter for that truck. Those take a cartridge filter."

A third quipped: "Objection: Hearsay."