w116 diesel oil change gone wrong
 

I don't really know where to post this one but since my w116 300sd is to blame then I will post it here. Changed my oil on Sunday night and let the oil drip from the oil cooler and oil pan overnight. Monday morning I put back the drain bolt and put back the oil cooler line. Around noon, I drove my car out of the garage and dragged a shallow bucket containing nearly 2 gallons of used motor oil and flipped the bucket onto my driveway. Nightmare. My driveway was not only stained but the oil splatter made my concrete look like it rained oil on it. This happened 20 minutes before my dental appointment so I only had time to start the pressure washer and shoot water onto the concrete surface to wash down the oil...bad idea...I had no dirt, no cat litter no soap to emulsify the oil. Made a huge mess all over the driveway. After my appointment I used detergent and scrubbed as hard as I could and only left stains. The brush was more effective than the pressure washing, obviously....I got home this evening and saw a County Vehicle right in front of my house and I immediately started to pace back and forth and waited for him to knock on my door. Well he never walked to my door but walked across the street to look at something on the sidewalk. Also this evening I saw a carpet cleaning van parked 3 houses down the street and I wondered if I was the one who caused the problem indirectly. I purchased a Techniseal product and applied it to the oil stains but the directions said nothing about shaking the bottle first so a huge clump of wet clay looking material could still be seen thru the bottle opening....what a mess...I parked both my cars on the driveway to block the mess and now I'm wondering how the hell I'm going to clean this one up...for all of you mechanics or shade tree mechanics, how have you handled this type of incident in the past? What is the best approach and what are the best products to use? I need to clean my driveway up ASAP. I have an HOA(home owners assoc) that loves to walk the streets up and down to look for dead bushes, dead grass, trash cans left outside....etc...But what will they do when they see my driveway....Please...and I mean it...please advise....
And for those of you who haven't sealed your concrete...seal it now before its too late....
P.S. Im not going to blow torch my concrete driveway to get rid of the oil

Muriatic acid may work. The purple cleaner people also make a driveway cleaner that does a halfway decent job on oils.

Ah thanks for the good laugh. Even after all that kitty litter will provide some help. Worst case, skim coat with concrete?

They also make concrete paint for garages and driveways... I've seen a product in stores called "Oil Lift" or something similar. Never tried it but it says it lifts oil out of concrete.

The first issue is that you let it drip over night, this is majorly un-necessary, as is disconnecting the oil cooler. Always finish the job when doing it, not at several points in time! Big gaps of times leads to forgetting things. From your description it never says if you refilled the oil before driving it out of the garage either!

I called a professional company today, with my wife at my side and with her arms crossed, and explained the problem and he said he would charge 750.00 dollars to remove or grind off a layer of cement and then seal. If the oil seeped in thru the pores how would taking a credit card thick layer off help...He also gave me a second option of staining the concrete using an acrylic and that would cost 1,500 dollars.

Learned my lesson. Yes I did refill the next morning but a few hours went by after that....

It's too late now, but old newspapers, paper-towels, rags, old clothing that you don't care about, could've soaked up the excess oil until you could get dirt or kitty-litter on it.
For your blackened concrete, Gunk engine cleaner followed by hot water might help. But take caution if your driveway area drains somewhere in veiw of your HOA. If that's a problem, you might try dirt or kitty-litter on the Gunk instead of water.
Carburetor-cleaner, certain brake-cleeners, even starting fluid are quick-evaporating solvents that may tone-down the black stains without water. But they are highly flammable. so try a very small area first to see how effective the any of the stuff is. Otherwise, it may take some time before the sun and weather fades those stains further.
Meanwhile, if your HOA asks, just tell them your car sprung a bad oil-leak. Accidents happen. No sense giving them cause to forbid you working on your own car - just in case they don't already have such a rule.

Happy Motoring, Mark

I'm, sorry what is the big deal with a dark spot in the driveway. Throw some cat litter on it for a while and it will minimize in a few weeks. Particularly if you drive or walk on it.

muriatic acid has work for me in the past, so has kitty litter and saw dust....just let it sit and then go back and use a brick and rub the material in to absorb more

might also be a good idea to proactively talk to the neighbors and own up to any carpet issues that may have been caused. this may head off the hoa storm troopers

use the muriatic acid.

The Oil Change From Hell
 

I really feel for you, I`ll have to try the Muratic Acid.

You really need to read "Oil change from hell", this will give you a laugh, from another HOA prison camp.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/187930-working-diesels-apartment-vice-house-oil-change-hell.html





Charlie

You know what? Sometimes the brown stuff just happens - don't let yourself be bullied by Suburban saddos. Do what you can to clean up the mess but remember in about 6 months time it will look a little different anyway. The local gestapo will just have to take a chill pill till then.

Hydrochloric Acid. Obviously wear gloves and try not to scratch you eyes.

spray on brake cleaner will take it out of the concrete