Someone left what turned out to be a full 5qt jug of oil in the center of the left lane of the interstate onramp I take to get to work. The tall trucks and SUVs in front of me easily cleared the obstacle.
My slightly-lowered sportscar did not. By the time I saw it, it was too late to dodge it. I expected to just knock the (presumably empty) jug out of the way, but instead felt a surprisingly jarring impact - and saw a cloud of smoke billowing out behind me.
I made it to work to assess... π
My car was still smoking 5 minutes after I parked. I peeked underneath and there is oil EVERYWHERE. A big stripe from front to back, completely covering the entire exaust system, and dripping. And smoking. There's going to be such a puddle in my parking spot, and I guess I can look into stinky smoke following me everywhere for a few days.
I've got that burnt oil smell stuck in my nostrils now, too. Blech.
People: don't leave your oil jugs on the interstate. I'm begging you.
@john_b Is your car otherwise okay?
@WestofMars As far as I can tell, yeah. I'm not able to see any damage. I did check the dipstick just to confirm that all the oil did indeed come from an outside source and the level in the oil pan is good. I'll need to get it up on the lift to check things out for sure though.
I'm thinking I may hit a car wash with an undercarriage wash option on my way home. I don't really want to dump a bunch of oil in their runoff... but their drainage is probably better than what I've got at home.
@john_b wow... That's awful. The video looks pretty intense. Hopefully it burns off sooner rather than later
@MrMalignance I spent about an hour under the car tonight trying to clean up what I could (and in the process realized it was actually fresh oil, not used!). Removed the skid plate and aero panels, and mopped up all the remaining puddles and drips. Also wiped down the full length of the exhaust. There's still a thin film of oil over the whole thing, but I'm hoping that will burn off more quickly now.
In the meantime, my car will fit in with all the old oil-burning Miatas at autocross tomorrow!
@john_b wow, that's crazy. I'm sorry you had to suffer through that. Fingers crossed it burns off all the way at autocrossπ€
Deploy oil slick and smoke screen!
I'm basically James Bond.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnjfNq1xq64