In order to change the oil in my wifes car I have to take out 10 small bolt that hold the plastic undertray on. I swear getting them all out and back in takes longer than the acutal oil change so I wanted to change the bolts out with Dzus fasteners or something. Any ideas?
Thanks
Just leave it off?
My VW has a belly tray held on by ~10 screws. With a cordless drill and the correct Torx bit, it comes off in about a minute.
Perhaps I shouldn't, but I've left the undertray off my 86 mr2 for a couple of years now without any noticeable corrosion/side-effects. We have no road salt here in the ATL, so as always YMMV.
Maybe some of those round plastic trim clips with a center post? You push in the post until it snaps, and it expands the end to grip. You pull the post (it has a knob molded on the end) and the end relaxes so you can withdraw it.
FLAPS 'Help!' aisle, or U-Pull JY
I have a cookie sheet type tray on the RX-8. I remove all of the bolts except the rear center one. That one gets loosened, the tray rotates 180 degrees and the oil gets changed. It is much easier to line up the tray and saves time and cussin'.
Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: Any ideas?
Without knowing the make, model and year of the car - no, I don't have any ideas.
Leaving it off on the Mazda 6 causes overheating in the summer.
Can you cut a hole in it just big enough to allow access?
In reply to stuart in mn:
Its a Mercedes R350. The thing that irks me is that the 10 bolts are "long winded" as FIL says, it takes forever to get them out.
As a tech, I hate this trend. Not only is a dozen or more fasteners common, a lot of times they use 2-3 different types of fasteners. Then on top of that, they overlap panels to make putting it in place that much more frustrating.
In reply to Sonic:
That was my first thought and I may just go that route. I just thought I would pick the collective brain first.
Don't change the oil? 
My real vote would be power tool with the right bit(s)
Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: In reply to stuart in mn: Its a Mercedes R350. The thing that irks me is that the 10 bolts are "long winded" as FIL says, it takes forever to get them out.
And you don't use a cordless screwdriver because.... ? 
Wouldn't replacing the bolts with shorter ones help?
Ian F wrote:Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: In reply to stuart in mn: Its a Mercedes R350. The thing that irks me is that the 10 bolts are "long winded" as FIL says, it takes forever to get them out.And you don't use a cordless screwdriver because.... ?
So I can whine about it on the internet.
I do not have a cordless screwdriver and never really thought about using my drill.
Because 12 bolts is enough to thwart 90% of the general public and send them back to the Mercedes dealership. 
I would suggest using a marine oil pump down the dipstick tube, but I doubt Mercedes has those anymore.
In reply to Tyler H:
Actually, that is what they do at the dealership to change the oil. A guy I used to work with at the Dodge dealer who now works at the MB dealer across the street says that is how they do an oil change. Then there is some contorted way of getting the filter off and doesn't take any time at all.
Oh and no more stripped drain plugs. MB says they won't pay for them, IE- factory oil pan replacement and gasket.
In reply to Tyler H:
I am sure you are right on the money. I used to have a pump for doing that but I gave it away a long time ago, it just felt wrong pulling the oil out the top.
The filter is the easy part. Its a cartridge right at the top front of the motor.
Hmmmmm, I seem to remember the oil change from hell in my 1991 405 Mi16. The filter could be removed from the engine well enough... but it could not come out that way... the filter had to be fully emptied because it had to be "rolled" to an area where it could be removed..... barely
Small access hole and a Fujimoto valve with nipple, http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/
We service semis and there was a air over system that would suck it out and push new back in. Just pop the filters spin them off and spin the new ones on. Quick connects always stuck open afterwards though.
I have never tried one of those oil evacuator things that suck it out the dipstick. Anyone use one for real? It would make the coil changes on my 924s so much better.
Thirded or Fourthed for an electric driver. Pretty sure HF sells a halfway decent one, I got a makita set with a 12v drill, driver, and awesome LED light for around $250 off the cornwell truck and it is literally the best thing I have ever spent money on.
Useful for everything, after you buy one and start using it to work on cars, you will be amazed that you made it so long without.
Snap On sells one for about $250 by itself and I much prefer the cheaper makita.
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