When There Is An Oil Leak In The Subaru...

 It's not what you may be thinking.   The oil was actually in the TRUNK!  And tipped over and leaked all over the back. Roughly 5 Quarts!  Of Pure  EXPENSIVE synthetic oil!  IF you are not heartbroken by now, you are probably not an automotive enthusiast.   And Definitely not a Subaru Fanatic like I am. 

But that is ok..  Since you found this blog post, I might as well tell you what happened.  

As mentioned before.... The oil tipped over.   And leaked all over the back trunk area.  At first I did not think it was a big deal..  Until I lifted the flooring to expose the spare tire area.  

Even then, I thought the Spare tire had captured most of the leak.    A quick hose down and the oil would be cleaned up!  

I was wrong!   The leak was under the tire as well.   Pooling into an Oil Reservoir where the spare tire and spare tools should be.   Luckily, the oil did not dissolve the  sound dampening foam.   I ended up bailing it out and soaking whatever was left with some rags.   For the first time in forever,  I actually used the Oil Rags for soaking up Oil!   Almost poetic!

After soaking up the oil and removing all of it from the tire well,  I set out to clean up the mats where the oil originally leaked.   I did not think it would be a big deal... But it was! 

I used Dawn Dish Soap... Because Exxon Valdez! IF they can use Dawn to clean up that oil spill,  it should work on this one, right?  

Well... Not so much.   Either because it was Synthetic oil or because the oil had completely soaked through the mats,  I sprayed the mats for nearly an hour with no change.   Oil kept pouring out of the fabric.  

So...  Not wanting any item to be forever soaked in oil every time I put a bag of groceries or a suit case in the back... I decided I would have to remove the Carpeting and replace. it. 

This is that one time where I am grateful to have worked in Manufacturing.    You see,   back in the days when I was assembling boats,   we installed similar fabrics for their bottoms.   I knew how to rip off the old and how to install the new.    

I purchased a few yards of fabric from Menhards and cut it to match the shape.  I also purchased some spray adhesive.   Just like making paper in the old Origami Folding days!  Spray the material,   Connect to make a good bond;  Then use Staples to Hold the fabric in place while the glue dries. 

I used A number of tricks to remove the oil from the surface,  but I discovered good old brake cleaner seemed to work the best.  It even helped dissolve the old glue that was left over from the initial fabric.

IN the end, I ran out of stables and have to purchase more.   However,  I think the project turned out swimmingly!   It is true that I could have cut the material better;  AND that I could have  matched the color better.  ( I know they had a black/darker carpeting there....)  But I am not going to let Perfect be the enemy of Good.  I now have a back area that is oil free and looks pretty good.  I just purchased more staples so I will work on getting rid of those clips and using staples to hold the rest of the material in place. 

Other than that,  I continue to chip away at the fish.    Several layers of paint for the spots now.   It is slow going, but I know that painting in layers is what works best for me.   And I simply have to have faith that the end results will be worth it. 

The weekend is upon us!  And I have some things I still want to accomplish for tomorrow.   More fish painting and I want to break in my new shoes.   It seems my old running shoes were causing me trouble... and needed to be replaces.   I have yet to run a mile in these new shoes, but I better get to it before the race next weekend.  Time is certainly running out!  And Every second counts.