Oil and Filter Changes-

EXTREMELY poor prior planning on my part-
I delayed preventative maintenance on all my vehicles until my oil change schedule was slightly overdue on all.
For various reasons I have always taken the SHO to the Ford dealer to have this job done. For $60 they change oil and filter, top off all fluids, check tires, brakes and various other systems on the car. First time I had considered doing the oil change on this car myself I took one look beneath the car and saw- what IS THAT... A heat shield?.., covering the complete underside of the engine compartment. That, coupled with the fact this car sits VERY low to the ground, made the $60 charge from my dealer seem quite reasonable.

"When can you do 'The Works' on my SHO?"
"I can get you in on November 14th."
Needing it done yesterday, that's obviously unacceptable.

The oil change on the Ram/Cummins Diesel is not complicated but the doggone thing takes a LOT of oil-
Ten quarts of specific diesel oil. People "in the know" also recommend adding two containers of STP. So the job is kinda expensive.

I've had the filter for an oil and filter change on the Piaggio MP3 Scooter on hand for some time. It takes only a couple quarts of oil so that job is easy-peasy with the correct tools on hand.

So I attacked the big Cummins first. On it I change the oil every 5,000 miles and the filter every 10K. This time was the intermediate service, so all I had to do was pull the plug and drain the old oil out, then add the new oil and the two containers of STP.
All this was done in half an hour or so.

Now let's attack the Ford-
How the heck do I lift this thing up high enough to work under it?
I searched for several minutes and finally found what I felt were the safest points to apply my floor jack.
But doing that job will require removing that infernal heat shield. It's held on by four attaching points that are actually easier to detach than I thought, but required a long reach under this very low car to get to 'em. Done... and the shield is pulled out from under.
I then lifted the car high enough to get underneath and applied my jack stands for safety's sake.
The rest of the job ain't hard. Oil drain plug and filter are right there pretty much in your face. I removed the drain plug and the old oil flowed into my catch container. I removed the filter and allowed the oil inside it to drain into the same container, then filled the new filter and slickened the rubber gasket with oil and put it in its place.

The SHO owner's manual recommends Full Synthetic oil. This stuff is not cheap. I open the five quart container and poured it into the hole marked "Engine Oil", and I'm feeling pretty proud of myself-
I've changed the oil in the Diesel truck AND the Taurus in less than two hours!
Wait-
What's that?
I notice LOTS of new oil creeping across the floor behind the right front tire.
Damn.
I failed to re-install the drain plug. WHAT A MESS! What an idiot!

Another trip to Wally World.
Another BIG container of 10W-40 Fully Synthetic oil.
Oil installed and heat shield reattached.

Dismayed with my boneheadedness I put off doing the Scooter oil and filter change until tomorrow.
While doing the job I promise I'll check and DOUBLE CHECK my work.