Apologize for even asking this, but I've never had a car with the oil filter on top of the engine facing down. If I unscrew and remove the filter without having drained the oil from the engine, would it make a huge mess or will gravity have done its thing and the filter will be basically empty?

I need to install a pedestal sandwich sensor mount and I'm wondering if I need to do it during an oil change.

 

There will still be some leftover oil in it, depends on how long you let the car sit.

Just put a rag below it to catch any that drips out.

 

I don't run the engine at all on my rotaries before changing oil/filter. Let the filter drain over night, and keep a rag handy.

 

On my FB I punch a hole in the top with a center punch and let it sit for a couple minutes. Works every time.

 

^ Exactly.

/thread

 

The filters have an anti-drain back valve in them. This will hold some oil in the filter once oil has stopped flowing. With that, there won't be a huge mess when you take it off but there will be some oil dripping just from the nature of oil.