It doesn't seem to matter if I'm trying to catch oil or coolant or transmission fluid, there always seems to be a drip or a stream just outside the pan, it's like some evil god of the automotive undercarriage makes sure there are two streams far enough apart that I can't get them both with the same pan.
I've been lining the driveway under the car with big sheets of cardboard to minimize the telltale stains but I'd like to buy a really big pan or several that link together so that I'm not always covered in fluid and mopping up under the car.
What do you guys use for catch pans? Am I just unusually messy?
Maybe. I like to think I have it pretty much down to a science (such as it is)...
This first one may seem a little obvious, but I try and use a pan / container with larger capacity than what is known to drain out. I use the round plastic pans you can pick up at the auto parts store for oils; for coolant, I have a 16 (?) qt container that I can drain directly into (which I also picked up locally).
The other thing is that I know a 'side' drain will shoot out a few inches farther when it first starts. So I'll place the center of the pan about 4"-6" back of the plug. When I loosen the plug, I'll keep inward pressure on it, until I know it's unthreaded - then I'll pull it away quickly, let it start draining, and in a few seconds, center the pan back under the drain hole. Same for the filter (since I have V8s, they're mounted more or less vertically.)
I'll get a little oil draining on the outside of the filter onto my hand; when I spin it off, I'll hold it & turn upside down to drain it. A good day is when I don't accidentally drop it into the pan.
And, yes, I wear nitrile gloves, most of the time. Easy cleanup.
BTW, the fluid will drain faster if you can introduce air via the fill hole (like the oil fill cap up top, etc.)
Now, that's not to say I don't have any issues whatsoever. One problem I seem to have is stepping on the pan, after I pull it out from under the vehicle, or knocking it over before I drain the fluid out (my room is limited, especially if the full-size pickup is what I'm working on.)
Thus, I don't have many drips, etc., under the vehicle... but I'll sometimes have a helluva mess if I step on the pan... especially if it's near the garage door, as it'll seep under the door and stain the lip of the concrete in front of the door. Because of this, I always keep a jug of plain kitty litter (the cheap stuff, not the 'multi-cat', 'clumping', etc.) around to help with soaking up fluids. Works well. You can also use it on small spills, and ground it into the stain, which will leach it out of the concrete. Leave it on about 24hrs, or at least overnite.