Using a fluid extractor to change the oil?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: 2civics
Does anybody have experience using a fluid extractor to change their oil? Good or bad? I am ready to jump at this option rather than buying the ramps as the extractor is completely new to me. Thanks
Do you have to raise your car to get to the filter?
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
I knew a guy years ago who swore that all the nasty heavy metal and sludge [censored] you wanted to get out of your car were in the last few drops of oil that would drain out of the pan...he would let his cars drain overnight if he could


Which was probably true in the days of non-dispersant oils that didn't do a good job of keeping things suspended.
 
I might buy an extractor... Boat due for oil change, and my 67 f250 has an oversize plug that isn't leaking now. Oil pan replacement on that engine is a big pain, and would like to avoid that in the near future.
 
I own one. Used it a couple times and stopped using it.

This is subjective I suppose.
IMO it's faster doing a bolt drop.

With a extractor, I need to clean out the dip tube, pour out the oil in a transfer can, etc, etc. More work involved IMO
 
Originally Posted By: chefwong
With a extractor, I need to clean out the dip tube,

What for? I just store mine in a large ziploc bag.

Quote:

pour out the oil in a transfer can,

Not sure which one you have. All the ones I've used, you can just transport the oil in the extractor and dump it at a designated facility. Although this goes back to that whole "pump-on-the-inside" issue I mentioned earlier. You're not supposed to store the oil inside the extractor for extended periods of time.
 
Originally Posted By: Avery4
Originally Posted By: 2civics
Does anybody have experience using a fluid extractor to change their oil? Good or bad? I am ready to jump at this option rather than buying the ramps as the extractor is completely new to me. Thanks
NO.What about the 1 quart that is likely sludgy at the bottom. What about the filter? On MOST cars, you have to jack it up to get to the filter anyway. If you do, why not just pull the plug and do it right? As for less messy, the filter is the most messy part, especially on Honda K series. Do you want to save a few minutes, or have your engine thank you for the extra effort by lasting longer? Just my opinion.



Hilarious.

You actually believe your engine is going to last longer because of an insignificant amount of residual oil.
That's today's winner.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: chefwong
With a extractor, I need to clean out the dip tube,

What for? I just store mine in a large ziploc bag.

Quote:

pour out the oil in a transfer can,

Not sure which one you have. All the ones I've used, you can just transport the oil in the extractor and dump it at a designated facility. Although this goes back to that whole "pump-on-the-inside" issue I mentioned earlier. You're not supposed to store the oil inside the extractor for extended periods of time.





With my OCD mentality, since I'm ~pulling out the dip~ tube, I might as well wipe it before I put it back in a storage bag..

I have both the small 6L and the larger one. They both have ~caps~. none of which I would attempt on transport. Don't have the large one. Sold it. But it was not secure enough, if I remember, in the event of it tipping over....I recall just pouring back into a transfer container to recycle...
 
As usual Pete got everything right.

How much oil can an extractor siphon depends on the design of the dipstick tube. In a Mercedes-Benz engine an oil extractor can get more oil out than remove drain plug, someone tried remove drain plug first then using oil extractor after letting oil drips to no more than a drop a second, he got few ounces with extractor. Next time he tried extractor first then removed drain plug, no oil came out of drain plug. Mercedes dealers use fluid extractor to do oil change, not the standard Mityvac but the more powerful vacuum machine.

I used Mityvac 7201 to do oil change in my E430 for more than 10 years, it works very well for changing ATF and bleed brake in various cars too.

For some cars the fluid extractor doesn't siphon all the oil in the pan, because the dipstick tube wasn't designed for it. I tried Mityvac in my S2000, LS400 and most of the time I got less than 90-95% oil out of the pan.

For me personally I think Mityvac 7201 worth every penny I paid for it and more, I assign a value of $5 for oil change, bleed brake and ATF, after using it more than 20 times the value I got from it is more than $100, and I paid less than $70 12-13 years ago.

For bleeding brake, I tried various tools and nothing worked better than Mityvac.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: Avery4
Originally Posted By: 2civics
Does anybody have experience using a fluid extractor to change their oil? Good or bad? I am ready to jump at this option rather than buying the ramps as the extractor is completely new to me. Thanks
NO.What about the 1 quart that is likely sludgy at the bottom. What about the filter? On MOST cars, you have to jack it up to get to the filter anyway. If you do, why not just pull the plug and do it right? As for less messy, the filter is the most messy part, especially on Honda K series.



Hilarious.

You actually believe your engine is going to last longer because of an insignificant amount of residual oil.
That's today's winner.
 
I change my transmission fluid that way. It's clean, but I don't get as much as if I drop the pan. I would not do this for motor oil unless I had a good reason to do it.
 
I use one for both oil and tranny fluid. Only reason I do on one vehicle is ease of access for the oil.

These extractors come in handy for a lot of things, not just oil or fluid changes. I have used mine to drain the water from a washing machine when the pump failed. .
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top