change it hot or cold?

[KrisZ]

Some oil changes sound like rituals

Oh well, this was already beaten to death and no consensus was reached, I doubt this thread will be any different

But to keep with the theme, I always change it hot or warm, use the same wrench and wear my lucky hat and pants. I make sure I don't do it on a 13th and no black cats are around. The oil jug must be shaken not stirred

and the oil must drip exacly at a rate of 1 drop per 55 seconds before I put the drain plug back on.

So far so good, so my routine must be good and I don't want to hear that all of it is for nothing.

 

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: bigdawg74
I don't think it really matters. The thought of driving around for no other purpose than to warm up the oil in order to change it seems wasteful to me. Yeah, it flows better when warm, but it will still drain when cold.

Some people still don't get it! drain it hot as all the particulates ARE STILL suspended in the oil so it all drains out,cold oil drains slower leaving the crud at the bottom of the pan

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Malo83
Originally Posted By: bigdawg74
I don't think it really matters. The thought of driving around for no other purpose than to warm up the oil in order to change it seems wasteful to me. Yeah, it flows better when warm, but it will still drain when cold.

Some people still don't get it! drain it hot as all the particulates ARE STILL suspended in the oil so it all drains out,cold oil drains slower leaving the crud at the bottom of the pan

Bull's-eye. I take my 20 minute or so drive and usually buy gas or do some errand so I'm not wasting time or gas by taking a drive to warm up the oil.

 

[cmf]

I have no crud in the bottom of my pan. I recently had to remove my mother's oil pan and windage tray, no crud there either. Actually have yet to find crud in any reasonably well maintained car's oil pan. Poorly maintained ones have tons of crud though (friend's cars).

But, I do agree if you have crud that you need to run the engine for at least a short amount of time to get it into suspension. Actually what you should do is remove the oil pan and clean the crud out, but running the engine is better than nothing.

 

[Errtt]

To make a long story short - Hot

 

[Greggy_D]

Originally Posted By: uart
Originally Posted By: DreamerGT
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Originally Posted By: DreamerGT
Hot, then I let it drain over night.
A foolish idea.


why is that?


Well obviously you like to get as much of the old oil out as possible, so I wont call it foolish, but let me say why some might consider it a bad idea.

Firstly it drags out a very simple operation over two days, whereas I like to just get in get it done and clean up as quickly as possible.

Secondly it leaves your car undrivable overnight, and in the worst case scenario someone might (in an emergency in the middle of the night for example) forget that it's got no oil and drive it.


That's your preference.

Secondly you assume that a second vehicle is not available and 911 is not working.

Far from foolish.

 

[bigdawg74]

Originally Posted By: Malo83
Some people still don't get it! drain it hot as all the particulates ARE STILL suspended in the oil so it all drains out,cold oil drains slower leaving the crud at the bottom of the pan

Well, you should see the crud that ends up in the drain bucket. Somehow that whole gravity thing manages to work wonders. Jeez, it's not like we are talking about changing your oil in January in Nome, Alaska...

 

[johnachak]

Originally Posted By: bigdawg74
Originally Posted By: Malo83
Some people still don't get it! drain it hot as all the particulates ARE STILL suspended in the oil so it all drains out,cold oil drains slower leaving the crud at the bottom of the pan

Well, you should see the crud that ends up in the drain bucket. Somehow that whole gravity thing manages to work wonders. Jeez, it's not like we are talking about changing your oil in January in Nome, Alaska...


+1 If when I get up I say, hmmm today is a good day to change the oil and the car is cool sitting there parked all night, I'll get under it and change the oil. If I have done a cold change or two on one ofnthe cars, the next time I'll make sure I used it for an errand then change the oil when it cools down to a reasonable temp. (Especially in the Fall for the winter OCI.) I would never run it just to hange the oil. This isnt the old days with a beater that was full of 20w 50 and STP. We're talking 5w 20 or 5w 30 mostly synthetic or at the least MC syn blend. That stuff flows really well.

 

[Scorch]

Hot is how my oil has always been changed.

40 minute drive into the shop brings things up to temperature and I head straight into the building, pull her up on ramps and roll out the big box of tools. Go change into shop clothes, coveralls, grab the trusty 3/8" offset flex head ratchet and my 13mm socket and crawl under the car.

Pop goes the drain plug, slide under the pan, back to the tool box for the oil filter cap wrench and a new drain plug gasket. About 10 minutes later clean up the drain plug, slide on the new gasket, wipe the surface between plug and pan, thread plug in, tighten. Swap out socket for cap wrench, spin off the filter *splash* into the drain pan.

Go grab new filter, lube up the gasket, spin it on, hand tighten.

In with fresh new gold substance!

30 minute procedure tops.

 

[stenerson]

I change it hot.

 

[JGR]

Originally Posted By: stenerson
I change it hot.


+1

 

[SilverC6]

Warm.

Start it, get it up on the ramps, and drop the plug.

 

[ltslimjim]

Hot, cooled slightly to warm, and drained for 30 minutes; 1 hour "labor of love" and I have peace of mind.

 

[glum]

It's not a "hot vs. cold" thing. As I see it, there are three variables:

1. Oil temperature.

2. Time elapsed since engine was last turned off.

3. How long you are willing/able to let it drain.

If you are willing and able to wait, it doesn't matter what the oil temp is.

If you are not willing and able to wait, you won't get a good drain no matter what. How many quicky lube OCs have been done in so rushed a manner that the drain was incomplete, even with hot oil?

Either way, it obviously it helps to have hot(ish) oil and not to have just shut the engine down 4 seconds ago.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Hot in the winter and cold in the summer.

Its not worth burning arms and fingers on exhaust (and other hot parts) just to get a few extra ounces of oil.

Or if you really feel like a do-gooder. Drive it up to temp then let it sit an hour. All the metal parts will cool, while the oil will still be hot. Kind of like the ocean is warmer at night than in the morning.

 

[glum]

Do people actually burn themselves changing oil? I never had a problem with that, except for the oil filter, but even with that, a decent glove or an implement like the 2-liter bottle trick gets rid of that problem. I realize it makes a difference what vehicle you're working on, but still.

 

[67Customs]

With my T&C, I change it about 30 min after it gets to normal operating temp.

With my KJ, I change it cold. I would prefer to change it hot, but I get a lot of nasty drivetrain noise when I drain out hot oil and put in room temp oil and start it. I could drain the hot, put the new in and wait until the next day to start it, but I don't always have the luxury of waiting until the next day to go somewhere.

 

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: Scorch
Hot is how my oil has always been changed.

40 minute drive into the shop brings things up to temperature and I head straight into the building, pull her up on ramps and roll out the big box of tools. Go change into shop clothes, coveralls, grab the trusty 3/8" offset flex head ratchet and my 13mm socket and crawl under the car.

Pop goes the drain plug, slide under the pan, back to the tool box for the oil filter cap wrench and a new drain plug gasket. About 10 minutes later clean up the drain plug, slide on the new gasket, wipe the surface between plug and pan, thread plug in, tighten. Swap out socket for cap wrench, spin off the filter *splash* into the drain pan.

Go grab new filter, lube up the gasket, spin it on, hand tighten.

In with fresh new gold substance!

30 minute procedure tops.

That's what i'm talking about!!!

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: bigdawg74
Originally Posted By: Malo83
Some people still don't get it! drain it hot as all the particulates ARE STILL suspended in the oil so it all drains out,cold oil drains slower leaving the crud at the bottom of the pan

Well, you should see the crud that ends up in the drain bucket. Somehow that whole gravity thing manages to work wonders. Jeez, it's not like we are talking about changing your oil in January in Nome, Alaska...


If you are draining out crud that's in the bottom of the oil pan, your oil filter ain't doin' it's job, it should catch anything you can see...

I change it hot and usually drag the job out till the engine is starting to cool before I put the plug back in... Also only change in spring or fall, I ain't crawling under the car when it's over 80* or below 50*

 

[Avinash]

No one has addressed the issue of Oil Filter. I once tried to change oil in 0 F weather in Cinncinnati (I was in my 20's), I had to install 2 filters, and then to gas station, as 2 filters leaked, they did not want to go in on a very cold engine mating surface. I do it hot and live in Nashville (not cold).