Warm up the engine before draining. The particles will be in suspension making it easier to get the debris in your drain pan. Also, you will get more oil out in a much shorter time period.
Oil Change: Hot or Cold?
- Thread starter camrydriver111
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No desire to be under a warm engine dealing with hot oil… cold drain all the way. Does it matter - don’t know, don’t care.
I do it while the engine is running to make it exciting
Id say changing your oil is the important part. Hot Oil flows better so will be better for a complete drain.
4WD
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Start engine - run until off high idle - on the ramps - change oil …
As I said before - if you don’t think the oil drained easily - pour a few ounces of fresh oil in - get your head down quickly if you want to see that clean oil hit the drain pan … BITOCD stuff again …
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burbguy82
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I think that contaminants are suspended in motor oil. I change the oil when it is hot. I "feel" as though that the "stuff" in the oil will be better removed before "stuff" has time to settle to the bottom of the pan. I have no science to prove this, and science does not care about my feelings, but that is what I do. Not red hot, key off, run under and drain the pan, but typically I will pull the truck into the shop after a drive, get all my stuff ready, them proceed with the drain. Yes it sucks.
4WD
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The logic is there - but an oil filter is only leaving particles below 25 microns - so they are not going to fall from just warm oil either in a matter of a few minutes …
I’m just not going to get scalded over this …
However warm it gets from where it is parked and up and onto a lift. I kind of consider vacuum oil changes as amateur hour, although I do own a mityvac and have used it in a pinch a couple of times. So the answer is Cold/Warm/Hot....your choice.
burbguy82
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What if bugs climb up in the pan overnight?
That is a good point with vacuum. The oil will flow easier. I have one i use for a Kubota application
Nature doing nature things and the little buggers will be blended fairly quickly.
Blackstone labs used to ask for their samples to be taken hot after taking it around the block a few times, but they removed that from their instructions.
Here is the link from 2021, and their current link. Excerpting here for easier reading.
2021
"Run the engine before you take the sample to get the oil at operating temperature (driving about 20 minutes should do it). Getting the oil up to operating temperature should help cook out any moisture or fuel build-up from the last time you drove. Then let the engine cool down a bit before you pull the sample. We don’t want you to get burned, and we don’t want to melt the tubing if you’re using a quick-draw pump to pull the sample."
Gas & Diesel Sampling | Blackstone Laboratories
web.archive.org
Current
"It doesn’t matter if the oil is cold or hot when you take a sample. Just try not to start the engine immediately prior to sampling. Even if you do though, it’s not a big deal. Just let us know."
Gas & Diesel Oil Sampling Procedure | Blackstone Laboratories
Gas or diesel engine oil sampling is easy with Blackstone's free oil analysis kit. Here's how to do it!
www.blackstone-labs.com
I'm mildly curious about what caused them to change their sampling procedures, knowing them its probably backed by data.
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There’s no wrong, right or expert answer however you’ll get many opinions. It’s really preference. I drain between warm but not too hot depends how long I let the vehicle sit on the ramps
The best time to change oil is 30 min after returning from a beer run.
After two beers (30 min) the oil is warm but not hot, and a warm filter can usually be removed without a wrench (unless it was previously tightened with a wrench). A cold filter always requires a wrench.
After two beers (30 min) the oil is warm but not hot, and a warm filter can usually be removed without a wrench (unless it was previously tightened with a wrench). A cold filter always requires a wrench.
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Found the heart surgeon.
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I remember as a kid with my dad changing the boat oil. Since I was smaller and could fit into the small areas of the boat I/O engine bay I would be the one draining out the 25w-40. I do remember it coming out sloooooowww when it was cold. We usually for some reason always changed it around Christmas which was always 30 or 40 degrees outside, and probably because dad was always off the week between Christmas and New Years so he had the time to worry about it .
Anyhow I learned to run the engine a bit just to make it easier, and it has sort of stuck with me. That being said though I hate working on the car when really hot, so I just usually run it about 2 to 4 min.
Anyhow I learned to run the engine a bit just to make it easier, and it has sort of stuck with me. That being said though I hate working on the car when really hot, so I just usually run it about 2 to 4 min.
That's what I do.
But I check mine with a thermometer....The oil must be at 100 degrees F exactly then I change the oil.....
