Has anyone ever used a oil extraction pump to change oil?

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Tom B

Guru
Location
Lancashire
Being the parsimonious type I have always serviced my own cars.

My current house doesn't have a garage and the drive isn't best for getting under a car, being narrow and on a steep slope so it's a ballache to drop the oil from my cars. My current car has a known issue that is managed with regular oil changes.

I have heard about these oil extraction pumps that suck the old oil out of the dipstick hole, but never used one.


I'm favouring the powered type as they seem smaller and easier to store. Has anyone any expirence of using them or can recommend a model?

I have two cars and generally change the oil twice a year on one and annually on the other.3
 
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screenman

Legendary Member
Mine came from Lidl and works fine. Seeing as I have good facilities here and the under tray comes off to change the oil filter I tend to pop the dump plug out.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Yes. The Smart was sealed sump and had no drain plug, so pumping it out was the official and only way. My pump was a cheaper replica of the Sealey manual pump and worked very well (more likely theyre made by the thousand in China and sellers buy them bulk and slap their own name on them).

However, its not as effective as simply draining, and theres a booming after market in Smart ForTwo replacement sumps with drain plugs.

If your car is one of those rare beasts with no drain plug then go for it. Otherwise, the old fashioned way gets more out and reduces the opportunity for a build up of sludge in the sump so id make every effort to do it the proper way.
 

cosmicbike

Perhaps This One.....
Moderator
Location
Egham
Being a fan of the older car, I drain from the bottom every time and use magnetic sump plugs. Clears the sludge and the fine metal bits too. I use magnetic gearbox plugs too, amazing how much metal there was stuck to the plug removed from a 27 year old gearbox on it's first oil change in 180,000 miles.
I guess if no other means then the dipstick idea works, but will never quite get all of it.
 

Pikey

Waiting for the turbo to kick in...
Location
Wiltshire
+1 for the lidl oil suction pump. Worked great with my landy when I had it, I only have a block paved drive to work on so sump plugs were a big no no. Also worked well do fully drain And refill the diff oil. If you were closer and I could find it in the garage you could have it!
 

Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
Down your arm and dripping off your elbow.
When you only took the plug out to drain off a little bit of overfill. Believe me, that only ever ends in tears.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
You can't beat the feeling of a stream of warm oil flowing between your fingers.
Down your arm and dripping off your elbow.
When you only took the plug out to drain off a little bit of overfill. Believe me, that only ever ends in tears.
Despite all the negatives, I find theres some satisfaction to seeing that dirty oil flow out.
Yeas, dirty, sometimes hot oil, slippery sump plugs that drop into the drain pan and occasionally, a drain pan that overflows :ohmy:. And no, I've never forgotten to refit the sump plug before starting to refill the oil...and seeing that puddle appear around your (errrr, someone elses) feet.:shy:
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
Yes i use an extraction pump. It has many advantages. You can extract the oil out when it is hotter, so thinner, getting more of it out. Its cleaner. I still have patches on my drive from when i used to do it the old way and i can take it down the tip without it sloshing about and getting in my car. It is also much quicker, safer and easier on the knees... Every now and then though, it will be worth dropping the plug out of the sump and wiping away any filings, 1 minute job when it is already empty.

Get a good extractor though. I had a cheap chinese one and couldn't suck the skin off of a cold cup of tea. Probably defective...
 
OP
OP
Tom B

Tom B

Guru
Location
Lancashire
Thanks for all the replies.

My car is a focus with teh 1.6 tdci turbo munching engine. It's the sludge that gums up the pickup pipe and does the turbo in. Tried and tested route to a happy turbo is oil changes. I was concerned about not getting to the bottom of the sump with the sucky thing. Has anyone ever pumped out then taken the bung out to see how much was left?

Does anyone change oil with the engine cold ?

Me. It was something my grandad always said to do. Along with checking the oil level on the level and cold. His thinking being that all the oil had drained to the sump. You then drop the oil and let the colder bit more viscose oil drain out allowing time for it to drain by removing the sump plug, having a brew, changing the plugs and filters, making a bacon bitty, having a brew, having 40 winks then have a brew and then crack on.

I suppose back in his days oils were thicker and more gloopy. But I still do it. I've never paid for an oil change in 20yrs of driving.
 

HMS_Dave

Grand Old Lady
Thanks for all the replies.

My car is a focus with teh 1.6 tdci turbo munching engine. It's the sludge that gums up the pickup pipe and does the turbo in. Tried and tested route to a happy turbo is oil changes. I was concerned about not getting to the bottom of the sump with the sucky thing. Has anyone ever pumped out then taken the bung out to see how much was left?



Me. It was something my grandad always said to do. Along with checking the oil level on the level and cold. His thinking being that all the oil had drained to the sump. You then drop the oil and let the colder bit more viscose oil drain out allowing time for it to drain by removing the sump plug, having a brew, changing the plugs and filters, making a bacon bitty, having a brew, having 40 winks then have a brew and then crack on.

I suppose back in his days oils were thicker and more gloopy. But I still do it. I've never paid for an oil change in 20yrs of driving.
You never get all the oil out when draining oil from the sump. Some sump plugs are on the very edges of the sump with the sump slightly tilted towards it but the sump bolt has to thread into something that isn't aluminium or plastic and they'll always be a raised edge where the sump bolt screws into a welded nut inside the sump or thick threaded collar. For example the Ford focus 1.6 tdci engine sump
image;s=644x461.jpg

You're never getting all the sludge out of the bottom of that, notice the bolt is recessed slightly. However you extract the oil unless you drop the sump and give it a good clean with a detergent and clean the oil strainer while you are there its not a proper job. I'm not advocating you do this by the way. I wouldn't, I'd just keep regularly changing the oil. With the extraction tube I push it all the way into the district tube until I feel it hit the bottom of the sump. Then let the extractor do its thing. I have undone the sump bolt when I used the extractor the first time and it was empty. I was and am confident it gets it all out as much as possible.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Thanks for all the replies.

My car is a focus with teh 1.6 tdci turbo munching engine. It's the sludge that gums up the pickup pipe and does the turbo in. Tried and tested route to a happy turbo is oil changes. I was concerned about not getting to the bottom of the sump with the sucky thing. Has anyone ever pumped out then taken the bung out to see how much was left?



Me. It was something my grandad always said to do. Along with checking the oil level on the level and cold. His thinking being that all the oil had drained to the sump. You then drop the oil and let the colder bit more viscose oil drain out allowing time for it to drain by removing the sump plug, having a brew, changing the plugs and filters, making a bacon bitty, having a brew, having 40 winks then have a brew and then crack on.

I suppose back in his days oils were thicker and more gloopy. But I still do it. I've never paid for an oil change in 20yrs of driving.
Ive never personally dropped a sump to see how much was left after being pumped, but many Smart owners have - 400ml left in an engine that only had a 3.5 litre oil capacity is over 10%, and explains the thriving aftermarket in sumps with drain pugs.
 
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