Thoughts on Oil extractor for use in oil change

It has 4 problems.
1. It costs something.
2. It's one more thing to store.
3. There is no proof that you are pulling from lowest point.
4. At 7qt capacity, you would have to use it, drain it, and use it agian to get all the oil out of a 308.

But, I can see the appeal of not having to get under the car. Maybe one of those quick release oil drains would be a good alternative.

 

I use a similar type unit, hand pump. It works best when the oil is warm, not hot. I change my oil every three months with it. The process takes less than a half hour. My local Oil Change franchise, takes the oil at no charge.

 

Get it good and warm, put on some safety gear, and remove the plug.

I use the long drain time approach to give the machine a careful once-over.

 

What about the oil filter ?

 

Was given one similar to that... No pump handle, hook it to compressed air and it uses venturi effect to remove whatever fluid. it works. But, its gathering dust. I don't use it. The manufacturer's sticker on the race car sees more action than his product.

I'd rather pull the plug.

Rick

 

Good thing about pulling the plug is that in case of really bad luck, at least you SEE the chunks of metal coming out of the sump.

Don't even think about a quick release plug underneath the car. The bottom of the engine is flush with the bottom of the car. When using a quick release one, you'd be guaranteed to rip the plug out over some rock, speed bump, pedestrian or whatever. Don't!!

 

Oil extractors are great for boat engines, where you can't get to the bottom on the engines. I would shy away from using one on my car or any of my cars.

There just isn't an excuse good enough to not jack it up or park it on your car trailer and change the oil. While it's draining it gives you a chance to look over the chassis, suspension, tires brakes etc.

 

I've used one on other cars from time to time and tried to use it on my 308 a while back when I was short on time. I don't know why but I couldn't get more than a few quarts of oil out. Anyway it's not that big of a deal to use the drain plug.

 

I have one - that works off compressed air. Before I installed one on Mr. Helm's coolant petcocks, I used it for years to extract coolant from the 308. It eliminates the mess, as you can drain the tank, then remove one of the upper sleeves from the rigid pipe without causing a spill, and drain the bottom piping, etc.

I also use it to start a siphon to drain fuel from the fuel tanks.

And to drain condensation accumulation from the underground conduit in my yard that carries the low voltage wiring to the patio and garden lights.

But I never used it for oil.

 

If the 308 had a sump that provided a low spot for the pick-up so virtually all the oil could be accessed, I could go for top extraction. But the 308's big flat bottom sump would probably leave considerable oil inaccessible to a tube. And the position of the dipstick tube precludes jacking the car to create a low side for the pick up.

The incentive for extraction is tidy, convenient disposal but the item shown holds only 2/3 of the 308's oil capacity, so you'd have to do it twice. If I were to do it, I'd use a drill pump and container large enough to hold all the oil.

 

As noted, marine engines are often done that way but extractors with more capacity are commonly available at marine stores. THey usually consist of a 12v pump mounted to the removable top of a three or four gallon (or more) container.