I have always let oil drain for at most a few hours, but last night I let it drain all night. When I started it up after filling with new oil, the engine made a horrible metal on metal sound for a few seconds that never happened before. Engine is a VW 1.8T. Obvious conclusion: you can drain too much oil out!
Draining oil too well is bad
- Thread starter JAG
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Why would this have anything to do with engine noise? I mean what's the difference? The old drains into the pan overnight anyway right? So it shouldn't matter if it drains out or remains there. X qts in the sump is X qts in the sump whether it be after a drive and sit or a drain and refill.
I was told Mopars of the 60's-70's had a bad reputation of having their oil pumps lose prime if the crankcases were left empty for extended periods of time.
I was always taught to drain and refill Mopars ASAP.
I was always taught to drain and refill Mopars ASAP.
It is possible that your oil pump lost it's prime, but it's also possible that it took overly long for the oil to flow through the filter.
I dunno - no proof.
I dunno - no proof.
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Yes, the oil drains to the pan overnight but the pickup isn't exposed at any time. Obviously, at some point, some vacuum was broken and the pump voided of oil.
Now if he had filled the sump and waited a few hours, I believe that the air that had accumulated would have worked its way in the other direction due to the head of the oil (it would have sought its own level) and that noise would have been radically reduced in duration.
When you put your new filter on,did you refill the filter with oil? I always dump some oil into the oil filter,makes oil pressure start building faster upon start-up.
Not only do I drain long, I crank the engine dry to burp out the last spit of old oil. Never a problem on restart. Someone who was paranoid could crank their engine w/o spark to "pump it up" before a real start.
You do that with hydraulic self adjusting DOHC valves?
You can let oil drain until Doomsday and you'll never get 100% of it out. There's always some puddling in the head, timing gear case, etc. I refill immediately after draining, and don't worry about trying to get the last drop of old oil out.
Yes I always fill the filter up with oil before installing it. As some have said, the oil pump was probably pumping air for a brief time.
JHZR2
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I let ours drip until they dont drip any more, but then I fill the filter slightly (fill it halfway, and let it absorb into the media), fill the engine, and let it sit a few minutes.
The oil light turns off within 5 seconds every time, on 9 different diesel and gas engines.
lucky I guess...
JMH
The oil light turns off within 5 seconds every time, on 9 different diesel and gas engines.
lucky I guess...
JMH
I don't let the car sit too long while draining ... only an hour or so ... but I jack it up on one side, let it down and repeat this a handful of times. It gets rid of an extra half quart on average.
I've never let a car drain overnight.
I've never let a car drain overnight.
If your worried about the leaving 5-10% of the oil in the engine just change it 5-10% sooner.
Where do people get stupid ideas on things they have no clue about.
You do that with hydraulic self adjusting DOHC valves?
Someone who was paranoid could crank their engine w/o spark to "pump it up" before a real start.
Yep, you are creating air pockets when you leave the plug out overnight. The air introduced has a crusting affect on the oil. The most i would let my oil drain is 30 minutes. Especially in winter when its cold in the garage, I wouldnt want to drain overnight. Before someone FLAMES me, this is just an opinion.
I let dumptrucks and personal vehicles drain overnight and it has not caused any problems. All have many miles on them.
Why not next oil change, drain it, and leave the oil fitler and oil pan screw off for about an hour at most. Then, just before refilling with fresh oil, use a quart of fresh oil, and pour into crankcase, adn let it go through to the botom of oil collection tub. Then re install your oil pna screw, filter, then ref ill. Will lube things back up fresh at same time.
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