oil change pump?

[00 scrub]

Anyone use this oil change pump to remove oil from your pan for an oil change:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45403

It is a Harbor Freight piece so I don't know how well it works. It would make my oil changes much easier and cleaner. I have tapped my oil drain plug with an oil temp sender so I don't want to keep taking it out and stressign the thin walls of the threads many times. Anyone use one of these before?

 

[c_rossman]

Seams like a waste, It would work good for rearends and such, or if you added too much tranny fluid or something like that. I like to drain the oil from the plug. You have to take the filter off anyways and that is where all the mess comes from anyways.

 

[JohnnyO]

I don't trust those to get it all out. Useful for a boat where you can't take the plug out, but that's about it. My .02.

 

[00 scrub]

The thing is I can't/don't want to take my plug out because I tapped it on a lathe for a oil temperature sender. The wall thickness at the threads is very thin and I don't want to keep applying stress/ elongating the threads doing oil changes. My oil cooler alreayd assures me that I'm not going to remove all my oil but I would think this would remove all the oil in my pan. The oil in the pan would settle to the lowest point, and so would a very flexible piece of tubing. I remmeber reading a post here on BITOG about these things before and most people said it was fine, but I can't find that post again.

There is another type called a Liquivac, anyone used one of those?

 

[c_rossman]

Does your oil pan have two drain plugs, My 91 Mustang 5.0 has one on the front and the back.

 

[00 scrub]

Nope, it is a standard pan with a windage tray. It is on a Toyota 2zz-ge in '01 Celica GT-S.

 

[jaj]

00

I use an electric pump on my car - it sits too low to the ground to get under without jacking it up.

Having debated about whether to go with the electric, and then decided to, I'd highly recommend it. It's effortless, easy to clean up, and works reliably in all conditions.

Mine is a Shurflo Flex-Vane 12V Oil Change System.

Cheers
JJ

 

[BlazerLT]

quote:

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Originally posted by 00 scrub:
The thing is I can't/don't want to take my plug out because I tapped it on a lathe for a oil temperature sender. The wall thickness at the threads is very thin and I don't want to keep applying stress/ elongating the threads doing oil changes. My oil cooler alreayd assures me that I'm not going to remove all my oil but I would think this would remove all the oil in my pan. The oil in the pan would settle to the lowest point, and so would a very flexible piece of tubing. I remmeber reading a post here on BITOG about these things before and most people said it was fine, but I can't find that post again.

There is another type called a Liquivac, anyone used one of those?

---

These types of pumps never get all the oil out.

Why are you tapping a drainplug for a temp sender, sounds like incredibly poor logic and planning to me.

How about installing the sender in the bttom of the pan in a separate hole and using the oil drain plug for what it is intended to do which is drain the oil.

You are just making things more complicated for no reason.

 

[00 scrub]

It is an interm solution until I pull the pan off and create some baffles for it. Also this would make changing my oil much easier. I currently am in a place where I can not jack the car up and change the oil. I can access the oil filter fine from above the engine bay. I also have an annoying undertray with many small clips that must be removed before I have access to the bottom of the oil pan and filter.

I'm not understanding as to why these pumps could not get all the oil out? All the oil would either be in the oil filter, oil cooler lines, or at the bottom of the pan. If the line sits at the bottom of the pan wouldn't it remove all but the lightest layer of oil?

 

[KW]

I've seen people use electric ones and they seem to work quite well.

 

[Ugly3]

00 scrub - Keep in mind you are dealing with "oil nuts" here on BITOG, each looking for perfection in lubrication. Leaving 3 ounces of old oil in the engine is a catastrophe! Using the wrong filter will hasten engine demise by a factor of 25!

Horsefeathers.

While it would not be perfect, you could leave a quart of the old oil in at every change and it would have a minimal impact on engine life. Look at how many car makers now recommend changing the filter every other oil change.

You will know how much oil you are not getting out by how much to have to refill with to reach the full mark on the dip stick.

Go for it and report back on how efficient it is in getting the old oil out.

 

[Kestas]

This method is used in Mercedes dealerships, and is very popular among the Mercedes DIYers. The dealer uses it because they don't have to schlep cars to a special bay for an oil change. They simply bring the extractor to the vehicle and perform the oil change, a tremendous help for the work flow at a dealership. The DIYers like it because it makes oil changes less messy -- everything can be done from the topside of the engine.

Depending on the model, some people ran experiments where they sucked the oil out, then opened the drain plug to see how much they missed. On a lot of models either very little or no additional oil came out of the pan, proving the effectiveness of extraction devices.

I personally prefer to use the drain plug and let gravity drain the oil. But if using extraction methods will get a DIY owner to change the oil more often than he would otherwise, then this device is doing a good service and has its place in the market.

 

[Spector]

I would say do a search for alternatives. I cannot remember the brand name I have but it also will pump back fluid into the pan as well as syphon it out. I use it primarily for tranny fluid but recently had to use if to remove water from a washing machine tub when the pump went bad. Many brands out there, major difference is construction and whether it will also pump fluid back into the crankcase, reservoir etc. (an issue with tranny pans that have no dipstick, rear ends etc.) Single function ones are $50-$75 mine was about $99.

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.