Oil extractors

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Does anyone have experience using oil extractors for oil change? Is there really any difference vis-a-vis a plug removal change?

Reason for question is that I live in a community that does not allow working on cars in driveway and the garage is full of you know what. I do work on my car (very cleanly) but do not want to risk getting the neighbors upset jacking up the car so often.

Thanks for any comments
 
Originally Posted By: dageezer
Does anyone have experience using oil extractors for oil change? Is there really any difference vis-a-vis a plug removal change?

Reason for question is that I live in a community that does not allow working on cars in driveway and the garage is full of you know what. I do work on my car (very cleanly) but do not want to risk getting the neighbors upset jacking up the car so often.

Thanks for any comments


I've used an extractor. I've also pulled the plug a few times, after having used the extractor, and found that more oil drained out. Will an extractor get it all, no. Will it do the job, yes. Enough so that a number of manufacturers list them as their proscribed means of performing oil changes.
 
i've been using one on my 530i for a while now. it gets more oil out than if i let my mechanic do it the traditional way.

however, if you have a funky oil sump, it may not always get it all out - this is the case on our 2.0 Jetta.
 
My car is a 2000 Taurus with a 3.0 Vulcan FFV. The car is low, I am not getting any younger or any skinnier so I have to jack up or use ramps. I use 5W-30 Mobil 1 so do not think not removing all the oil would make a big difference.

Thnaks for all your replies.
 
For newer European cars/SUV's within 10-15 years old, Mityvac fluid extractor works great, it get all the oil in engine as much as drain plug. Also, most newer European cars/SUV's have cartridge oil filter mounted on top of the engine so that no need to jack up.

I have Mityvac 7201 and used it for the last 5-6 years without a drop of oil on ground or on engines of MB E430, Lexus LS400, BMW 530 ...
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
i've been using one on my 530i for a while now. it gets more oil out than if i let my mechanic do it the traditional way.

however, if you have a funky oil sump, it may not always get it all out - this is the case on our 2.0 Jetta.




Does the Jetta oil pan have baffling?
 
Depends on the vehicle.

When an extractor works, mine will always get more oil out than a conventional drain.

Here are the car engines that I know, from personal experience, are compatible with extraction:

Jaguar V12
Jaguar AJ V8
GM Ecotec 2.4 2009 MY at least in the RWD configuration

Won't work:

GM high feature V6, at least in the 3.6 litre RWD configuration
GM LS1
GM Ecotec 2.2
Jaguar Aj6

Extractors are also great for trannies, PS units, overflow tanks, they are just a great tool to have around.
 
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I've been using an extractor on my boats for years (4.3L and 5.0L) and when I have pulled the plug to check, barely any oil remains. they are also handy for changing transmission fluid in a hurry, or removing the fluid before dropping the pan to cut down on the mess.
 
Don't get a Pela 6000 they are kind of flimsy. I use it on the wife's TDI *after* a gravity drain, because some oil gets hung up in the oil cooler and you can pull it out with an oil extractor. Between what's in the bottom of the filter canister and the oil cooler it is almost half a liter of dirty oil so I consider it worth it to extract it out like this after the sump is gravity drained out the plug hole into my catch pan.
 
Not exactly for an oil change but. An extractor is great for draining ATF via the dipstick/fill tube. Suck it out, measure it and add the same amount back. Not a bad way to do a fluid change w/o dropping the pan or disconnecting a tranny line. I've dropped the pan changed out the filter then sucked fluid out using a suction pump and it worked well.

It also makes a pan drop filter change easier if you don't have a drain plug. Suck out as much fluid as possible then drop the pan. Great when you're working on your back, less of a mess.
 
The Spectre 5971 Easy Access Oil Change Kit available on Amazon uses the drain plug with a banjo bolt/hose to extract the fluid. Real complete kit. I got it cheap ..but they're not always in stock at Amazon. It's worth it for the pump and some other parts alone. It includes all the hardware for remote mounting the filter too. If you had a bypass filter, the extraction hose would make an ideal way back to the pan.

So far, I've only used the pump. It's worked quite well for differentials and transmissions ..whathaveyou.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
For newer European cars/SUV's within 10-15 years old, Mityvac fluid extractor works great, it get all the oil in engine as much as drain plug. Also, most newer European cars/SUV's have cartridge oil filter mounted on top of the engine so that no need to jack up.

I have Mityvac 7201 and used it for the last 5-6 years without a drop of oil on ground or on engines of MB E430, Lexus LS400, BMW 530 ...



Another vote here for the Mityvac.
Been using since 2001 for both Euro & Asian cars in my garage.
& OC's for family & friends. About 50+ OC's since then.

Except for the sticky (PIA) pour plug - it has been the easiest maintenance for me to do.
Figure it has paid itself over several times
 
I used my 8-quart LiquiVac to change the oil in my '04 Tacoma this evening. First time I used the extractor on this vehicle; previous oil changes were done by draining.

I parked the car on a slight slope and let the engine cool off for a while, per LiquiVac's instructions. It sat for about an hour and a half. Ambient temperature was about 90 (hot day hereabouts), so the oil was still warm.

The vacuum seemed to remove more oil than I ever got out by draining the hot engine. Sure enough, five quarts of new oil brought the level just to the full mark on the dipstick. That's the first time I've been able to put 5 full quarts in the engine without overfilling by about 1/4 of an inch on the dipstick.

With that vehicle, an extractor seems to work just fine.
 
I used a TopSider vacuum pump extractor for several years on my '86 and '97 Mercedes. With their filters being right on top of the engine, the whole process was smooth and easy.

I tried using it on my GM 3.8 engine, and nothing came out. So, if I ever go back to changing my own oil, I can use the big can to take the old oil to recycling.
 
Mine has worked well for over 5 years on our 4 car fleet, for everything from 5-20 to 10-60 (a bit slower) when hot. No mess no fuss!
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Don't get a Pela 6000 they are kind of flimsy. I use it on the wife's TDI *after* a gravity drain, because some oil gets hung up in the oil cooler and you can pull it out with an oil extractor.


I've been using a Pela 6000 for at least 25 oil changes and it has stood up well. I did have to replace the plastic hose that goes down the dip stick, but that was $2 or $3 at Home Depot or Lowe's. There may be better topside extractors, but for most people the Pela with a 6-quart capacity should work out fine.... depending on the engine, of course. A Fumoto valve would be a good idea for all the others.
 
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