Pumping oil out - 1 qt left behind- recommendation

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Pete85476

Pete85476

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Jan 2, 2017
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FL
Hello all,
I have been changing my oil by using a electric motor pump externally with a tube in the dipstick hole. The total of oil I get out, including the oil from changing the filter is three and a half quarts.
There is one quart that I cannot get out using this method. The question is how will this affect the car? How can I counter this? Should I shorten intervals of oil changes to compensate?
Should I drive the car for a week then repeat the process with fresh oil?
Maybe the one quart of dirty oil that's left over is not such a big deal, maybe the oil filter takes care of it?
Thank you,
2012 Mazda 3 iSport, 2.0L engine, auto trans 5 spd.
 
Why not just pull the drain plug? I could see using a pump in a boat, or a vehicle which has a very difficult to access drain plug, but that's about it.
 
Just for the sake of knowing all the info........
Do you drain the oil first and then pull the oil filter or the other way around?
What unit are you using?
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Why not just pull the drain plug? I could see using a pump in a boat, or a vehicle which has a very difficult to access drain plug, but that's about it.


Because he probably has to use a jack or a ramp. After you get used to the easy way- its too much drama....
Hey- get back to work
smile.gif
 
I live in an area where that has lots of restrictions. Also that plug is not easy to get to either. It would have to be jacked up to get access. I live in an apartment complex and public parking is very limited. The whole neighborhood is nosey if you do any kind of work on the car.

What I normally do is get up at sunrise and park in the AutoZone parking lot. This allows me to do this quickly and recycle the oil.
 
Originally Posted By: 2012mazda3
I live in an area where that has lots of restrictions. Also that plug is not easy to get to either. It would have to be jacked up to get access. I live in an apartment complex and public parking is very limited. The whole neighborhood is nosey if you do any kind of work on the car.

What I normally do is get up at sunrise and park in the AutoZone parking lot. This allows me to do this quickly and recycle the oil.


I just sent you a PM
 
Originally Posted By: 2012mazda3
I live in an area where that has lots of restrictions. Also that plug is not easy to get to either. It would have to be jacked up to get access. I live in an apartment complex and public parking is very limited. The whole neighborhood is nosey if you do any kind of work on the car.

What I normally do is get up at sunrise and park in the AutoZone parking lot. This allows me to do this quickly and recycle the oil.

I understand. I have been in that situation before. It would bother me to leave that oil in there. Some others, maybe not. I would just take it to a Firestone and get thier 19.95 oil change. I think they are using Quaker State now.
 
I would say it sounds like you only want to do some simple maintenance.

So this means you still need use a shop for bigger services.

i say it is fine what you are doing, and i would just use synthetic oil on the regular oil schedule.

But thenn have a periodic regular oil change when you have the shop to work on your car. hopefully the intervals work out to be at most like 1shop change for every 3diy or thereabouts
 
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Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Just for the sake of knowing all the info........
Do you drain the oil first and then pull the oil filter or the other way around?
What unit are you using?

I start with pumping out the oil from the top into a 5 quart measuring plastic pal. It consistently pulls out 88 Oz. Then I go under the car with a baking tin to catch the oil and change the filter.
The unit is a 12-volt pump which is quite popular on eBay or Amazon for roughly $15 to $20 dollars
 
Originally Posted By: 2012mazda3

There is one quart that I cannot get out using this method. The question is how will this affect the car?


HONESTLY.... It will NOT affect the car. There's always oil trapped throughout various locations in an engine, even if you pull the plug.

How often do you do your OCI, anyway?
if it was 12K-15K there might be some concern.
Otherwise, it won't hurt a thing.

Read this
laugh.gif


https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4432777/
 
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It won't hurt a thing and may actually help. As oil is circulated in the engine and experiences heat cycles, it develops unique anti-wear compounds. These are lost at change and you start over. There are some technical white papers covering this subject. Shannow can prolly point you to them ...

Many knowledgeable BITOG'ers do not change the filter at the same interval with the oil, me included. Leaving behind some residual oil leaves some of the already developed beneficial compounds in place.

We usually change the filter every other oil change and usually a month after the oil change. to allow carry over long enough for the new oil to develop some of its own compounds.

The main reason we change oil is to get the TBN back up where it belongs. Putting 75% new oil in will that easily
smile.gif
 
When you check the oil level afterwards is the color of the oil on the lighter side? If it is then the oil should be pretty clean. For peace of mind you can go to Napa and get their Oil Analysis kit to check things out. It's one of the lowest cost kits out there.
 
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Why not just pull the drain plug? I could see using a pump in a boat, or a vehicle which has a very difficult to access drain plug, but that's about it.


Because he probably has to use a jack or a ramp. After you get used to the easy way- its too much drama....
Hey- get back to work
smile.gif



I am working. LOL The drama is worrying about getting all the oil out with the pump. Drive it up ramps pull the plug. That ends the worry and drama about how much oil the pump did or didn't get out, and shortening an OCI to compensate for it.
wink.gif
There will always be a certain amount of oil trapped in an engine that won't come out, with a small sump why add to it?
 
You could just try your current method for 2 OCIs, then run a used oil analysis with TBN to see how the oil is. If it checks out ok, continue doing your current method and run UOAs maybe once every 2-3 OCIs to make sure everything still looks good.

To try to get more oil out, only thing I can think of is parking the car on a downhill or oriented so that the dipstick is at the lowest part of the engine. Other idea would be a use ramps and find the back side of an vacant building parking lot. Any abandoned malls or Kmarts in your area?
 
If your living situation doesn't allow you to work on the car, take it to the Ford, Mazda, Toyota, Honda, or Kia dealer (insert any brand) and get the $29 oil change.

Another option is to find a local shop. When I lived in an apartment, I found a reputable transmission shop that would change the engine oil for a $10 labor charge with my Wal-Mart supplied oil and filter. I could have used his bulk oil and bulk filter, but I preffered to use bottled oil that I knew exactly what it was, and my own filter.

Or you could get it changed at Wal-Mart (yuck) for $19.88 (Quaker State oil and a Fram filter) while you do your grocery shopping. A steal honestly, as long as they do the work correctly.
 
Stop worrying. There are engines out there with 5 quart capacities that hold onto almost 2 quarts in their oil cooler circuit.

Any stamped steel oil pan is going to hold half a quart because of its threaded bung.

Perform normal and regular service and pay it no mind.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Stop worrying. There are engines out there with 5 quart capacities that hold onto almost 2 quarts in their oil cooler circuit.

Any stamped steel oil pan is going to hold half a quart because of its threaded bung.

Perform normal and regular service and pay it no mind.

That is a pretty broad statement.

In that Mazda engine, an extra quart left is a pretty large amount. Will it matter. Who knows?
 
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