What's your technique?

[wheels]

Since I'm too technically challenged to add anything to this forum except questions, I thought I'd share my technique for changing oil. So for all you OCDers out there, here goes. After getting the front of the car elevated, I remove the plug and leave it out for five to ten minutes. Then I put it back in tight enough to stop all flow. Then I move to the filter. Remove old filter. Wipe down area where new filter gets installed. Add some oil to the new filter. Kind of roll it around so as to soak up the oil all over the filter media. Then install filter. Then I go in the house and eat lunch. After lunch, remove drain plug. Become amazed at how much oil was still in there. When that flow stops, replace plug. Add new oil, start engine, and check for leaks. Everything that came out on the second plug removal would have still been in there had I gone to the (pick your favorite quick lube joint). The most important step here is eating lunch. Let's hear your technique if it's different.

 

[mrchecker]

If it hasn't come out by the time I've pulled the old filter, filled the new one with oil and installed it, then it can dang well stay in the pan for all I care. I'm a member of the hot oil change camp, so it's pretty thin when I pull the plug. I'd be afraid to leave the truck all buttoned up with no oil in it, I might get distracted and forget.

 

[PaJohn]

I just let it drain long enough to have a beer

 

[Ron]

Hi,I like the overnight run-down cold drain.It seems that gets the pan all-most empty.Lately,I add some clean oil to watch it drain out to the last good drops.Jumping & shaking the bumper moves my bowels as well as some oil.It all works,with no trapped oil. Ron

 

[wheels]

Forgot to mention that I do drive the car first to get it hot.

 

[Pablo]

Did someone say lunch?? Good one! - I believe the longer you let the old stuff escape, the better. Some of my cars drain back rather slow even when hot. Sometimes I go overnight.

 

[Starbreaker666]

I drain it one time while I eat lunch. It's a hot drain I might as well add.. One time when I was about 19 I forgot to put the plug back in it and drained another 5 quarts right on through...LOL One and only time though.

 

[wheels]

Pablo - Over night. All right! I knew some of you guys would have me beat. Starbreaker - Did the same thing once with my Cub Cadet tractor. But I had removed the drain pan, so new oil was pouring onto the driveway. Never did that again either.

 

[mstrjon32]

At the end of the day on the weekend, be it 6 pm when my day is through or 3 am, I will pull the car into the garage (usually the vette is in there) and let it cool down until the intake plenum is warm to the touch (usually after driving it is scorching hot). Then I loosen the filler cap to relieve pressure, remove the plug and place a pan under the plug. Then I remove a filter and place another pan under the filter. Then I go to bed. 12 or so hours later, I will clean up all the dirty oil, fill up a new filter, put it on. Then put the drain plug back in. Then fill the car with oil, run it for a few minutes, take it for a drive, and I am done.

 

[Drew99GT]

quote:

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Originally posted by PaJohn: I just let it drain long enough to have a beer

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hehe, that's me as well; it's like a Sunday afternoon ritual for me now.

 

[Rat407]

Don't forget the nice stuff, like a fumoto valve, (saves those girly hands when hot oil comes out) not to mention makes sampling easy. Put a ziplock bag over oil filter when removing it. Again saves the hands and keeps mess in bag. If your lucky like me and can get absorbant material made for oil that helps keep the garage floor clean and oil free. I usually let it drain out to a slow drip then just put the plug back in. In my truck I fill the oil filter up with oil to help keep the supply going and not have a dry spot when I first start the vehicle. I know some don't have the luxary of a vertical oil filter. My stickler is letting the oil bottles drain forever into the engine, squeezing out what I can from the bottle. Then when I'm all done I do it again into a clean container with each qt. letting them sit over night. It is amazing what you can collect from all the oil changes over time. Oh and while I'm down there at 6k intervals I grease all the grease fittings.

 

[sub_zero]

I'm a little more impatient, but I do cram as much oil as I can into the filter prior to fitment. It is not always possible ie: toyota I4 but I think it is nearly essential, especially if it's cold outside.

 

[greencrew]

I plan it around returning home from work so it is good and hot. I park the truck in the pole barn and walk to the house to change my clothes. That allows it to cool a bit. I place a pan under and remove the plug. I let it drain while I change out the filter. Then I put the plug back in and fill it with oil and start it while it is still hot. check for leaks, clean up, close up the barn and park it in the garage. The next day I pour the cold oil into a 30 gallon plastic drum and leave the pan resting in the funnel to drain. I also leave the empty containers in the funnel to drain before I throw them out.

 

[labman]

I went through a phase of giving the oil time to drain down to the pan before removing the plug. Then I decided it was best to drain hot and then let it set as long as I could, perhaps over night. Trouble is my truck has a couple places that maybe hold a quart that doesn't drain, one in the head, and one in the oil pan. I will break my leg some day bouncing on the bumper trying to get more out. One of my next steps after pulling the plug is to start filling the oil filter. Once you fill the center tube, it drops as the oil flows out into the shell. I keep filling it until the oil level stays up. I always spill more than enough to lube the gasket. I take my time greasing the fittings, checking other fluids, minor repairs I haven't gotten around to, squirt silicone on everything that moves, etc. Like Rat, I wait forever for the last drop of oil to drip out. Good for the ecology. Much less hassle with the slightly cheaper oil in the 5 quart bottles. I have also cut down the 5 quart bottles for containers to reorganize my bolt collection. I drill a hole in the old filter to let the oil out. ADBV's work!. Again, good for the ecology, also much less messy when I cut them open. The nearby junkyard I was taking the used filters along with tin cans went out of business. I transfer the old oil to detergent bottles and dump them at a quick lube. I should remember who posts good ideas like using a piece of rubber hose on the drain plug to keep hot oil off my hands. Great idea whoever. I still wiggle under my truck, but when I traded the Phoenix on the Grand Am GT, I had to use ramps. The old metal ones wouldn't clear the air dam. I made new ones out of wood, oak 2 x 6. The drain plug on both the Grand Am and now the Cavalier are at the back of the pan, so the ramps likely give a better drain. The truck is on the side. No comments on liquids I consume through all this.

 

[W.T.McGlynn]

Why waite for the drain down ? I just pour some diesel straight through,say a quart and watch the junk that was on the bottom of the pan come rolling out.Im guessing any that is left will burn off.

 

[Ken2]

Some of the diesel will stay in the engine and dilute the new oil. It doesn't evaporate...if it did, there'd be no point in doing a fuel percentage in an oil analysis. If you need to flush your engine with anything, use new, warm engine oil. Anything else will have some of it remaining in the oil. Why would anyone drain the oil at any time except when it's good & hot? Why let heavy solids settle into the pan? Ken

 

[JohnBrowning]

Ken2 why would your oil be full of heavy solids? I always thought that the idea was to change it while your additives were still able to hold most of the solids in suspension. You would have to go past saturation point correct? Also does temp mater as much as agitation? Seems to me that reguradles of temp if the oil has spent 2-3 minutes pumping through the engine at 65+ psi that any heavy solids would have been stired up enough to drain out. The drain plug should"idealy" be at the lowest point and hydralic pressure of the flowing oil ought to force most of the solids out. No matter what you do you can not get all of the contaimanets out. I know that the additives work best at operateing temp blah blah blah! I just do not see where it is going to make that big a difference. I would put the hot oil change in the same catagory as dry cranking the engine to get the dirty oil out. Dry cranking will get another quart or more of oil out of the engine but is it really helping. It was still fairly common when I was an aprentice to dry crank an engine to remove all traces of contaminated oil from the system. Today no one does this!

 

[tenderloin]

Cold drain! Any crud that does not drain out cold, ain't coming out hot. Crud held in suspension........More oil is drained out. Besides, my engines are cleannnnnnnnnnnnn [ July 03, 2003, 01:55 AM: Message edited by: tenderloin ]

 

[moribundman]

1. Drive A4 till the engine is warm. 2. Drive car up on Rhino ramps, use wheel chocks. 3. Pop hood and remove oil filler cap 4. Wear disposable gloves, crawl under car and remove belly pan 5. Place drain pan under guesstimated location. 6. Loosen drain plug and remove swiftly without burning myself; drop plug on top of drain pan, let oil drain. 7. Remove oil filter with filter wrench; drain into pan/place on pan. 8. Place oil filler cap loosely on filler hole. 9. Watch a movie, roast a turkey, etc 10. Crawl back under car, torque drain plug (new crush washer) to 50Nm. 11. Prefill new Bosch filter with fresh oil; apply little oil to gasket; screw filter in (hand-tight). 12. Fill engine with 5 quarts fresh oil. 13. Have a Coke or something - kill 5 minutes. 14. Tighten filler cap; start engine - watch oil pressure light. Let idle for 2 minutes. Turn engine off - check for oil leak around filter/ drain plug; put belly pan back on. 15. Drive car off the ramps. 16. Let car sit for 5 minutes - check oil level; top off with usually about another 1/4 quart. 17. Clean up and prepare the old oil to be recycled. PS: Overuse of smilies!

 

[Chris 2421]

Pull the drain plug and let 'er drain...the longer the better,and I ususally do a overnight drain,especially on the race car. I have the same problem in getting the new oil into the engine,I'll let the bottles empty for a long time,then they go into a bottle rack which allows any left over oil to drain into another single bottle.This bottle gets used in the lawn mower,and other small engines. And yes you will be surprised at how much oil is left in a bottle afterwards.