How long do you let your oil drain?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
8,148
Location
Michigan
I usually let it drain until it is dripping at a fairly steady pace.

Don't think I have ever let it go until nothing was coming out.
 
I have drained for an extended amount of time before from a couple hours to overnight... however most of the time I drain until the oil starts dripping.. does not matter the speed of drip etc.. I just want the majority of the oil out of the engine, and I also know there is a lot of left over oil in the engine so a cup or so is not going to put a dent in the 5 quarts I'm going to refill the engine with.
 
Usually 30 minutes or so, Im busy checking other fluids and honey do interruptions, it maybe an hour with honey do stuff, lol.
 
I tie oil changes into other projects, yard work, cleaning the garage etc. I let it drain about 1 hour.
 
While my oil drains, I rotate the wheels and check/adjust the tire inflation. This gives the oil more time to drain. And raising/lowering each corner of the vehicle also raises/lowers the corners of the engine and oil pan, so it encourages a bit more of the oil to drain out. Sometimes I'll also eat lunch while the oil drains. Or clean up the garage a little bit. Overall, the oil drains for about 1 to 3 hours.
 
No hurry for me....I let it drain an hour or so. Plenty of other chores to do around the car (or football on TV) so no rush.

I always drain "HOT" so the hour or so is good to let the oil filter cool before I tackle that.

Another obsessive compulsive tip: My Audi S4 had the drain plug on the left side of the pan so I let the air out of the left front tire when I drain...that tilt of the car allowed another cup of dirty oil to drain out. I was checking the air in all my tires any way, so no real extra work for me, just another huff or two from the air compressor.
 
This has been discussed in years' past. I remember the following notable comments and observations from people:

- For reference, Volkswagen specifies that oil drains can be prolonged until it slows down to one drop every 20 seconds.

- For some engines prolonged drains can drain the oil pump to where it loses its prime. The engine will not develop oil pressure for quite a while on the first startup. This is likely only a rare occurance.

- There is still a good amount of dirty oil that will never drain from the lifters, oil galleys, and other dead spots, so getting the last few drops out of the pan can be rather moot in the grand scheme of things.
 
Originally Posted By: nooil
Usually let it drain over night so all oil is out by morning, that way I get a good dry start LOL


All that tapping must be music to your ears
lol.gif
 
Just until it starts dripping. Unless, I use a flush. I'm going to use Lubegard flush on my fiancee's moms '05 Corolla. I'll probably let that drain until it stops.
 
I drain until it drips, then jack up the other side of the truck and let it drain until it drips, then pour some fresh oil into it until that starts to drip. Usually 30-40 minutes.
 
Takes about 15 minutes. I pull the drain the plug out, and by the time I have the filter off and cleaned the filter area the oil is barely dripping out anymore. My G6 is a quick drain. The Grand Am is as well, or it feels like it because I have to take off a filter cover that eats time.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top