How long do you let your oil drain?

[bchannell]

I had a neighbor once who liked to pull the plug on his truck, while parked in the garage and let it drain overbite & refill the next morning. Unfortunately, his wife didn't know this ritual and took his truck to town one day. He got a call, " honey, the truck is acting funny " but the bill that came after was anything but funny. He now does his oil changes all in one shot. He figures the few extra drops just ain't worth it!

 

[dlundblad]

I usually let it drain from a strong stream to a very slow drip, which is roughly 1-2 minutes.

 

[Toto]

Originally Posted By: webfors
10-30 minutes, depending on what else I got going on in the garage.

This what I do also its a reasonable approach, not to crazy either way.

 

[MrQuackers]

Like some others, I drain for ~10 minutes, replace the drain plug. Remove the filter and replace with a new one. I remove the drain plug again and out comes another couple ounces.

That is interesting what I read in this thread about siphoning out additional oil via the dipstick tube.

 

[mobilaltima]

I do it before lunch,I pull the plug, go inside and eat a and drink a pop, by the time I'm done its drained long enough, and I always drain hot, no reason for burns I always wear gloves.

 

[crazyoildude]

I let the oil drain for 5 full minutes or so sometimes a little longer and i change the oil when it is hot after sitting for 20-30 minutes..
I have seen at dealerships over the years while picking up parts or delivering heads some of those guys putting the plug back in before it is completely drained. This is something i will wait and see just for the heck of it.

 

[cmhj]

until my beer is done

 

[AIRJAC3]

Originally Posted By: cmhj
until my beer is done

What he said. If the game is on I might wait until halftime, but I don't really worry about exact time. Once it's dripping it's good to go.

 

[supton]

Couple minutes to 30 minutes. Depends upon if I get sidetracked by other jobs I'm doing on the vehicle at that time (good time to do tire rotation, check washer fluid, whatever).

On mine the bolt is not dead bottom, but rather I think a couple millimeters of oil is left in the sump, no matter what. So it really doesn't matter to get "every last drop" as it's simply impossible.

 

[edwardh1]

vw in the 70s said when you get one drip/drop every 8 seconds you are done. put the plug in

 

[69GTX]

I'm less interested in the dripping oil than I am about ensuring the oil filter is cool enough to swap out. Ideally, I want to get the fresh oil circulating through that warm engine as soon as I can, that's 15 min if the old filter is going another cycle, or 30-45 min if changing the filter. If you're not changing the oil filter which holds 10-12 oz in my car, the final ounce or less out of the oil pan is of no concern. The longer you drain the oil and wait....the closer to a "dry" start you get assuming the filter was changed. I also pre-fill my new oil filters.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Depends on the mood and what I have to do. Some days over an hour, others less than 10 minutes...

 

[UltrafanUK]

I just let it drip until the new oil filter has been fitted if I'm also changing it, otherwise 5 mins is long enough for a minimal drip rate.

 

[ted s]

until i get tired of holding the drain plug. last few onuces makes no difference

 

[Merkava_4]

I get it hot before I pull the plug and then I let mine drain for an hour.

 

[Delta]

Pull the plug, grab a beer. Beer done, draining done.

 

[cmhj]

Long enough to kill a beer

 

[SatinSilver]

That's why I like the craft brews since they take longer to drink which equals longer drain time.