anyone use one of those vacume oil changers???

[goodguys75]

I saw a youtube vid and it showed someone using it... looked like a great idea, but it only would hold 2 gal of waist oil... . the brand was from northern tools and was called a topside oil changer... thanks for any input:-laf

 

[JDiehl]

Plan on getting one for the Wife's car soon. I still need to do some research. In the oil fill under the cap it has a small tube for inserting the vac tubing.

With all the skid plates under the front end it should save some time.

I will still do the truck from the pan.

 

[goodguys75]

Plan on getting one for the Wife's car soon. I still need to do some research. In the oil fill under the cap it has a small tube for inserting the vac tubing.

With all the skid plates under the front end it should save some time.

I will still do the truck from the pan.

for a car it would be nice... but with our trucks you have plenty of room under there and dont have to jack up

 

[goodguys75]

does anyone know if it works just as well as taking the oil plug out. . or does it leave a little oil in there...

 

[Hoefler]

does anyone know if it works just as well as taking the oil plug out. . or does it leave a little oil in there...

In a word , NO. You will never get all the oil out, plus the oil has to be hot, and you will not get very much of any sediment from the pan. Now before you go saying, " I have used one on my boat for years!", boat systems are designed different and are intended to have the oil extracted by this method. The dipstick tube is connected at the drain pan by a banjo fitting replacing the drain plug. So when you use this system, you are drawing the oil from the lowest point. In an automotive application, the dipstick tube only goes 1"-2" below the oil pan to block connection. The suction tube will wander around from there.

 

[planetb]

I have used 2 different types on my cars, but have not used any of them on my truck yet. It's pretty easy to get under the truck to undo the oil plug, but might try it next time on the truck as my oil pan plug always leaks after changing the oil (new plug and seal each time).

I really like the pneumatic oil extractor from harbor freight, I've had it for 4 or 5 years now and it just works great. Stick it down the dip stick hole, turn on air compressor and let its do its job. Takes about 10mins on a warm day to get all the oil out of a cold motor. Below is a link to the harbor freight unit.

Pneumatic Oil Extractor

I also have a cheap vac pump one that a friend left at my house, but never came back for. .

Amazon.com: Oil Extractor - 6 liter: Sports & Outdoors

I used it for a couple years until I picked up my pneumatic harbor freight unit and never looked back at the vac pump unit. It worked ok, But it was a lot of work to get all the oil out (30 mins and lots of pumping) The drain tubes liked to pinch also.

Now for a test, I was removing a motor from one of my cars. So before removing the motor I used the pneumatic oil extractor to remove the oil from the motor. Later on I removed the oil pan to check how well it actually removes the oil and it does get 99% of all the oil out. I had a small amount of oil in the deep sump area of the oil pan near the oil drain plug. This could have been some that leaked out of the oil filter while the motor was in the air being removed also.

 

[AH64ID]

Some cars, like Mercedes, use this method in their service manual; however, I agree with Hoefler.

As it is I think the drain plug design on our pans is a complete joke, I am not going to make it worse with a vacuum tube!

 

[SOLER]

Topsider MVP Oil Changer/Multi Purpose Pump (Bigboy) - Oil Change Pumps



I've used this one on my boat. As stated above, it works good on boats, don't recommend it for your car. The flexxy tube, once it goes thru the end of the dipstick tube, there's no guarantee it will go all the way to the bottom of your oil pan. So, you won't get all the sediment, and you won't get all the oil.



I put these on all my cars: FEMCO No-Spill Drain Plug Technology - Easy to use drain systems available - Western Fleet Distributors



I got the one for my Cummins at Genos, but for my other cars I went to that site. I love the fact that you put a hose on the plug, 'cause you can aim it wherever you need. No more mess.



SOLER

 

[EDankievitch]

Any good boating supply store has them, there is also a electric pump type. We use them all the time on boats. Trick with them is to run the engine and get the oil good and hot then it will suck the oil out nice and fast. Any way that you do it through the dipstick tube or the drain plug there is always a litle bit left in the pan.

 

[PerkinsJ]

Got a Mityvac model MV7201 mainly for my mercedes because of the 15 or so screws you have to remove to get to the drain plug. Just changed the oil in thhe MD and it worked OK but like what was said above some oil (and therefore sediment) is left behind. I measured the oil removed verses the total oil capacity and found about a half of a quart left behind. I'm OK with that as the new filter should take care of it. Also used the the vac on my lawn mower and snow blower and it worked great. No mess to clean up and it was fast. $119 delivered and easy to use. Not going to use it on my 03 Ram as I can climb under it and do what needs to be done eventho I'm fat (at least according to Obama). This unit is not electric. You have to pump it by hand; no big deal.

 

[DJW]

I bought and used the air and tank kind from Harbor Freight for my forklift as finding the engine oil drain plug could be a problem. Worked like a charm, no fuss no mess. It comes with many diameters and lengths of dip pipe so should suit many types. Incidentally for those who oil their engine oil filters before fitting them, the engine used in my Clark forklift have the filter open end down, also the filter on a hydraulic line.

 

[JLEONARD]

Now before you go saying, " I have used one on my boat for years!", boat systems are designed different and are intended to have the oil extracted by this method.

They suck on a boat engine too as far as I'm concerned. They never get all the oil out.

You need a hose on the drain plug, then you can do pretty good. I had a marine Cummins and a current Ford diesel, and this will get all the oil out... . except for a minor amount that drains back from the hose.

 

[mwilson]

Not for me, I want to be right there watching the oil drain when I pop that plug.



If something has dropped into the pan such as a piece of thrust washer or whatever you will never know it if you are using a suction tube.



Pulling the plug and watching the oil drain will alert you when you see a split or slow stream that you never had before. At that point stick a long screwdriver in there and see if something moves out of the way. If you have a regular gusher again after the screwdriver probe you know that you have a friend in the pan.



I have found several mysterious parts over the years by watching the oil drain. Timing weights from a CAT 3406, thrust washers chunks from an 8V-71, etc. . which saved the engine from major damage because we tore into it right then.



JMHO.



Mike.

 

[JLEONARD]

I have found several mysterious parts over the years by watching the oil drain. Timing weights from a CAT 3406, thrust washers chunks from an 8V-71, etc. . which saved the engine from major damage because we tore into it right then.

Mike's drain pan art gallery. :-laf