How long should I let my oil drain?

[JDiepstra]

Hi guys. Like the title says, how long should I let my oil drain when doing a change? I was thinking about pulling the plug at the end of the day, after getting the oil nice and warm, and letting it frain all night. Excessive? Bad? Any better ideas? Thanks?

 

[Wiredawg]

All night works. I drain mine in about 15 minutes oil hot.



Wiredawg.

 

[HBarlow]

Probably unnecessary to leave it out overnight but shouldn't hurt anything. I don't suppose a foreign object would enter the pan and contaminate it while open to atmosphere.



A small quantity of dirty engine oil will probably still remain trapped in the engine even after an overnight drain.

 

[JDiepstra]

Would it do any good to pour a quart of oil in while the plug is open to "flush" stuff out?

 

[Wiredawg]

I've heard of people doing it, but I don't see how a small amount would hurt three gallons of oil. I've never had any oil, ring or unusual engine wear problems in 34 years of driving.



Interesting note: My first car was a '67 Dodge Polara w/ a 318 V8. It had 67K miles on it, I put 100K more miles on it and only added oil when the oil light came on. Never changed the oil on it. Sold it for what I paid for it.



I had a Toyota truck w/ 197K miles changed oil every 5K miles and had oil pan leak. Oli pan was clean w/ no grime whatsoever.



Wiredawg

 

[340Mark]

I used to worry about such things but it really doesn't matter. If you drained it 5 minutes and switched drain pans and measure the next day, how much would you get? After the new oil goes in it's probably 99% fresh. If I add a quart between changes it 90%dirty at that time. So if I change it when I should I'm good.

 

[Joe G.]

I let mine drain overnight. There is quite a bit more oil out by doing that if you have a 12 valve with a P7100 pump because of all the oil in the pump. The oil filter drains down a bit so there is no problem with spilling any oil either. I don't suppose it really makes a big difference, but that's what I do.

 

[THoltz]

It would cause me some concern if I left it drained. If I were to have an emergency I would be out of luck, or is my wife decided to use it, I woul be out an engine. IMO, leaving the oil pan drain plug removed overnight is fraught with risk.

 

[Joe G.]

Mine is in my garage and I have the keys. It's not doing anywhere or ever started unless I do it. Especially, since it is on jack stands.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I let my '98 12v drain overnight and got only about another 3/4 cup of oil after what had drained out within 30 minutes. Not really worth the extra effort unless you have the time.

Another thing I do is disconnect the shutdown relay and crank it several seconds to sorta purge some oil out of the oil pump. Then after refilling the next day I crank it quite a bit to reprime it before plugging the relay back in.

Those with electronic engines can do the same by pulling Fuse 9 from the panel at the end of the dash.

Vaughn

 

[rbattelle]

Another thing I do is disconnect the shutdown relay and crank it several seconds to sorta purge some oil out of the oil pump. Then after refilling the next day I crank it quite a bit to reprime it before plugging the relay back in.

Vaughn, you're older and wiser than me, but that seems iffy to me. I have an aversion to rotating the engine without oil in the pan, especially for the purposes of purging the oil pump.



Ryan

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Vaughn, you're older and wiser than me, but that seems iffy to me. I have an aversion to rotating the engine without oil in the pan, especially for the purposes of purging the oil pump.



Ryan

Ryan this was soon after I started draining, there should still be a good film of oil on everything. I don't think it's as bad as starting the engine after letting it sit for several days or weeks (I always disconnect the shutdown solenoid and crank awhile if my truck has sat more than 2-3 weeks).



Vaughn



PS I'm not that old (yet) :-laf

 

[The patriot]

I let mine drain over night.

 

[WStephens]

I dont worry about it and I filter the oil twice any way with the full flow filter and the by pass filter that cleans it down to 2 microns. I also pull a sample just for I change the oil and have it analized.

 

[BSMcCauley]

... . Another thing I do is disconnect the shutdown relay and crank it several seconds to sorta purge some oil out of the oil pump. Then after refilling the next day I crank it quite a bit to reprime it before plugging the relay back in... . Vaughn

Two words: "Pre-Lube Pump" :-lafOo. :-laf



I've had a 12V pre/post lube pump on my '96 since the very first oil change. Engine seldom started without at least 30 PSI oil pressure. Oil change amounts to switching a valve, dropping a hose in a pail and kicking the pump on. Takes 30 minutes for the oil to drain back down out of the P7100, so I hit it again in about an hour until oil stops spitting out of the hose. First time I tried this, I pulled the oil plug and didn't get even one drip. I've got the pump plumbed in upstream of the oil filter, so I spin the new filter on dry and never look back! I spend far more time pouring new oil back in than I do getting the used oil out. :-laf



Pump is controlled by a timer that runs the pump for 28 sec after key is switched on to fill the lube circuits up and again for 3 - 6 min (user adjustable) after key is shut off to circulate oil across the turbo bearings on shutdown. Pushing 250,000 miles now and still takes 5,000 - 6,000 miles for the amber color in the oil to start fading toward brown following an oil change as long as I stay on the pavement.

 

[cArNiVaLwOrKeR]

I go 2 Nights, just to make sure I get that extra drop

 

[Forrest Nearing]

people split hairs way too much, and I would suspect that anyone that cares about their truck that doesn't do oil samples is probably changing their oil more frequently than they need to anyhow



hundreds of thousands of miles logged behind these engines... never let the oil drain for longer than it took me to change the filter, and never filled a filter before installing

 

[Bob Cochran]

Hi guys. Like the title says, how long should I let my oil drain when doing a change? I was thinking about pulling the plug at the end of the day, after getting the oil nice and warm, and letting it frain all night. Excessive? Bad? Any better ideas? Thanks?

After a run and oil hot pull in garage and drain over night. No body drives truck but me and leave hood up put not up so hard hood light comes on. It reminds me NO OIL!!! I have for years in other vehicles drained hot right away 2 just have not done that with the diesel. Don't think it hurts to do it that way either to be honest.

 

[rbattelle]

never filled a filter before installing

CAUTION: The lack of lubrication during the delay until the filter is pumped full of oil at start-up can damage the engine.

I don't doubt your engines have lasted, Forrest, but I'll defer to Cummins' recommendation.



Ryan

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I suspect the fact that I don't let all of the oil totally drain from the bearings probably helps



I just don't like the idea of unfiltered oil being pumped through the engine, and I don't have the patience to fill the filter from the outer ring