Changing oil through dipstick tube.
 

I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
change oil.

I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the dipstick tube.

Think these are ok? They suck it up using the air from your compressor.

There are ones that are drill powered and ones that are suction powered via
a hand pump as well. We use them on boat engines all the time. Remember,
you should keep track of how much oil you get out so you know if you got the
majority of it. They take a lot of time. Your still gonna have to get to
the filter too. The things work, but nothing beats crawling under and just
doing it. By the time you purchase a pump etc, you could have gone to a
lube place. (one that can be trusted)

my .02

In article .com>,
wrote:

> I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
> change oil.
>
> I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the dipstick tube.
>
> Think these are ok? They suck it up using the air from your compressor.
>

The only one I've tried (and the only one I ever WILL try - this one
soured me on the concept for life) was a battery powered (a pair of
alligator clips to hook to the battery posts) waste of 20 bucks.

Like a Gremlin or Pacer, the thing didn't have enough power to get out
of its own way, let alone accomplish anything. After half an hour of
fighting to get it to prime (Jeezus what a headache! Even after pouring
oil into the pickup end until the tubing was full, then running the tube
into a jug of Delo sitting higher than the pump was and powering it up,
it didn't want to have anything to do with the idea), I finally got it
to start spitting something out the "dump" end. Stopped it to transfer
the tube down the dipstick, and fired it back up. 20 minutes later, it'd
managed to pull all of about a quart out, dribbling like a leaky faucet
the whole time. Practically nothing for flow. I finally gave up and
drained "the old fashioned way", and got the other 4 quarts out through
the drain hole in about 3 minutes. Definitely not the "time saver" it
claimed to be...

Dunno if I just got a defective unit, I'm too stupid to run a tube down
the dipstick and hook up a pair of alligator clips properly, or what,
but "just plain pathetic" comes to mind as the kindest words I'm able to
say about it. I won't bother trying another one - Much less pain and
effort to just drop the creeper and pull the drain plug like normal.

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details.

wrote:
>
> I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
> change oil.
>
> I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the dipstick tube.
>
> Think these are ok? They suck it up using the air from your compressor.

I have a friend who uses this method and is satisfied. I
wonder (worry) if heavier "gunk" isn't left behind at the
bottom of the pan if you suck the oil out through the
dipstick tube. Are you lucky enough that you can reach your
oil filter from above? On two out of my four vehicles, I
have to crawl under the car to reach the oil filter. This
being the case, removing the drain plug is trivial for these
vehicles. On the other two, sucking the oil out from above
would speed the process, but I still prefer draining the oil
via the pan drain.

Regards,

Ed White

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 13:25:20 -0500, "ed" >
wrote:

>There are ones that are drill powered and ones that are suction powered via
>a hand pump as well. We use them on boat engines all the time. Remember,
>you should keep track of how much oil you get out so you know if you got the
>majority of it. They take a lot of time. Your still gonna have to get to
>the filter too. The things work, but nothing beats crawling under and just
>doing it. By the time you purchase a pump etc, you could have gone to a
>lube place. (one that can be trusted)
>
>my .02

I have one that is powered at 90 psi by a 3 horsepower air compressor.
Man does that thing SUCK ! And I mean that in "a good way."

Looks like I'm giving an enema to a rhinoceros. It is all over in a
minute or two, and I get MORE oil out this way than through the drain
bolt on the oil sump.

Lg

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 wrote:

> I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
> change oil. I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the
> dipstick tube.
> Think these are ok?

No, they're halfassed. All the heavy sludge and tar and chips and chunks
stay on the bottom of the oil pan instead of being drained out.

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 14:25:03 -0500, "Daniel J. Stern"
> wrote:

>On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 wrote:
>
>> I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
>> change oil. I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the
>> dipstick tube.
>> Think these are ok?
>
>No, they're halfassed. All the heavy sludge and tar and chips and chunks
>stay on the bottom of the oil pan instead of being drained out.

Have any proof of that theory, or is this just a fragment of your
imagination.

There is no way to know what is or isn't left behind without a
borescope, or dropping the pan. You've done that? yeah right. in
your DREAMS.

Lg

"Daniel J. Stern" wrote:
>
> On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 wrote:
>
> > I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
> > change oil. I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the
> > dipstick tube.
> > Think these are ok?
>
> No, they're halfassed. All the heavy sludge and tar and chips and chunks
> stay on the bottom of the oil pan instead of being drained out.

The heavy sludge, tar and chunks stay in the bottom of the oil pan and
the chips stay stuck to the magnet whether you drain from the plug or
suck from the top. The only way to really get that crap out is to drop
the pan and clean it manually.

The gunk at the bottom of the pan is also of little consequence unless
it builds to the level of the oil pickup and/or you roll the vehicle
regularly. If it's settled at the bottom it's not in circulation, and if
it was it would be in the filter in short order.

Since on most vehicles you have to get under them to change the filter
anyway the suction type is fairly pointless. That said, most of the
professional grade suction oil units will work ok and most of the
consumer ones are crap.

Pete C.

"Like a Gremlin or Pacer, the thing didn't have enough power to get out
of its own way, let alone accomplish anything."

I owned a '74 Gremlin in the 80's that had a 304 V8 with a 4 barrel carb.
That sumbitch would melt the rear tires as long as you mashed the gas!
It was so rusty however that the doors has to be held shut with Barn door
padlock hasps crudely bolted to the body as the door pillars were completely
gone on the bottom.
Lotsa mustang GT's amd Camaro's were suprised at the stoplight as this beat
up, burnt orange, rusty piece of **** left the green light in a cloud of
tiresmoke and noise, keeping up with and usually beating them in a informal
little race.


--
Alan Gallacher
Born to Tinker!

"Don Bruder" > wrote in message
...
> In article .com>,
> wrote:
>
>> I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
>> change oil.
>>
>> I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the dipstick tube.
>>
>> Think these are ok? They suck it up using the air from your compressor.
>>
>
> The only one I've tried (and the only one I ever WILL try - this one
> soured me on the concept for life) was a battery powered (a pair of
> alligator clips to hook to the battery posts) waste of 20 bucks.
>
> Like a Gremlin or Pacer, the thing didn't have enough power to get out
> of its own way, let alone accomplish anything. After half an hour of
> fighting to get it to prime (Jeezus what a headache! Even after pouring
> oil into the pickup end until the tubing was full, then running the tube
> into a jug of Delo sitting higher than the pump was and powering it up,
> it didn't want to have anything to do with the idea), I finally got it
> to start spitting something out the "dump" end. Stopped it to transfer
> the tube down the dipstick, and fired it back up. 20 minutes later, it'd
> managed to pull all of about a quart out, dribbling like a leaky faucet
> the whole time. Practically nothing for flow. I finally gave up and
> drained "the old fashioned way", and got the other 4 quarts out through
> the drain hole in about 3 minutes. Definitely not the "time saver" it
> claimed to be...
>
> Dunno if I just got a defective unit, I'm too stupid to run a tube down
> the dipstick and hook up a pair of alligator clips properly, or what,
> but "just plain pathetic" comes to mind as the kindest words I'm able to
> say about it. I won't bother trying another one - Much less pain and
> effort to just drop the creeper and pull the drain plug like normal.
>
> --
> Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21,
> 2004.
> Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in
> the
> subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
> See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details.

On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 21:36:10 GMT, "Pete C." >
wrote:

>
>
>"Daniel J. Stern" wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 wrote:
>>
>> > I change my own oil and it is getting harder to crawl under the car to
>> > change oil. I have seen units that can suck up the oil through the
>> > dipstick tube.
>> > Think these are ok?
>>
>> No, they're halfassed. All the heavy sludge and tar and chips and chunks
>> stay on the bottom of the oil pan instead of being drained out.
>
>The heavy sludge, tar and chunks stay in the bottom of the oil pan and
>the chips stay stuck to the magnet whether you drain from the plug or
>suck from the top. The only way to really get that crap out is to drop
>the pan and clean it manually.
>
>The gunk at the bottom of the pan is also of little consequence unless
>it builds to the level of the oil pickup and/or you roll the vehicle
>regularly. If it's settled at the bottom it's not in circulation, and if
>it was it would be in the filter in short order.
>
>Since on most vehicles you have to get under them to change the filter
>anyway the suction type is fairly pointless. That said, most of the
>professional grade suction oil units will work ok and most of the
>consumer ones are crap.
>
>Pete C.

You need a perfectly air-tight seal where the different size holes
couple together. ANY vacuum leak at those joints will render the unit
useless. This is the voice of experience speaking.

I put electrical tape around the hose ends where they join the
couplers and hose clamps on top of that. No air leaks. Works as
advertised.

Lg