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So my VW T5 is due a service soon (i service it once a year/7000 miles) and i really cant be arsed to jack it up and put it on axle stands, crawl underneath, remove the undertray and drain the oil, then have to do everything in reverse
Oil filter is at the top of the engine so easy to get to so was thinking of getting an oil extraction pump, sump holds over 6.5 litres so thinking of getting one which can extract 3 litres at a time
Not looking to spend silly amounts on one and I'm happy to have a manual pump one, realistically around the £40-£50 price range
So any recomendations?
Where are you extracting the oil from, dipstick?
My son overfilled his 2007 Astra a few months ago and I bought a cheap kit from Screwfix for £13.99 to remove the excess. It worked ok once I figured out that I had to use a rag wrapped around the tube to get a better seal.
I only had to remove about a litre and it took about 20 minutes to do so. I would not have wanted to extract much more with it - the supplied hose is not actually that long so I am dubious that it would be suitable for removing all the oil from the sump.
Not sure if this helps but it is recent real experience.
Be aware that sludge can remain in the sump so occasionally perhaps drop the oil the conventional way to prevent an accumulation?
I have a Sealey pump that I use to fill the gearboxes on my Landrover, they’re not expensive, powerful and run on 12V. This makes the task a lot easier but not necessarily cleaner as usually the pipe flirts out and covers me in gear oil!
I used to use a pela 6000 pump thing,on a smart 450, they had cleverly decided that having a sump plug wasn’t going to be a thing so you’d have to get it out via the dipstick.
I always thought it was a bit crap as it was plasticky but did actually do the job.
It had its own oil catch tank and you’d give it a little pump on the shonky plastic handle to get it started and it would siphon the oil out.
On the smart you had to jack it up a little bit to one side to make sure all the oil could be got out.
I never really thought it was that great an idea and you could get replacement 3rd party sumps with sump plug so a few other people didn’t like it either,it’s the possibility of missing some old oil.
The pela 6000 was actually very effective and did the job very well and as it held the oil all you did when finished was to pour it into the empty plastic oil container and drop off for recycling.
It also had graduations clearly marked so you could see exactly how much oil you’d got out.
I’ve dug up a little vid on how it works(I’d not do this on a 451)
No experience of this myself but how do you make sure all the sludge gets removed? I always thought draining from the sump plug got rid of almost all the sludge.
I'd do a bit a research on whether it's a method that suits your engine - it sort of negates doing such regular oil changes if you're leaving crap in there. Surely its more economical and effective to pay someone to do it properly if you don't want to do it yourself, at the normal intervals, rather than to do a half arsed job more often 🙂
No experience of this myself but how do you make sure all the sludge gets removed? I always thought draining from the sump plug got rid of almost all the sludge.
TBH, I’m sure I’ve heard of people taking the sump off and cleaning the inside of the sump as you can’t guarantee it’ll drain out.
No experience of this myself but how do you make sure all the sludge gets removed? I always thought draining from the sump plug got rid of almost all the sludge.
Shouldn't be any sludge in my sump, fitted a new sump a few years ago (sump’s drain plug thread stripped the first time i did an oil change, assume whoever did the previous service gunned the sump plug on as it was a bitch to get un done!) since then I've serviced it every year/7000 miles (which ever came first)
Not my area of expertise but I thought the point of an oil change was to change the oil, not some of it. Dragging it out through a keyhole at the top whilst leaving all the shit behind feels like the sort of thing you'd do in an emergency rather than out of apathy?
Are ramps not a thing any more?
I used to do it on our old PD engine VW polo that had about 12 screws to undo to take off the undertray to get to the sump plug. I would actually get more oil out from the dipstick hole than if drained from the sump plug, I know this as the first time I had the suction pump I tried draining from the sump then used the sucker to see and it got more oil out. Make of that what you will. Also handy to use the sucker to get the remnants of oil out of the top loading filter housing, so in that engine it would around 0.5l of extra oil that would have remained in there without the sucker.
T4 van I use the sucker.
The BMW has a hatch in the under tray so is less faff the do from below than getting the suction thing set up and
TBH I have a nagging suspicion that the main stealers do this as it’s way quicker than raising the car and pulling the underbody panels off.
I suppose the sump design could be optimised for an effective good suck to get it all out and if anything’s swimming around it’ll get stuck in the oil filter that you’re also changing.
(And the 450 smarts never had a sump plug so the main agents would only be able to suck it out so it’s definitely a thang)
Better to dump it the normal way I think.
More likely to remove any solids and manky lumps. Able to check for metal stuck to the magnetic sump plug. Ensures sump plug doesn’t get seized in as it’s used at least once a year. And you get to check for other leaks from power steering, rad etc and cuts on insides of tyres when going in from underneath.
Cheers for the replies ill look into getting the Sealey one
Google seems to suggest that a lot of dealerships now use this method of oil extraction for servicing rather than removing all the undertrays and removing the sump plug
The first time i use the Sealey one i may remove the sump plug afterwards just to see if it really does remove all the oil, that way ill have peace of mind and if all ok then the following year ill just remove the oil via the dipstick
I'd do a bit a research on whether it's a method that suits your engine - it sort of negates doing such regular oil changes if you're leaving crap in there
I'd say this
It sounds like you're going to suck out the good oil, but leave the bad oil it there, as all of the "bits" will have sunk to the bottom of the sump (which is why the plug is located there)
Google seems to suggest that a lot of dealerships now use this method
Well nobody's ever complained about a dealership 🙂
I know this as the first time I had the suction pump I tried draining from the sump then used the sucker to see and it got more oil out. Make of that what you will.
Using the sucker first and then trying the sump plug would be the acid test there as to whether you actually got more out or just got the dregs from a different place. Maybe the most thorough solution is to use both?
(I have no idea)
The only thing you miss by doing this is a chance to inspect the magnet on the end of the sump plug if it's fitted. If your sump has sludge in it then an oil change is the least of your worries.
Filter will pick up any debris.
Google seems to suggest that a lot of dealerships now use this method of oil extraction for servicing rather than removing all the undertrays and removing the sump plug
Not because it’s better, because it’s faster and more profitable than putting the car on a lift, removing the undertrays and having to wheel over the waste oil tank, then refit and drop the car back down! But they don’t offer a £30 reduction on your service price!
Using the sucker first and then trying the sump plug would be the acid test there as to whether you actually got more out or just got the dregs from a different place. Maybe the most thorough solution is to use both?
I’ve tried this a few times back when I was a mechanic at a dealership and when the drain plug was removed barely a drop of oil came out. The caveat there was that out oil drainers sat directly into the dipstick tube and didn’t rely on someone having the correct length of hose as they sucked the pipe out via the dipstick tube.
As someone else mentioned above, you shouldn’t have she sludge in your sump that’s coming out in an oil change. If you do you’ve got big problems!
Out of the hundreds, if not thousands of oil changes I’ve done over the years I’ve only seen any kind of sludge when oil was drained from some very poorly engines.
I extracted oil via the dipstick recently due to oil being overfilled (petrol leaking into the sump).
It worked but was slow. Make sure the oil is warm but not so hot to burn skin as some will most likely drip onto things.
As others said above, you cant get the sludge out the bottom. So if it's a vehicle you're planning on keeping a while, get it done properly.
I extracted oil via the dipstick recently due to oil being overfilled (petrol leaking into the sump).
Hopefully you did a full oil change rather than just removing the excess?!
It worked but was slow. Make sure the oil is warm but not so hot to burn skin as some will most likely drip onto things.
Did you remember to open the oil cap? Otherwise you'll are working against a vacuum
I used these quite a bit and found they work really well. I did check the sump after the first couple of times and nothing came out.
Those worried about leaving a bit behind, you always will leave a bit behind draining by the sump. Certainly my car has a separate oil cooler, which isn’t going to drain fully.
Best solution is regular oil changes.
I did this with my diesel Merc and my petrol BMW using the Sealy thing, and it was 10 minutes max. Didn't even get my hands dirty.
It's the future.
The BMW didn't really need an oil change at the time, but I was so stunned at how easy it was with the Merc, I did it anyway.
If people say they've got lumpy clag in the bottom of their sump, they ought to change their old filter more often, it is not normal.
It's the future.
Except a lot of modern cars don't have a dipstick, just a page on a menu. You won't suck nuffin through that
That’s a good point, no dipstick on our 2017 Volvo
a lot of modern cars don't have a dipstick,
Many do. The main part is usually about an arm's length from the steering wheel and there's an integrated mobile phone and coffee cup holder.
I have never used a pump but see no reason why they would leave an appreciable amount behind. Just ensure the tube is fully inserted. With a synthetic oil it's not going to sludge is it? I can't recall the last time I got anything but liquid oil out a car at least.
Personally I'll keep using my ramps though.