Draining or pumping?
Discussion
I was very surprised to find that my local BMW main dealer no longer drain the oil from the engine during and oil change, but vacuum it out through the dipstick tube.
I also have this system but only use it rarely on cars with rounded/seized/meullered/missing (Merc) sump drain plugs.
I wonder how much old oil and sludge stays in the sump after it is pumped out? I would always drop the oil when warm through the sump drain plug but it can be both messy, and time consumming removing some of those undertrays.
Next time I do some BMW oil changes, I will vacuum through the dipstick, and when finished, drop the remainder out of the drain plug just to see how much crap they are leaving in the engine.
If anyone else has tried it, or has the same facilities as me, lets post some figures.
It would be nice to find out I dont need to remove that undertray but I suspect that there is a fair amount left in the engine.
I also have this system but only use it rarely on cars with rounded/seized/meullered/missing (Merc) sump drain plugs.
I wonder how much old oil and sludge stays in the sump after it is pumped out? I would always drop the oil when warm through the sump drain plug but it can be both messy, and time consumming removing some of those undertrays.
Next time I do some BMW oil changes, I will vacuum through the dipstick, and when finished, drop the remainder out of the drain plug just to see how much crap they are leaving in the engine.
If anyone else has tried it, or has the same facilities as me, lets post some figures.
It would be nice to find out I dont need to remove that undertray but I suspect that there is a fair amount left in the engine.
Hi. I used to work in a Mercedes main dealer. Pumps where extremely commonly used there to. Although not buy me I should add. Except on smart cars where you have no choice. The thing to remember though is most cars in dealers are not very old. The pricing usually means that when the warranty runs out, the customer goes somewhere else.
Yes sucking out leave crap in the sump. But then so does not having a magnet on the sump plug. Like most cars used to. On my own cars I always fit one when it's time to drain the oil.
Yes sucking out leave crap in the sump. But then so does not having a magnet on the sump plug. Like most cars used to. On my own cars I always fit one when it's time to drain the oil.
8Tech said:
Next time I do some BMW oil changes, I will vacuum through the dipstick, and when finished, drop the remainder out of the drain plug just to see how much crap they are leaving in the engine.
If anyone else has tried it, or has the same facilities as me, lets post some figures.
It would be nice to find out I dont need to remove that undertray but I suspect that there is a fair amount left in the engine.
I did a similar comparison (albeit on an Audi) and there was nothing left in the sump after using the vac pump. I took out the sump plug afterwards and literally a few drips came out. If your car is well maintained then there will be no lumps of sludge in the sump, you've got problems if things like that are happening!If anyone else has tried it, or has the same facilities as me, lets post some figures.
It would be nice to find out I dont need to remove that undertray but I suspect that there is a fair amount left in the engine.
I used to work for a BMW main dealer, not too far from the OP. I've tried the test, sucking oil out vs draining. I tried a couple of cars, sucker first, then remove sump plug. Both times, no sludge and the sucker got all the oil out. It depends a bit on getting the engine up to a good temp.
Thanks guys,
It would seem that the days of laying on my back in the rain are over then! I can see that engines originally designed to have the oil purged from the dipstick tube would be ok as they could be designed with the tube hovering over the deepest point of the sump, but was concerned over slightly earlier cars.
It seems all is well then and I will continue to drink coffee whilst the oil is removed instead of trying to realign loads of plastic floppy undertrays.
It would seem that the days of laying on my back in the rain are over then! I can see that engines originally designed to have the oil purged from the dipstick tube would be ok as they could be designed with the tube hovering over the deepest point of the sump, but was concerned over slightly earlier cars.
It seems all is well then and I will continue to drink coffee whilst the oil is removed instead of trying to realign loads of plastic floppy undertrays.
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