Oil extractor pump - a warning
Discussion
I'm firmly in the "oil extractors are great camp". I changed the oil in my MX5 last weekend with a Laser oil extractor - a quick blat to get the oil warm, put the extractor tube in place and pump it up, went and had a cup of tea for 10 minutes, then came back and just swapped the oil filter with absolutely no mess anywhere. No oil up your arms, no oil on the garage floor, no oily rags, no axle stands, no scrabbling around under the car, can even do it inside my small single garage when it's raining outside as it doesn't require either the car to be jacked up or enough space around the car to lay down and crawl under it.
Best thing is that the oil is neatly and cleanly stored inside the oil extractor body for quick disposal at the local recycling place - i don't have to mess around transfering it from the open oil pan / bucket into a transport container, which also means no oily bucket to either clean or store.
Best thing is that the oil is neatly and cleanly stored inside the oil extractor body for quick disposal at the local recycling place - i don't have to mess around transfering it from the open oil pan / bucket into a transport container, which also means no oily bucket to either clean or store.
MrLou said:
Hitler Hadrump said:
Surely the message to take from this thread isn't "the old ways are the best" but "beware of cheap tools".
That's what I thought. I'll freely admit my skills aren't the best but the fact that the pipe is 2 piece means that failure is possible where it's not possible with a 1 piece pipe.
At first I thought it almost impossible to do what the OP had done, but after buying a Silverline one one I can see how.
The problem is the supplied curled flexible tube, with which its possible to just keep pushing it in allowing it to coil in the oil sump. The answer is to buy a length of rigid plastic pipe about 6 inches longer than the dip stick which can be pushed no further than the bottom of the sump.
I was having great problems extracting any great amount of oil from my A4 PD diesel, as obviously the flexible tube had curled at the bottom and was higher than the oil level.
I resorted to opening out a coat hanger and carefully inserting it in the dipstick hole until it touched the bottom of the sump, made a mark on the top, level with the top of the dipstick, measured it then wrapped some tape around the flexible tube at the same length, then straightened it as best I could with a hairdryer, and tried again pushing it no further than the tape. I then managed to extract 4 liters of oil, which was about right.
will be getting some rigid tube for my next oil change, hope this helps!
The problem is the supplied curled flexible tube, with which its possible to just keep pushing it in allowing it to coil in the oil sump. The answer is to buy a length of rigid plastic pipe about 6 inches longer than the dip stick which can be pushed no further than the bottom of the sump.
I was having great problems extracting any great amount of oil from my A4 PD diesel, as obviously the flexible tube had curled at the bottom and was higher than the oil level.
I resorted to opening out a coat hanger and carefully inserting it in the dipstick hole until it touched the bottom of the sump, made a mark on the top, level with the top of the dipstick, measured it then wrapped some tape around the flexible tube at the same length, then straightened it as best I could with a hairdryer, and tried again pushing it no further than the tape. I then managed to extract 4 liters of oil, which was about right.
will be getting some rigid tube for my next oil change, hope this helps!
B'stard Child said:
I really don't get it*
How chuffing hard is it........
Some modern VAG undertrays are secured by what feels like ten million screws. The audi A6 C6 for example also has under tray screws so large that if you don't have any special stubby drivers you need the car to be jacked up for screw driver clearance. Others require the front wheels off for access to strangely placed under tray securing bolts. I hate it when poor design turns a quick job into a unnecessarily long one, in the same way that these new electric hand brakes prevent an easy change of rear pads and reduce snow manoeuvrability, all in effort to reduce the need for people to know how to hill start and to remember the hand brake before moving off.- I get the poly pipe bit (look on the side of the sump for a level sensor that and a pick up grabber tool (old coat hanger with a hook made on the end is an alternative) should help you fish it out)
How chuffing hard is it........
As a result I change oil via my Pela every 10k and sump plug every 20k just to check for swarf. The convenience of the Pela results in fresher oil in my engines which can't be a bad thing,
Tbh I would never stick something down a hole if II wasn't sure it would come out again, ahem.
Edited by BusaMK on Monday 18th March 10:25
MrLou said:
I'm not feeling the love for oil extractors here 
At the end of the day I'm just a bloke with a 130k A3 who thought he'd try and save a bit if cash by doing some stuff himself. By buying £30 of filters and £30 of tools I figured I'd have a bit of fun for an hour and save a few quid too, instead I'm sitting here feeling a bit down as I now have a bigger problem than before I started!
The car does about 5k a year and at 10 years old isn't worth a great deal. I'm sure it's mostly my fault it went wrong but hey, it's a learning experience.
As for changing brakes, after this experience I'll leave that job to someone else.
I started the same as you OP, eventually realised the those oil extractors are more hassle than they're worth.At the end of the day I'm just a bloke with a 130k A3 who thought he'd try and save a bit if cash by doing some stuff himself. By buying £30 of filters and £30 of tools I figured I'd have a bit of fun for an hour and save a few quid too, instead I'm sitting here feeling a bit down as I now have a bigger problem than before I started!
The car does about 5k a year and at 10 years old isn't worth a great deal. I'm sure it's mostly my fault it went wrong but hey, it's a learning experience.
As for changing brakes, after this experience I'll leave that job to someone else.
No draining from the sump will not get everything out, but you'll have an extra litre in the drain pan than from using the extractors.
And don't let it put you off DIY work, you learn from your mistakes!
Thanks for resurrecting, I never knew such a thing existed. Wish I'd known when I had my Saab 9000 with a stupidly small drain plug made of soft metal which was completely rounded off. I'd bought the oil, filter and everything but couldn't get the bugger off.
I would do my own oil changes but for the fact we live in a terraced house with no drive on a busy road (pedestrians and cars) and the last thing I want to be doing is crawling under the car, a crowd would probably gather to point and laugh! With one of these I could stand with a cuppa while it emptied.
I take it the Pela? one is the best one to have?
I would do my own oil changes but for the fact we live in a terraced house with no drive on a busy road (pedestrians and cars) and the last thing I want to be doing is crawling under the car, a crowd would probably gather to point and laugh! With one of these I could stand with a cuppa while it emptied.
I take it the Pela? one is the best one to have?
BusaMK said:
Some modern VAG undertrays are secured by what feels like ten million screws. The audi A6 C6 for example also has under tray screws so large that if you don't have any special stubby drivers you need the car to be jacked up for screw driver clearance.
All of this and people still swear by VAG cars?My car has an undertray, but in this undertray is a removable cover so you can access the sump plug. Easy!
P.S I know this is an old thread.
BusaMK said:
B'stard Child said:
I really don't get it*
How chuffing hard is it........
Some modern VAG undertrays are secured by what feels like ten million screws. The audi A6 C6 for example also has under tray screws so large that if you don't have any special stubby drivers you need the car to be jacked up for screw driver clearance. Others require the front wheels off for access to strangely placed under tray securing bolts. I hate it when poor design turns a quick job into a unnecessarily long one, in the same way that these new electric hand brakes prevent an easy change of rear pads and reduce snow manoeuvrability, all in effort to reduce the need for people to know how to hill start and to remember the hand brake before moving off.- I get the poly pipe bit (look on the side of the sump for a level sensor that and a pick up grabber tool (old coat hanger with a hook made on the end is an alternative) should help you fish it out)
How chuffing hard is it........
As a result I change oil via my Pela every 10k and sump plug every 20k just to check for swarf. The convenience of the Pela results in fresher oil in my engines which can't be a bad thing,
I bought one........ The Merc has an optional Steel under tray/Sump guard and it's a complete t
t to remove and replace on your own for an oil change (every year) - after twice struggling with it solo I decided an easier option was required
BusaMK said:
Tbh I would never stick something down a hole if II wasn't sure it would come out again, ahem.
Used a Pela 3000 with 2 tube sizes on a few different cars - various Audi diesels, 2004 Astra petrol, V70 D5... not once did the thinner tube go far enough in that you couldn't keep hold of the top of it to pull it out. I just stopped feeding in when it felt like it was meeting resistance.
It has saved me countless hours getting covered in filthy old oil and taking off undertrays - one car did 178K using this method of oil changing and as someone else said, even using the sump drain doesn't get it all out. I even used the Pela to suck old oil out of the oil filter housing which would normally remain there if I didn't own the extractor.
It has saved me countless hours getting covered in filthy old oil and taking off undertrays - one car did 178K using this method of oil changing and as someone else said, even using the sump drain doesn't get it all out. I even used the Pela to suck old oil out of the oil filter housing which would normally remain there if I didn't own the extractor.
keicar said:
At first I thought it almost impossible to do what the OP had done, but after buying a Silverline one one I can see how.
The problem is the supplied curled flexible tube, with which its possible to just keep pushing it in allowing it to coil in the oil sump. The answer is to buy a length of rigid plastic pipe about 6 inches longer than the dip stick which can be pushed no further than the bottom of the sump.
I was having great problems extracting any great amount of oil from my A4 PD diesel, as obviously the flexible tube had curled at the bottom and was higher than the oil level.
I resorted to opening out a coat hanger and carefully inserting it in the dipstick hole until it touched the bottom of the sump, made a mark on the top, level with the top of the dipstick, measured it then wrapped some tape around the flexible tube at the same length, then straightened it as best I could with a hairdryer, and tried again pushing it no further than the tape. I then managed to extract 4 liters of oil, which was about right.
will be getting some rigid tube for my next oil change, hope this helps!
I've got the Silverline extractor. I found that if you warm the oil in the car first (not hot) then when you extract it the tube straightens itself out.The problem is the supplied curled flexible tube, with which its possible to just keep pushing it in allowing it to coil in the oil sump. The answer is to buy a length of rigid plastic pipe about 6 inches longer than the dip stick which can be pushed no further than the bottom of the sump.
I was having great problems extracting any great amount of oil from my A4 PD diesel, as obviously the flexible tube had curled at the bottom and was higher than the oil level.
I resorted to opening out a coat hanger and carefully inserting it in the dipstick hole until it touched the bottom of the sump, made a mark on the top, level with the top of the dipstick, measured it then wrapped some tape around the flexible tube at the same length, then straightened it as best I could with a hairdryer, and tried again pushing it no further than the tape. I then managed to extract 4 liters of oil, which was about right.
will be getting some rigid tube for my next oil change, hope this helps!
xreyuk said:
Are these things actually any good? From what I've read, they're no where near as good for draining as removing the sump plug.
Theyre not, total rubbish and wont remove all the old oil. Far better to do the job properly and a lot easier by just draining the oil at the drain plug which is what its for. Smart cars along with some others dont have a drain plug but we've modified three of these now for owners wishing to be able to drain the oil properly. We've removed these sumps drilled, welded and threaded them to take a drain plug and personally believe will aid in engine longevity in the long run.. Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff