Oil change vacumm pumpy thing

[mattnunn]

Sirs, Was wondering if anyone had used one of these

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/range/guid/23490...

to suck oil out of their cars through the dipstick tube. I've lost my inspection pit due to house renovations and with a dozen screws holding on my plastic engine guard I don't fancy doing it on my back.

I know it's popular in dealerships but do these cheaper vacumms do a decent job of getting all the gunk out of the sump?

Cheers

[Mr MXT]

mattnunn said:

but do these cheaper vacumms do a decent job of getting all the gunk out of the sump?

Cheers

General consensus is "no".

[lescombes]

Never had any issues with my Pela ....clears it all out but then I change every 6,000 miles in my diesel, if your not 100% happy you can always suck out the majority and then remove the sump plug... makes for a "clean" change, something I tend to do on "new" customer cars so I know where we are from when I have had my mitts on it and for future work. I like to log what I do and when for customer cars so I have a history.

I have used my other pela for auto box oil changes too....

As always you will have differing opinions.... but it's what suits and yer pays yer money

[littleredrooster]

I've used one of these for the past few years. Brilliant bit of kit.

[Leptons]

I used my dads for the first time last week. Spent 15 mins cleaning the battery terminals so the bloody thing could draw a charge through the crocodile clips, 20 mins to suck all the oil out of the sump, 5 mins cleaning the oil off the wheel and bodywork where the pump had sucked air in and spat oil out everywhere, 10 mins wiping oil off the driveway and a good 10 mins trying to get the oil out of the pumps pipes so it didn't drip all over the shed.

Usually it takes me about 30 seconds to slide a tray under and undo the sump plug. Then go put the kettle on while it drains out.

So all in all I'd say they are fking useless.

[jamesson]

I have a Pela and it works very well. No mess AT ALL with mine, no mucking about underneath the car, and although it takes a while to extract all the oil, it's not time wasted as I can do other things whilst it's going about its business.

Worth every penny.

[Fartgalen]

I've used a hand pumped vacuum jobby similar to that for sucking out auto tranny fluid.
Makes it unnecessary to get under the car in that case, and worked very well.
I'd imagine it's fine for an oil change too - as long as your oil filter is accessable from the top, otherwise you've got to get underneath the car anyway.

[jackh707]

It seems a bit like deciding to stick 2 fingers down your throat and vomiting rather than going to the toilet?

[mattnunn]

jackh707 said:

It seems a bit like deciding to stick 2 fingers down your throat and vomiting rather than going to the toilet?

Errr... Okay.

Thanks everyone else, I think I'll a manual pumped one, see how it goes.

[chazola]

I've been thinking about getting one of these but the Pela one's seem to be mostly 6 litre capacity- my engine takes 7 litres of oil so was wondering if there's a way of stopping the flow after 6 litres, disconnecting it then emptying and carrying on without getting oil all over the place?

[Searider]

All the engineers on the Boats by me use these Pela ones. Often you can't get to the sump plug on an engine installed in a boat.

As its hand pumped vacuum there will be a vacuum release screw to allow you to stop sucking when full.

[jamesson]

Yes, simply pull out the tubing from the dipstick and you'll break the vacuum. You can then empty as much as you like before continuing the process. I have the same situation with one of my cars. An old oil container provides the extra capacity required. Easy peasy.

[chazola]

Hooray, I think I'll get one then. Ta.

[Mark Benson]

I have a 6l Pela, it's excellent and a lot easier than getting under the car.

If you have a boat supplier nearby they're often cheaper than Machine Mart, they're common in the boating world where removing a plug from under the engine isn't usually possible.....

[Deva Link]

Mr MXT said:

General consensus is "no".

Consensus where? I can't recall seeing anything bad about them, and many dealers use them (although the ones they use are compressed air powered).

[Mr MXT]

Deva Link said:

Mr MXT said:

General consensus is "no".

Consensus where? I can't recall seeing anything bad about them, and many dealers use them (although the ones they use are compressed air powered).

I didn't say they weren't good, I was merely saying that consensus was that they don't get all the crap out of the bottom of the sump.

I'm sure it was discussed fairly recently, I'll have a look when I'm not at work.

[Mister3man]

I like the idea of these but my only concern would be:

Is it a thorough oil change? Surely any debris and deposits will stay in the sump with the dregs.

At least with using the sump bung you know the engines had a decent fluid change.

[DuraAce]

You shouldnt have any 'bits' floating around in your sump unless your engine is falling apart.

I use a Pela and its been excellent. Makes no mess at all.

I was sceptical the first time I used it so I dropped the sump plug afterwards to see how much remained in the sump. No more than a few drops came out. Its now used on every oil change I do. If your oil filter is on top of the engine, like mine, then you can do it all without having to get under the car and remove all the plastic shields.

[Krikkit]

For these kind of things (assuming you don't have hateful under-trays) I'd think about a dry-break connector instead of the sump plug so you can just plug in a hose to dump it into a canister, pull off hose and stash away.

[4key]

£75? What is wrong with a 12v water/fuel pump and a couple of bits of hose, or will that just break?