I used 3/16 clear vinyl tubing from Lowes. Nothing special needed, just don't stuff it down into a hot engine.

 

Sweet, I didn't see any at Home Depot, but Lowes has 3/16" tubing. Now I can drain some oil tonight instead of waiting on Amazon Thanks!

 

my pump came yesterday and will give it a try this weekend. are you thinking the skinny piping here isn't small enough for the dipstick tube?

 

pump says oil needs to be between 40-50C. how the heck do i ensure that!?

 

I think as long as the oil is warm but not hot, you should be good. I believe the normal oil temperature in an engine, is around or just over 100 degrees Celsius (200 degrees Fahrenheit).
When I removed my excess oil, I removed it when it was warm and it flowed smoothly, but was not hot enough to damage the tubing..

 

Not a helpful post for sure but here’s my levels after engine was warmed up for 10 minutes and cooled off for 5 minutes.

no oil change yet, still factory oil.

 

I did it with cold oil. Maybe this pump isn't very strong. If the oil is near operating temp, you should be good.

 

thanks, and because the oil is completely fresh and transparent (!) it's not like the pump's going to have to work hard.

 

well i finally did it, removed the excess oil.

haven't driven the lc a lot since last post, and not driven hard, so wasn't concerned.

i was definitely nervous about doing this, and took my time. so... maybe this will help someone.

first lesson learned, i WON'T try this again with cold oil. i did at first, and it was like pulling sludge out of the car (and my oil probably only has 500 mi. on it since it was changed!).
then i put the car back together, drove it around the block, waited a couple of minutes (since i knew it wasn't 'hot'), and tried again. much better.

that out of the way, here's how i hooked up the pump.

the pump has red/black clips to go positive/negative and they're not that long and coiled up, so i had to uncoil some of it and separate the red/black further because the distance needed between connections i used was about, i dunno, 3 feet. i picked these after reading the 'jump start' instructions in the manual.

1) remove engine cover. (just pulls up off 4 posts, gently)


2. remove fuse box cover near passenger area (squeeze 4 clips and it lifts up)


3. there's a red small cover with a clip (i highlighted red cover in red). you press clip away from the cover and the cover hinges right to left to 'open' revealing a metal bar that the positive (red) pump clip will attach to. the negative black clip attaches to the post shown in the poor quality illustration below. it's not hard to find.



4. once the pump is hooked up, the 'thicker' tube goes into a container (i used an old quart plastic soup container). the thin tube goes down the dipstick hole.

5. turn on the pump with its switch. it will probably seem like it's not doing much for a while, and it doesn't pump very fast.

i didn't remove a ton of oil... here it is.




but now the dipstick reads at the high dot, rather than about 1/4" above it.

 

bit, i think you should change the oil. that looks really dark.

Would have been easier to maybe just change out the oil and add in the correct amount instead of sucking it out.

 

i knew someone would post that, too.

edit: oil has been in the car for only 450 mi.

oil gets dark quickly.

 

Well done but I agree that oil looks very dark and especially so after only 450 miles. Is it mineral or synthetic? I'm not wishing to worry you any further but even after my synthetic has been in for say 3000 miles, I struggle to see it on the dipstick. Perhaps yours went into the engine that or near that colour?

 

nope, it was completely clear when it went in. and it's synthetic, i believe.

not sure how your oil is clear after 3000 mi., but then yours is a hybrid. ?

 

Yes mine as well. When I dumped the initial oil from the factory at 1800km it came out pretty much clear. And those were some semi hard miles that should be quite brutal.

im worried that the yahoos in your dealership didn’t even change the oil. You’re absolutely sure it was clear before ? I don’t think it’s possible for the oil to turn that bad in 450 miles.

 

I wouldn't think being a hybrid would make much difference, given there's still 6 pistons going up and down rather than 8. Perhaps the oil had a colour to it from get go?
BTW, great little things those pumps and good for a full oil change if you are that way inclined.