Has anyone out there tried to use one of the Oil Changing "pumps" to extract the oil from their car? I am looking at the Top-Sider and the Liqui-Vac. I have a friend who raves about his, but he has an MB ES320 and I want to make sure it will work on my '99 ES300?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

HoustonES300

 

My opinion is that changing the oil this way (pump out from top) might be OK once in awhile, but, I don't see how it can completly drain the bottom of the oil pan. I would think that sludge could eventually build up.

I think the best way to drain oil is to let the engine warn up to normal temperature then turn it off and let the oil drain for a few hours. I also sometimes carefully tilt the vehicle slightly to try to get every last drop of old oil out.

Would like to hear other opinions of this also.

 

but only because the other alternative is letting oil drain into the bilge and then cleaning all that oil off the fiberglass. I agree, I'd have concerns about all of the sludge build up at the bottom of the pan.

 

I'm not necessarily saying everyone ought to do this, but if you are truly compulsive about getting out as much old oil as possible, I've found that blowing out the crankcase with pressurized air gets out an additional 1/4 quart or so.

What I do (and again, this is not for everyone) is take a standard Shop-Vac type cannister vacuum and attach the hose to the blower outlet. Then I wrap a rag around the outside of the oil fill opening to ensure a tight seal, ensure the dip stick is inserted, and then blow away! Not much pressure is needed.

The only drawback is that the extra oil comes out of the drain hole under pressure, so it tends to splatter. You have to use a lot of newspaper to catch all the oil that drains/splatters out, making an already messy job even messier.

But you definitely get more oil out. As a test, I once let the crankcase drain conventionally overnight, and yet still blew out significantly more oil the next day (although you get better results with a warm engine, of course).

 

it will work, but the conventional draining out method is the most reasonable method, IMO. I have heard of some "10 minute oil change" type place hosing old oil out from the top and filling up new oil WITHOUT changing the filter.....which gets me thinking, this procedure is something a shoddy oil change shop does.

 

I appreciate all of the input, and the insight about the sludge in the bottom makes sense. I do know that all three of the Mercedes dealerships in Houston use the Topsider when changing the oil in their customer's cars so I would assume that its probably a safe alternative. I am using M1 oil and filters, does anyone know if there is any less sludge buildup with M1 verses conventional motor oil? I change it every 5000 miles...

Thanks again!

 

Perry,

based on the "compulsive nature" of your suggestion I'm sure you have probably thought about this, but do you make sure that the filter on the shop-vac is clean, or have a filter on it in general? My knowledge of shop vacs is that they pull in the fresh air unfiltered. So if you are in a dusty environment not a good idea. Just a thought anyway.

 

Remove the oil drain plug is always easy but not the oil filter. The oil filter is usually hidden inside the engine compartment. Since removing the drain plug is easy, why use a pump?

 

HoustonES300,
Mercedes dealers here in Northern VA do the same thing plus they charge $140 for an oil change ( at least they use Mobile 1) for a '95 SL500. Personally I agree with the others, without removing the drain plug, you can't get all the sludge to drain out. Save your money or buy some ramps if you don't want to jack your car up for an oil change.

 

If you change your oil regularly, you won't get much if any sludge buildup in the pan - modern oils have very effective detergents and any solids will end up in the filter. The oil suction pump works great (if the oil is hot and viscosity is low) on boat engines, in fact the Yanmar diesel in my sailboat doesn't even have a drain plug. I use a semi-rigid plastic suction tube and I can twist the tube and make it move around in the bottom of the pan, and can suck out just about every drop of oil.

I used to use the marine oil pump to change oil on an earlier car, but I don't bother with my SC. Since the filter has to be changed from under the car, you gotta get under there anyway, may as well just pull the plug...

<edit> $140 for an oil change is just out-freakin'-rageous...

 

I use a shur flo flex vane oil changer. It is attached to a five gallon bucket. I am very pleased with it.The only weak spot is that you should prime the pump before using. If you dont the rubber impeller will have a short life.Price of a new impeller is very low.As far as sluge A car that has had regular changes with mobil 1 will have very little in the way of sluge.As for oil filters, They really do not have to be changed very often after break in.A modern oil filter can hold an amazing amount of particles.I have cut open a lot of them over the years. And find very little in the way of deposits.Now when an engine becomes worn to some degree. Because of blowby and more solid peices being created, carbon and so on. Than the filter should be changed more often.