Sucking oil or draining oil ? which is better

[kamil]

Hey.

I just visitied a great site called Pindelski.com. They have detailed DIY diagrams for anybody. I was looking through the free sample and noticed something that caught my eye. He stated and showed in pictures that sucking oil out of a car is alot better than draining it. How true is that ? Wouldn't draining get all the mess out of the vehicle ? I am interested in purchasing one of these things if they are really this efficient so please show me where I can get one. I'd actually like to get the best possible available.

Here is a pic of it.

[kmaysob]

draining! do not suck it out. hot oil drainings are the most effective in getting all the crap out. if there happened to be any shrapenal in the oil pan that pump will not remove it.

This is a controversial subject that has been beat to an absolute pulp on this site. What it boils down to is that sucking it out will get the job done and is convenient, but it robs you of the opportunity to inspect under the car on a regular basis, plus the contraptions that are used to do it are not cheap.

Most likely you already have what you need to drain oil from the bottom, a wrench and a drain pan.

If someone gave me one of the contraptions I would not use it. Many of them do not allow you to draw the oil while hot. I drain my oil while it is as hot as possible so that the crud is churned up in the oil and will drain out. I can let it drain overnight so that ALL the crud comes out.

Depending on the car, there are certain things that I always check for when underneath for an oil change. Mainly you look around for leaks. If there are any leaks you will see this from the bottom long before you will see most leaks from the top. It also gives you a chance to shake things around to see what might be loose. Start with the wheels and then steering parts. Inspect the rubber boots on tie rod ends and ball joints to see that they are not torn.

It's your car and your choice. The most important thing is that the oil be changed and changed often, regardless of your chosen method.

Good luck,

[kamil]

thanks guys....you just made up my mind. let gravity do the job for you as you inspect everything.

thanks

[leathermang]

On our old cars clearly draining hot is best....
If you hear that new MB's are sucked dry from the top by the dealers keep in mind that the new engine pans , or whatever, may be designed to do a better job than possible on our cars.... our oil pans were designed to be drained.... or that is sure my opinion and I am sticking to it... LOL

[JimmyL]

Is this 'sticking to your opinion' a new thing for you? (grin)
JL

[jobah]

I have a "topsider" from boatersworld.om which I purchased over a year ago after two decades of bottom oil changes.

I use the topsider when in a hurry (and I do it quite hot). However, as Larry pointed out, it does not allow for inspection.

In the last year I have had two problems, both of which woudl have been identified if I had changed the oil the conventional way.

I now use a hybrid. In the summer, I use the conventional method. In the winter, I use the topsider.

my $.02

[stefan300sd]

I have a 617 and sucking from the top gets more oil out then draining from the pan. A while ago I needed to change the oil pan gasket, so I drained it with my "topsider". When I took the pan off and there was only a few tablespoons full of oil left in it. I didn't think to take a picture at the time. However, later I was doing the same job but this time I drained it from the pan and there was considerabley more oil left it the pan.

I have never had a problem draining it hot and made mine real cheap out of a shop vac, a bucket, and some hose.

[Hatterasguy]

I will drain my oil, and when my sound pans go back on I will get a big hole saw and drill a hole for the oil to drain out of. Then maybe I will find a plastic plug to fill the hole. The only reason that boats get the oil sucked out of their engines is that you can't get to the drain plug. The pan is out of sight and out of mind until it rots threw. Unless you have a boat with cast aluminum pans.

[DCM]

I have heard that the MB dealers have sucked out the oil for several yeas rather than draining it. Don't know if it is true but someone here probably knows for sure.

If they do it, the process can't be all bad.

[Alan Hamm]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

I will drain my oil, and when my sound pans go back on I will get a big hole saw and drill a hole for the oil to drain out of. Then maybe I will find a plastic plug to fill the hole. The only reason that boats get the oil sucked out of their engines is that you can't get to the drain plug. The pan is out of sight and out of mind until it rots threw. Unless you have a boat with cast aluminum pans.

My boat gets the oil sucked out from the drain plugs because of a built in system. Best of all worlds. Wouldn't that be sweet on a Mercedes. Run car, get hot, hose in bucket, flip switch, add new oil, after changing filter, of course.

Maybe a small oil change pump can fill the void we all created by removing our EGR valves for "testing". :p

[JimSmith]

For most of us on this forum it is likely more a matter of convenience than ensuring we get the last drop of old oil out. I use the suction device because it makes it too easy to change the oil timely, year round, to miss an oil change. Frequent, regular changes are more important than the intellectual argument over the last drop of oil in there if it has only been there for a couple thousand miles.

Using Delvac 1 for intervals of 6,000 miles I can drive the E300 TurboDiesel for up to about 150 miles before the oil turns black. I think I am getting most of the old oil out. Jim

Yes indeed, the dealers have been sucking out oil for several years. They do it for the same reason that some of you here choose to suck it out, convenience.

For the dealer it is convenient and more efficient because they don't have to drain oil out of an engine that is about to be taken apart into a pan and then dispose of the oil from the pan. It also allows them to assign oil changes to any of the techs because they all can change oil in their own bay. Before these elaborate sucker systems in the dealers they had to have a grease pit or two dedicated to oil changes. Most of these techs are paid flat rate and don't want ANYTHING to slow them down.

What I DON'T understand is how sucking it out is considered more convenient than draining it out. What is simpler than a drain pan and a box end wrench? Both of these items are almost indestructible under normal circumstances.

I think that the REAL reason that drives the suck it out oil change method for most folks is that they don't like getting their hands dirty.

Again, regardless of your chosen method, just keep it changed. But you should still get underneath the car for inspection regardless of the chosen oil change method. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Have a great day,

[gsxr]

Sucking it out is faster because there's no need to jack the car up or put it on a lift, nor do techs need to remove 4-8 screws holding on the sound encapsulation panel beneath the engine. It's all in the name of speed, you see. :p

Personally, my cars get changed once every 12-24 months and I drain it. I think that's a good time to inspect the undercarriage and thorougly clean off all oil residue, so I can locate little leaks (I have fixed all the larger/messier ones already.)

FWIW, the sucking really does pull out as much - or more! - than draining. The reason is, the tube goes ALL the way to the bottom of the pan, and sits extremely close to the bottom. The drain plug is in the *side* of the pan and is probably 1/8-inch above the bottom, leaving a few cc's of oil in there. We're probably talking about less than 1% of the total oil capacity of the engine though - absolutely meaningless in the context of routine oil changes.


YMMV, etc...

[kmaysob]

if you jack the front end up to do the change this will usually get all the oil out.