Which is best-Topsider or Liquivac?
 

Which oil change device is best and why? What are the trade offs? Griot's Garage sells one but does it hold enough for a 300E? Thanks.

Liquivac
 

I bought this liquivac and it works great, and has plenty of resevoir space for any job. Retails for about $30.

http://www.members.aol.com/pmizelll/greenpump.jpg

Good luck!

~Paul

________________
'91 300E, 205,000mi

$30 would be a terrific buy. The capacity is 8 quarts so for our diesels it is a push,

I used the other day to change the oil in the 1987 300TD and I pulled out a little over 8 quarts out of the engine and I saw some oil came out of the pump handle. At this point, I do not know if the pump seal has failed or it was due to over capacity.

Will try in water to see if it is damaged.

Where did you get it?
 

The only place I saw one is cal products-$49+$10 shipping=$60 and not $30.

Thanks for your opinion. Have you ever used the topsider?

Fastest oil change in the west!
 

I made my own. A long time ago, as a toy, I bought a small vane pump that went on a power drill but never found much use for it. Then I saw these top extration things here that gave me food for thought. I found a vinyl hose that would fit and used it just the other day. It worked great! It sucked the oil out in a couple of minutes, and never had to get under the car. It foamed up the oil coming out though, not that mattered:cool:

I got my Liquivac from Northerntool. It was 44.99 and included free UPS ground shipping. I have not had a chance to try it out yet as my first oil change was done from below. Also I am not sure if the free UPS ground shipping offer is still available or not but you can ask them.



http://www.northerntool.com

I do not have Liquivac. I cannot say anything about it. But I bought six Topsiders within a 2 month period when it was on sale. It worked great for me but some of my friends had problem using it. The problem was the pump cylinder which will come loose or off if the operator is pumping in a wrong angle. The pump is mounted to the can at about 80 degree. For some people, it needs practice to get the job done right.

David

I have a topsider. Been using it for about a year now, no problems yet. I got it a place that sells boat stuff, $40 I think. They said any boat place would cary them, as they use them allot on boats.

Just my .02

Thanks

I always wanted a Shurflo Oil Change system but it is expensive ($150). My LiquiVac is good but a litle slow.

I just ordered the Shurflo system today from http://www.c-mesales.com/ for $94.

See the picture.

Just my 2 cents... I bought a Tempo from Travis Marine. It was about $35. Holds 5 quarts, so it does need to be emptied once during change. But, only takes 10 pumps to do that. AND unlike the other products, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR OIL WHILE IT'S BLAZING HOT!!! I really went for a topsider and this is what they had instead - and I love it.

Hey loubapache -- thanks for the electric oil changer link. I ordered one as soon as I saw it.

The original Topsider collapsed on me and the LiquiVac started leaking at the top seam.

I'll give a full report once I use the new device.

Hey, Lance:

How did the intake cleaning go on your VW?

Actually, we started tearing into it and realized the intake wasn't restricted at all. I think with the amount of highway driving I do (about 1000-1200 miles/wk), synthetic oil, and disconnected EGR, the intake hasn't had a chance to clog up.

Maybe I'll check out the MB intake once I'm moving around better. I'm currently having some knee issues resulting from surgery to repair a broken femur. Yuk!!

One of the reasons I still drain my oil the old fashioned way is that it gives me a regular look underneath the front of the car. I can see if there are any leaks, anything loose or falling off, etc.

I recommend that if you use one of the devices to draw your oil out the top, that you still raise the car and give it a good inspection underneath at that same interval.

Merry Christmas,

The problem with many of the cars we have is that they have the belly panel. It requires the removal of so many screws just for an oil change.

Four screws is not a big deal. Use a 1/4" drive ratchet with a short extension and a socket, I believe 8MM. You can have the belly pan off in less than five minutes.

There are two overlapping belly pans on my 203 car and it took some messing around the first time to know that the rear one comes off to access the engine drain plug, once I learned that, it is now an extra five minutes for the belly pan off, and another five to get it back on.

Merry Christmas,

Lance:

Have you received your Shurflo oil change system?

Mine just came today and I put it together. Look good but will not use in the next couple month as all the oils in my car are recently changed. Hope it pumps fast.

I've been using a Topsider for about a year now and although it works, it does have some quirks. The biggest problem I've had is the suction hose is too soft and collapses when you place the recommended amount of vacuum (pumps) on the system. It takes a few extra minutes to extract the oil because of this. Another problem is if the oil is too hot, it will melt the end of the plastic hose which could be very unhealthy for your engine if it broke off inside the dipstick tube. So let the oil cool for about 30 minutes after driving and it should work OK.
For purist, like Larry Bible, letting the oil sit for 30 minutes prior to draining would not be acceptable but I think the tradeoff is it makes oil changes so easy people are apt to do them more often and reap similar benefits in the long run. Lets face it, this level of attention only matters if you expect to keep the car for a very, very long time. To borrow a phrase fron Nike, "just to it" and often.

loubapache -- haven't received it yet...still waiting. I've got about 1500 more miles before the MB is due for an oil change and 2000 left on the VW. I'm certainly going to try it out shortly after it arrives. I'll let you know.

I am having some airflow issues, but haven't dug into them yet. My center dash vents aren't working and the rear vent is only blowing COLD air. Oh well...not sure when I'll have the time to get THAT involved with it. I'm thinking a visit to the shop may be in order. :eek: :eek:

So how has your diesel been behaving when started cold? Just curious, as mine is just a bit rough (maybe 10-15sec) when started in the morning. Maybe need to check the glowplugs?? I think I'm used to the VW diesel, which fires right off.

Anyway, Happy Holidays and we'll catch up later.

<<
So how has your diesel been behaving when started cold? Just curious, as mine is just a bit rough (maybe 10-15sec) when started in the morning. Maybe need to check the glowplugs??
>>
Mine is doing better and better as the time in my hands passes. At 20 some degrees it starts, without smoke, and idles nicely now. I found my battery was kind of low on water and charge. Filled with almost half gallon of water and then used an automatic trickle charge to charge it to full. Now I usually glow twice in the morning *an additional 10 seconds after the light goes out), and it starts right up and with no smoke.

Initially I also thought the glow plugs but apparently a not-perfect battery cannot make the plugs hot enough.

Happy Holidays!

I've been using my topsider for the last year. I have used it on my boat, and my car.

IT works great, have had no problems except the clamp to seal off the hose for the vacuum to build up broke. no biggie I remedied that easily.

I never change my oil at piping hot. I always lett he car sit for 20-30 minutes at least before I do it, that way oil has a chance to drip back down into the pan.

Unfortunately to get under the car now that it is lowered requires jacking up the car and propping it on jackstandas, so I doa topsider change every 3k miles, and let my mech to a regular change when I take the car in to him for other repair services.

Alon