drain or pump out old engine oil?

[ktlimq]

According to some web pages, pumping engine oil is a bad idea because it lease a lot of old engine oil in the engine.
Is it really a bad idea?

I see some engine oil pumps at good price.

$17.75 , 12V oil change pump


$24.99, 12V oil change pump


$44.99, hand pump

[r_p_ryan]

drain it. You'll see the worst of the worst that way.

[Melcher]

IF DONE PROPERLY, oil evacuators can be better!! In theory, a good oil "sucker" (as I call it) creates a vaccum in the engine helping to pull a lot of residual oil down off cylinder walls ect. ect.
I wondered which was actually better, till one day a client had her drain plug completely rounded off by "Jiffy Lube". I used my oil extractor first, then worked the drain plug out. When the drain plug finally came out, not a single drop of oil fell out. So in my opinion, extractors work really well.

There are a two things to remember though for best results: #1 You need to start with a good extractor. Niether of the ones you pictured look like they're worth a damn. I imagine the best ones work off of compressed air. But this is coming from a guy who has never used an electric one. #2 the oil must be pretty warm before you extract it, just do it after getting home from a normal drive.

I'm sure people could debate this for a while, but my oil extractor has been great for the last five years. It's really best used when I have multiple jobs to do on a vehicle. I hook the extractor up when the vehicle is warm, leave it on while doing other jobs, and then replace the filter and fill it up before I go. one little bonus is that if it's left on for over twenty minutes, the oil filter comes out nice and clean -not dripping all over everything.

I own a 5 1/2 gallon extractor made by CP from harbor frieght.

[Mike Murrell]

This argument has been brought up here countless times.

There are those who believe topsiders are better for all sorts of reasons and then there's the "from the bottom" crowd that likes to look around down below every 3000 miles.

There will be countless posts on this thread and 1/2 will go one way and the other 1/2 the other.

Believe whatever you choose because there is no right or wrong answer here.

Just be sure to do it every 3000 miles.

[lee polowczuk]

for me its a matter of not wanting to get under the car unless I absolutely have to....

I pump out my wife's expedition this way as well now.... in addition to the two benz's however with her truck I still have to get under to do the oil filter....

i don't think one way is better than the other...it's preference....

[Diesel Fan]

FWIW, most, if not all dealers suck it out. Ask yours.

[ktlimq]

How important is the levelness of the ground surface for oil change?

If I drain oil from the bottom, should I raise front and rear of my car by equal amount? My car is 1992 300D (W124, 602 engine).

[tex]

I have the MityVac 7201 which I prefer for the
w210 chassis because the oil drain plug dumps
oil everywhere, richocheting off the the air dam
if I remember correctly.

I usually use the same device on my w124 so I
can inspect other components while the oil
drains instead of fritzing with the noise
encapsulation panel.

Darrell