I have a 7liter suction type oil extractor that I used to use with my DD (goes into the dipstick tube. Has anyone used a similar device for E9 oil changes or does it not get enough of the oil out?
John
John
Oil change using a suction extractor?
- Thread starter JFENG
- Start date
I’ve used one in my e9. Works well. Gets a good 5 quarts out. I’m sure using the oil pan drain gets more out but I never let the oil get to dirty in my e9 so I don’t mind mixing a small amount with new oil.
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Thank you for the reply.
it is probably fine to do it this way, but i wonder why
arent these sad shortcuts ?
my thoughts
engine oil is very important, probably the most important fluid in your car
if you change your oil every six months maybe it isnt dirty enough, maybe, who knows ?
but the lowest point of the pan always keeps the dirtiest oil in there
is the suction device able to reach that point ?
and what is the difference ? a new washer ? some crawling under the car ?
maybe if the oil is very clean we can keep the filter in place, why change it ?, the filter change is a nightmare, BTW
ok, but you already have the suction device,...and that makes it easy
maybe siphon the oil every four months, and keep the filter for 2 years, then flush the oil in the conventional way and use a new filter...
...i have just changed the oil, it had been one year in the engine, and it looked miserable,
ok maybe you just go to cars and coffee and some show up, buy groceries, say 200km/year ...then it might be appropriate
what i try to say is that it might depend on the type of use, and maintenance that you keep, i do not see a general rule
arent these sad shortcuts ?
my thoughts
engine oil is very important, probably the most important fluid in your car
if you change your oil every six months maybe it isnt dirty enough, maybe, who knows ?
but the lowest point of the pan always keeps the dirtiest oil in there
is the suction device able to reach that point ?
and what is the difference ? a new washer ? some crawling under the car ?
maybe if the oil is very clean we can keep the filter in place, why change it ?, the filter change is a nightmare, BTW
ok, but you already have the suction device,...and that makes it easy
maybe siphon the oil every four months, and keep the filter for 2 years, then flush the oil in the conventional way and use a new filter...
...i have just changed the oil, it had been one year in the engine, and it looked miserable,
ok maybe you just go to cars and coffee and some show up, buy groceries, say 200km/year ...then it might be appropriate
what i try to say is that it might depend on the type of use, and maintenance that you keep, i do not see a general rule
BTW, 5 quarts out mean leaving a good 18% of old oil in that engine, just consider it
Mike Goble
Well-Known Member
In the oil tanker business, the amount of oil you can't pump out is known as ROB - remaining on board. Years ago I rode the UST Pacific into the MOT in Rotterdam with three million barrels on board ( 126,000,000 gallons ), and they left with about 10,000 barrels ROB that the pumps couldn't reach. At $60/bbl, that's $600K worth of oil that is left behind.
To reduce the ROB they employ several methods, like ballasting the ship to tilt the tanks towards the pump inlets and controlling the pump speed to keep from sucking air as the oil gets shallow.
They also use a COW ( crude oil washing ) system to blast the walls of the tank with heated crude oil to remove the oil that has cooled and stuck to the walls.
Armed with this knowledge, I'm a firm believer in drain plugs.
To reduce the ROB they employ several methods, like ballasting the ship to tilt the tanks towards the pump inlets and controlling the pump speed to keep from sucking air as the oil gets shallow.
They also use a COW ( crude oil washing ) system to blast the walls of the tank with heated crude oil to remove the oil that has cooled and stuck to the walls.
Armed with this knowledge, I'm a firm believer in drain plugs.
I have a magnetic drain plug that I like to check so I'm a firm believer in draining and replacing the old fashioned way.
John, what filter canister do you have? Don't you have to go below? Also, you obviously love toys cause you gotta lift, so going at it from below is easier for you.
I do the car on ramp thing. I also have an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the changes and each car has a heading with the plug location, size, volume held, type of oil to be used.
I do the car on ramp thing. I also have an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the changes and each car has a heading with the plug location, size, volume held, type of oil to be used.
Suction extractors are great for modern cars because, they are a pain to get at the drain plug and because, in two years it will be someone else’s problem. I watched one being used on my company car, since then I am convinced the drain plug approach is better, the mechanic doing the work also said the same.
Probably not relevant but, years ago Vauxhall specified one oil filter for every two oil changes. Cam shafts used to wear out, good for the Parts business!
Probably not relevant but, years ago Vauxhall specified one oil filter for every two oil changes. Cam shafts used to wear out, good for the Parts business!
I use one on my boat.
Oil must be fairly warm and it takes HOURS to suck it out.
I don't recommend unless you have tons of time on your hands.
Oil must be fairly warm and it takes HOURS to suck it out.
I don't recommend unless you have tons of time on your hands.
I have later style (e12) m30 oil filter canister with the top bolt. Which reminds me, Don't forget to change your oil filter every time with a brand name filter. I'm to partial to Mahle.
Yes, this is a short cut and in some ways it is sad because it’s inferior. I acknowledge that I am taking some short cuts on my E9 these days due to sloth and lack of time. With another restoration project ongoing and race car maintenance, I consciously make this trade off. Plus I am a cheap bastard.
For example, even knowing I can pour used coolant into the municipal sewer system, I’ve decided not to flush my cooling system. I tested it for freezing point and added a corrosion prevention supplement.
Oil: based on previous comments in the forum, it seems like most of you are changing your oil every 6 months less than 3000 miles of use before the change. I am not convinced this frequency is needed with modern oils and pampered collector cars. But yes , I lack any evidence to support this. If you are changing the oil that often, leaving 1 quart in the sump shouldn’t be a disaster. If you are going 12-15k miles between changes (as the FSS in my X5 recommends). I would drain it from the bottom. Why?
BTW: for me, the biggest drawback of a suction extraction system is the inability to remove water and contaminants at the bottom of the sump. If you have ever drained the oil on a car with a leaky head gasket, you know the first thing that comes out of the drain plug is ... coolant that has pooled below the oil.
DQ: I agree with you 100% that I’m not following best practices. I’m following what I feel are the minimum adequate practices. When I install the very expensive rebuilt M90 engine (done by VSR1), I promise to become meticulous and a better adherent to your style of maintenance. I have already bought a large box of filter cartridges and oil in preparation ;-)
Ramps, yes I have them but am try to be lazy (surprised I’ve not yet been banished for it)..
Top bolt oil canister from an early 80’s M30. I put a zip lock gallon bag around the whole canister, which catches any spills and wiggle it out.
Filters are from Mahle made in Austria
My e39 touring went 150k miles with no oiling system problems, with oil changes via the filler tube.
When I retire I will rebuild my barn with 11 ft ceilings, central heat/cooling, an 80” LG TV for watching YouTube DIY videos, and a two post service lift so I can change lubricants from the bottom wearing a tweed suit. At that time, I will aspire to reach DQ’s level of meticulous and beautiful work. In the meantime my target is just good enough to do no harm.
Fascinating Mike. I have the same problem when eating cheese fondue. I employ several methods to extract the last bit of cheese, some of them are gross.
And my suction extractor only needs 5 min to empty the sump on an e39 (V8) as long as the oil is warm. It would be 3 min if I didn’t have to stop and empty the unit about 2/3rd of the way thru.
DQ,
You win.
I needed to tighten the alternator belt which was clearly most easily done from below. So I had to raise the front anyway, giving easy access to the sump drain plug.
But first I warmed up the oil and extracted as much as possible via the dip stick tube. When I removed the drain plug and approx 1/2 quart came out. Relative to the total capacity, the oil extractor removed about 90%. No it’s not as good as draining via the sump plug.
It required about 6.3 quarts to fully fill. As with many of you, I filled the oil filter canister (3/4) when installing it to shorten the time to good oil pressure.
You win.
I needed to tighten the alternator belt which was clearly most easily done from below. So I had to raise the front anyway, giving easy access to the sump drain plug.
But first I warmed up the oil and extracted as much as possible via the dip stick tube. When I removed the drain plug and approx 1/2 quart came out. Relative to the total capacity, the oil extractor removed about 90%. No it’s not as good as draining via the sump plug.
It required about 6.3 quarts to fully fill. As with many of you, I filled the oil filter canister (3/4) when installing it to shorten the time to good oil pressure.
well it is not the point to win or lose,
in fact we all win with your nice experiment
so if suction removes 90% is not that bad, i do not understand quarts, so i wonder if the filter oil is in the equation, to compare with what was said before, that was 18% not being extracted
but anyway, thank you for posting
and your engine will thank you for your extra efforts
regards
An unsuccessful attempt at a bit of humor.