Originally Posted by gillman123
I did my first oil change last night. I bought a TopSider after hearing alot of good reviews on them here.
I don't know what I was doing wrong,,,, but the TopSider only got about 6 Qts of oil out !!!! During the HOUR oil change, I had to squeeze the tube, and pump up a Vacuum again {about 10 or 12 diifferent times] to get the oil to flowing again.
I'm "thumbs-down" on TopSider!!!! I didn't have a flat drain bucket,,,, jack stands,,,, or the time to even attempt to get those last 2.5 quarts of dirty oil out. So I'll do it the old fashioned way next time.
Did my second oil change with the Marina Pro Oil Changer. Sadly, it didn't go as well as my first change.
First, the oil was too hot....lesson learned, warm the car, don't get to to normal driving temp. This did soften the hoses, and flattened the clear vinyl 1/2" hose ....but oil continued flowing without issue. It didn't do any worse than the section that passes the hose clamp. but probably lengthened the time by 15 minutes.
Second, the Crossfire holds 8.5 quarts (not 8 as some writers keep entering into this chain). In order to ensure I got all 8.5 quarts out I stopped at just under 8 quarts and attempted to empty some oil into another container. Lesson learned....get a larger unit...one that easily holds 9 quarts or more.
So what went wrong?? I sucked the first nearly 8 quarts with only one spill....mere drops...the connector between the 3/8" OD tube and the 1/2" ID vinyl tube separated, allowing some spillage onto my driveway. This, I was prepared for with oil wipes. However, the real problem came after empty some contents of the oil vacuum into another container. During this process, a fairly large amount of dirty oil entered into the actual pump chamber. So when I began pumping again, to build the vacuum in the oil chamber, dirty oil squirted out of the pump chamber, all over the pump, me, the driveway, and anyone nearby...I guess 4 to 6 ozs. got out. Not good. Lesson learned....suck the excess oil from the Marina Pro, don't poor it out. This should keep the pump clear of oil, and keep spillage to a minimum.
It may be that I'm just generally inept, but in all my experiences, and despite the mishaps in this occasion, this is by far a cleaner way overall than the under the car method....unless you are blessed with a hydraulic lift. Essentially, oil SHOULD stay in the containers (car, oil bottle, or pump reservoir, and you never have to leave your feet. Considering my two experiences with the vacuum pump method, I haven't any doubt that I've extracted all of the oil from the crankcase.
Just my proverbial Two Cents.