I liked the idea of this so much I got the unit. What a dream! I had to make a little jumper hose to connect it to my compressor but that was no big deal.


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Man! You just turn on your compressor until it comes up to pressure, slide the probe down the dipstick hole, crank it open and the oil just sucks into the holding tank! No more jacking, plug removal, draining, spilling, etc. I did it wearing casual business clothes and mechanics gloves.


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I used FRAM filters for the cabin and engine air filters but bought the K&N oil filter (probably made by Mann). If you do some research you will find that FRAM doesn't have a great reputation when it comes the the quality of their oil filters. The thread-on ones that are inside a sealed metal case don't have all the best elements of construction and fail in pretty bad ways.

At the same time, the Mercedes engine air filter I removed looked identical to the FRAM engine air filter that I put back in. The FRAM Fresh Breeze cabin air filter that replaces the Mercedes one actually looks better. Perhaps given that you can actually see the oil filter element for these cars, FRAM filters would not have the same problems of the self-enclosed FRAM filters, though I would want to know of what material the filter was made.

Anyway, thanks for the excellent tip on the oil extractor. I have four differentials, two transfer cases and another engine that will benefit! All without the usual B.S.

 

I use this unit to change my Crossfire's oil also, it works like a charm.

I would not be that concerned about not being able to remove the "sludge"
in our cars oil pan, there just shouldn't be any!
We're not talking 1963 here with big old high mileage V8s using non-detergent oil.

Todays oils, especially synthetics, are not noted for their sludge making properties by any means. We all do our oil changes at the proper time, if
not sooner, and most have very low mileage to age ratios.

IMHO sucking warm oil out of our cars, replacing our filters with good quality fleece units, and using the proper weight synthetic oils, will not harm our cars prematurely.
It sure beats NOT changing the oil enough because it's too expensive at the dealer or too much of a PIA.

Peace
Paul

 

I paid for a thing called gravity and when I removed the plug it all came out. It was cheap by the way. Think I got it on craigslist or ebay. LOL.

 

Gravity is free, but time is money...

I have been changing my own oil since 1977 (That's 30 years of laying on the ground, making a mess, and lots of jacking). I think the time and effort saved eventually pays for itself. Also, the storage of the oil in the unit until disposal is an added plus. I used to use one of those big water cooler jugs.

 

Hey Mike, I have some questions about the filter. It has those 2 hash marks on them and the instruction say that one shouldn't be visible after installation. Well I can still see both. Well, one almost disappeared but not completely.
Is this a problem or do you think it's just mis-marked by a millimeter or 2 or something? I don't think i can install it any further. It was my first time changing the oil on this and just want to make sure I did it right.
I don't see any oil leaks or anything but what other potential problems might I have?

 

Mine didnt seat all the way when I put in the first time. I pushed it on a little harder and it popped all the way in. I dont know if you have the same thing or not. If you have the cap screwed all the way down to the 25Nm(?) it should be seated. Did you pull it back out and check it? I would think it might be squashed a little if you didnt have it seated all the way. Or it just might have seated when you tightened down the cap.

MikeR

 

It takes about 3 minutes to hydraulic-jack one side about 3 inches up (tire doesnt even leave ground), slide drain pan under, and reach under with a wrench and remove the drain bolt.

Time is money but 3 minutes isn't that expensive, at least not to me.

I should mention I don't use the splash shield so its straight to the drain bolt for me.

 

This will make it even easier $8.24 at rockauto.com

 

Yup, same thing happened to me. It didnt go in all the way the first time but i was able to move it in more after a better push. Yes i did pull it back out and it didnt look damaged to me. I used an oil filter wrench to tighten the cap. (BTW I'm using the same Mann filter I believe you used). Thanks Mike. I'm thinking it must've seated properly then. Makes me feel better.

 

I changed the oil and a couple filters (air and oil) yesterday. I am so glad I got this unit. It was almost ridiculous how easy the job was. Crank up the compressor, slip the tube in the dipstick tube, and let her rip. While the oil was evacuated I replaced the filter. Not a drop of oil anywhere, and done in about 15 minutes. This is great!

 

Im with you there! Im gonna get me one of these also. I have been putting off changing the oil on the srt because as the years go by, the less I enjoy doing something simple as an oil change.

I have other things to do, if I can do it without having to bust out the jackstands and worry about spilling oil on the concrete I am all for it.



As far as gravity being free, has anyone ever pulled an oil pan after drainging the oil? Its not all bone dry. You never get all the old oil out.

 

Call me retarded but I've never seen one of those that you use to suck the oil out so I have no idea how you connect an air compressor to it and have it suck the oil out. I've used units before that hold the oil and then you use an air compressor to push the oil out to drain it but never the other way around.

Guess I'm asking in fewer words, hows the damn thing work?

 

I was told that Mercedes Dealerships actually use the "topside" oil extraction method????

Perhaps this is why the filters are located on top as well?

 

Rudy, it didnt come with a theory of operation so I am now sure how you get PSI to suck....... but it works REALLY good......

 

It uses the venturi effect. Venturi effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basically the air pumped in exits through a venturi, creating a vacuum that is used to suck fluid into the tank.

 

There is a link on here somewhere that made my first oil change a breeze, it was someone with a merc and instead of jacking it up or using a lift, they pulled onto a curb so that the drivers side was lifted. For me it worked perfectly the road is slanted for drainage so it gave tons of room to work on it, and took all of about 10 seconds. having the drivers side up on the curb also lets all of the oil go towards the plug... I found that usefull and I figure that will make it easy for someone else putting off changing the oil because they dont have their own shop!

 

The topside oil change is definately a benefit on these motors. I use one of these cheap electric pumps from JCWhitney. It sounds like it's a toy, but it actually works quite well:
12-VOLT OIL CHANGE PUMP - JCWhitney

FWIW, I would ONLY recomend using a fleece filter (ie: Mann) if you are going to keep with the 10k mile changes w/ the Mobil 1 full synthetic oil. Fram is paper as well as a few others. I order from Germanfilters.com and just order over $50 so I can get free shipping.

 

I have a topsider, and was planning on doing it myself. then i was at the quick lube in town for some tires, asked how much they'd charge if I brought my own oil and filter, and they said $7.00. that was a no brainer. However, I saw they had an even better deal $20 for up to 5 qts of syn oil, so add my other 3.5 and it'd cost me 41 plus a filter and I'm using the Fram filter also. May have to get a long term contract on this! having them charge me 7 for the labor ended up costing me still $70 for the oil and the filter vs about 52 the other way, buts still a heckuva lot less than the dealer charges!