It's so easy to just drain it. I've heard pro's and con's on exactly how much "stuff" the topsider actually gets out so I'm happy to spend a few minutes under the car and use the drain plug method. It does help if you have a garage, hydraulic jack and jack stands. If you do drain from the pan jack up the drivers side of the car. The drain plug faces the passenger side.
Pat

 

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.

 

If you're seriously interested in a good topsider, check out the Jabsco P/N
17860-0012 You'll find it listed up to $180.00. The Best Value is at Amazon for $100.91, eligible for free shipping. 3 1/2 gallon reservoir
Google the P/N.

John P
FTroopChief

 

Why spend a $100 when for$54 this works so well from Overtons:



Or spend $25 at Harbor Freight for the same thing:



My only recommendation is remove the Tygon tubing (that is the real flexible tube) and only use the poly tube. I change my oil while it is hot and only takes about 15 minutes to evacuate all 8-1/2 quarts.

 

since someone asked previously, here is the Top Sider that I have used since i've owned my XF

 

Which topsider model is that...and does that hold all 8 1/2 quarts of oil?

Thanks

 

madredvet helped me change my oil fro the first time on Sat morn. He has what looks like the same system. Worked really well. Oil was changed in about 45min start to finish including eating a Danish. Reset the mileage counter to 7,000 miles,all is well. No leaks or drips. Thanks Magredvet ( Dave) for the schooling.

 

BRAP, I posted a shot of the box with the Top Sider. It's a marine product made by "TEMPO". It holds 5 qts, so you do have to empty it once, but its really a painless process. Since you're not changing your oil as frequently as i would with a 4/5 qrt engine, its not that much of a hassle. Its worked for me for the past 4 years so pretty happy with the process. (see new image in previous post)

 

I agree with my ramps it doesn't take me an hour to change the oil and that is letting it drip until it stops completely. This way maybe any heavy particles if any will drain completely out.

 

I've been doing all my own oil changes on every car I've owned since I was 16 years old. I always thought the best thing to do was to warm the engine up before draining the oil.
Now with that being said, I have a question.
Wouldn't the viscosity of the 0w40 grade motor oil we use in our cars actually drain more "completely" if it's cold?

 

Technically you are probably correct, but even hot it was pretty thin. I am going to buy something similar to the Top sider. I used to get under the car all the time, but I'm older, fatter, and not as flexible as I used to be. Still like to work on my car though, but just need an easier ( for me) way to do it.

 

Oil gets thinner as it gets hotter. Full stop.

Multi-grade oil is selected on the basis of initial starting temperature but at normal operating temperature it has to stay thick enough so it isn't useless. At low temperatures it has to be thin enough to work until the engine reaches the normal operating temperature.

If you lived in a climate with a constant temperature you would not need a multi grade oil. The reason being that the correct oil would be thin enough in the cold engine and remain thick enough at the operating temperature.

In a warmer climate you could use a 5W or a 10W oil which would be damaging to do in a cold climate.

The oil film has to be of a sufficient thickness to prevent metal to metal contact. The oil forms a cushion on which parts move, if the cushion is too soft (oil to thin) it will get squeezed away, to hard (oil too thick) and the cushion cannot form.

That's the way I see it.

The Canadian Crossfires at least (maybe all Crossfires) come with a block heater and this would have to be used when the 0W-40 oil was not suitable for the ambient temperature. The heaters use would be beneficial on cold days anyway.

 

Multi-grade oil really means that the chemistry is such that the oil maintains a more uniform viscosity index across a wider temperature range. For single weight oils, the hotter it gets, the 'thinner' it gets. Multi-grade oils perform equally as well at both low & high temperature ranges.

When a car engine is cold, you really want an oil that is 'thin enough' to rapidly move thru the engine during start-up to avoid significant wear. Maybe the single worst time for engine wear. And the oil then needs to remain 'thick enough' at operating temperatures to provide the same protection. The multi-grade oils of today can do this better than ever and especially the synthetic grades. Nearly all of the OEM's producing high performance vehicles will recommend a synthetic oil for the engines for this very reason.

And 180 is correct when he states that for oil to be successful in its performance it has to be able to support a thin film under pressure between metal parts (hydrodynamic lubrication with constant oil supply pressure).

 

For single weight oils, draining the oil after running the car for awhile would definitely speed up the draining process and probably get the vast majority of the oil out of the engine. Like you, I used this technique for years. But with today's multi-grade oils and their chemistry to maintain a nearly constant oil viscosity, this wouldn't necessarily be the case anymore.

 

When I was into Merkur XR4Ti's, this was even highlighted in Ford's recommended oil change procedure. It specifically stated that after changing the oil, the coil wire was to be removed and the engine 'turned over' a few times to make sure oil was pumped over to the turbo to lubricate the bearings. Then you could reconnect the coil wire & start the car normally.

Now this was back in the late 1980's/early 1990's and I used the recommended 10w30 oil in all three of my cars throughout ownership. No synthetics, oil changes every 3000 miles, and never had any issues.

 

At the low end of any particular multi grade oil temperature range it does not operate as well as its upper end. It performs adequately.
All oils get thinner as their temperature gets hotter, some more so relative to others.
All oils get thicker as their temperature drops, some more so relative to others.
A cold engine will suffer more wear until it gets warm.
An overly hot engine will suffer more wear until it's temperature drops to a safe temperature.
Both of these reasons are because the oil film is too thin or non existent.

 

I did not realize that the Crossfire had a heater installed on it, I'll have to look around and consult the repair manual to see if it does.

 

Here is a picture. The black cap near the red mark is removed for the connection for the electrical power cable.
If you have the heater all you have to buy is the cable.


The cable and heater.

They probably want a fortune for the heater and cable at the stealership, but it is around $35 on line.

On a Benz forum a Canadian dealer wanted $317 for the cable. Another Canadian dealer wanted $600 plus $200 labor for a heater kit fitted.

 

Thanks onehundred80 I'll have a look at it when the car gets home. Thanks for the picture.

 

Thank you XFiringInNC! This was just what I needed. I have had an extractor and cloth filter kit for months. Just had Service A symbol flash for the first time since 2 year ownership on my 2005 SRT after putting approx 7000K on w/a total 14000K on the vehicle (obviously not a daily driver). I believe this will be my little hot rod's second-ever oil change and my first, but I've done my homework (i.e. watched videos, read posts, etc.) Your easy to understand and practical, step by step instructions are the best I've seen on the forum. Much appreciated!