So I was in need of an oil change, and my trusty oil sucking device which I previously purchased broke. It was a manual one with a pump you had to pump up. Anyway, I needed one NOW so I figured I'd just go to a marine shop and see what I could find. Bass Pro Shops is near me and they had a 12 volt oil changer for $23... no need to pump anything by hand. It has the drawback of not having a built in bucket to put the oil in... so I went to Wal Mart and bought a 5 gallon bucket and a lid for it for $6. Now, I had a feeling this was going to be a crappy solution, what with being so cheap and all... but I got home, primed the little electric pump by sucking some oil from a new oil bottle, and it all worked perfectly and quickly.

And heck, if it breaks after a few times... it's cheap enough that I don't care. Even if I bought a new one EVERY time, it'd still be cheaper than taking it to the dealer to change the oil. Here's a link with a picture of the item so you can see what I am talking about:

Bass Pro Shops 12V Oil Changer

 

How good is it at getting ALL the oil out?

 

I would assume pretty good... some cars (new land rovers) dont even come with drain plugs anymore, so the only choice is to have it pumped out.

 

Getting under the car and opening the drain plug is free. And probably takes less time.

 

This won't get all of the oil out of the car. The dipstick tube does not go to the bottom of the oil pan. The dipstick comes close, but not the tube. The plug on the other hand, is at the bottom of the pan.

 

The tube can go to the bottom of the engine, it has no bearing on how far down the dipstick or tube go, so it should be able to get a lot out - it's like any other pump like this.

 

So . . .one question ??? . . . why would you want to suck it out the top, when you are not assured of getting all the old oil out ?? Specially when it is soooo easy to remove the belly pan, and remove the drain plug on the oil pan ?? No pumps to worry about . . . just drain into the pan and you are done !

Maybe I am old school here, but in my humble opinion, draining from the bottom is the best. . . .

Just my two cents worth . . .

Cheers

Mark

 

Do yourself a favour, and call a mercedes dealer. They now "drain" the oil through the dipstick during oil changes. A friend of mine is a tech at the local dealer here, and this is what they are now doing under mandate from headquarters. They have different tubes and adapters and seals for the various models.

 

Me, I installed an asymetric lift cause Iam old and deserve it and being old schoo ( before they invented the L ) I drain it out and get a good look-see at the bottom.

It would be useful to suck the oil and then pop the pan plug to actually see the amount left. At 5000 mile changes or less I would not be too excited but there is a possibility that a bunch is left.

IF I DID the top oil change Id at least drive the car up on some 2x4's or more to TILT the car towards the dipstick side to maximize the recovery in the pan. If you leave 1/4" then if it is tilted that would be a bunch more picked up by slanting the pan. A thought to consider and no real effort involved.

I want to get the heavy stuff at the bottom!

WOODY