This will show up as a first post but I was a member back in 2010 when I forgot my password and just watched ever since.
To begin changing the oil and filter on my Skoda Octavia I put my head under the front of the car to look for the sump drain plug. I was confronted
by a large plastic under-tray which extended a metre towards the back of the car. I searched for an access hole for the drain plug but there was not
one. A search on Briskoda said the the under-tray was secured by 10 torqx fasteners. Not wanting to jack the car up and fit axle stands so that I
could crawl underneath I remembered that the motor trade use pumps to get the oil out via the dip stick tube.
I did a search on eBay and found to my surprise a large number of sump drain pumps available for only £13. For such a small amount I decided to buy
one to try. I had low expectations but when I opened the package I found a neat looking compact unit which is powered by the car battery.
The suction tube which goes down the dip stick tube is 6 mm in diameter. Unfortunately the Skoda has an o-ring type seal of the same diameter 30 mm
down the tube. The suction tube was a tight fit and could only be inserted an inch at a time.
My main concern was knowing if the tube has got to the bottom of the sump. I inserted a length of TIG welding wire down the tube which I could hear
hit bottom and measured the insertion depth. I put tape on the suction tube at the same depth so I would know when the tube was at bottom. I later
used some nylon pneumatic tube of the same diameter which was stiffer and more slippery making insertion easier. I extracted 4.25 litres but
don't know if any oil was left.
I would say the pump was a qualified success because of the difficulty in knowing if the tube had hit bottom or hit an obstruction and wandered off
line.
Has anyone else had experience of using a sump drain pump?
I'd always be a bit concerned about anywhere using a pump, I leave my sump draining for 10 mins and wander off to do other things. Plus the dipstick tube isn't always in the deepest bit of some of the funky shaped sumps out there. However, like you I've always been tempted, especially with how messy it can be getting underneath and draining it. Can you point us to the unit you got?
To find the pump I bought go onto eBay and do a search for 'oil extractor pump' in the vehicle parts and accessories section. Scroll down
and and you will find several pumps with a handle and a prominent red end cap. The one I bought cost £13.98 and it was from a UK seller called
swordde123. Some of the sellers addresses were in China, which I avoided.
Mal
We have a pump but very rarely use it. It takes an age and you're never sure how much you got (though arguably can be more). Quicker to take the
under-tray off and that way you get to do a visual inspection at the same time for any other issues. We quite often make an access hole at the same
time, for future changes when the cover is a real pain.
Main dealers are tending to vac it out. You can tell by the number that have a dealer history but the plug still has the factory check mark.
Biggest pian these days the lack of dip-sticks (most cases no tube either). Dash measuring needs certain conditions met (engine warm then a 20min
wait) before you can get a readout... if you trust it.
I changed the oil and filter on a number of our cars using a pump extractor for years. Unscrew the oil filter housing remove filter and replace with
new (taking care with new O rings). Refill with new oil and away. Didn't cause any issues. Zero mess as the extraced oil is neatly contained in
the pump unit and off to the recycling place at the council.
SWMBO's previous car VW Touran (57 plate) had a sump baffle that prevented the pump extractor reaching the oil in the sump. Back to old method
crawling underneath, removing engine under tray and draining oil (more effort and more messy).
My Skoda Superb got an oil change a while back and they just vacuumed it out, the tide marks on the underside hadn't been disturbed. I bought
myself a Pela and do the same now. The oil has to be warm though, the Pela tube is like a mig welder torch liner, flexi spiral thing and if the oil is
cold it really struggles to pull the oil out.
My wife's Mazda has much better access underneath and it's quicker to drain it.
My car has a DSG box, that oil change is a mission! Not particular difficult but a very strict procedure and really awkward to refill if you
don't have a pump. I spent half an hour with 1 litre bottles and a filler tube just to get it done, then it has to get to a certain temperature
before the excess is drained off.
SWMBOs current car has a DSG box too, the oil service on the box is done by a garage (with the kit and experience). Our local MOT garage put their hands up and said no to DSG servicing (no kit or experience).
quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
Biggest pian these days the lack of dip-sticks (most cases no tube either). Dash measuring needs certain conditions met (engine warm then a 20min wait) before you can get a readout... if you trust it.
quote:
Originally posted by SteveWalker
quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
Biggest pian these days the lack of dip-sticks (most cases no tube either). Dash measuring needs certain conditions met (engine warm then a 20min wait) before you can get a readout... if you trust it.
I'll be careful not to buy one of those. I want to be able to check the oil when I want, in seconds, while I am topping up the washer bottle, not turn it into a time consuming project.
Anyway, that means that you have to run the engine, without knowing if there is enough oil in it, to find out how much oil is there!
My 2007 Mazda 6 has a whole engine undertray, a right PITA....but the wife's newer Mazda 2 (69 plate) has a smaller cover under the drain plug
and filter. Maybe the accountants were poo out of that decision... ;-)
Gareth
I have a pump extractor but don't use it for this purpose for many of the reasons mentioned already. Probably the deal breaker is just how SLOW
it is to suck even warm oil through a tiny pipe.
Fortunately my BMW E61 5 series has a small oil drain plug cover in the under tray that just needs the removal of three 8mm AF screws. Then it's
just a 17mm drain plug you've got almost 8 litres of hot oil to contend with! This used to be a problem as my drain pan only held 6 litres but I
used to use the pump extractor to pull a couple of litres of oil from the drain pan before it overflowed. This was a bit touch and go at times so I
just the other day picked up an 8 litre oil drain pan from Halfords.
To my mind the most important oil to remove is that which is at the lowest point because that's where any debris and water will be. Just because
some dealers and maybe even some indy garages are using pumps doesn't make it right. They have no incentive for your car to be reliable beyond
the warranty period.
Changed the oil in a caterham that had the foam filter just starting to go.
Deliberately dropped the sump and seeing how much crap was left after the oil had drained was a little eye opening.
I do wonder if I could have got a suction pump down and moved it around would it have picked up more than just draining.