Top of the engine.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportbikeco
Printable View
Top of the engine.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportbikeco
I put a fumoto oil drain valve on my Tacoma. Makes draining super easy and clean. I think that leaves a bit of oil in the bottom of the pan around the bolt, but I don't worry about it.
The valve is tucked up above a crossmember and skid, and I put a hose clamp around it to prevent accidental drainage.
I like to drain warm oil out the bottom. That said, I had a boat with a diesel engine and sucking it out through the top was the only way to get it done. I think people over think it a bit. That new oil is gonna dilute it anyway. Remember when people used to add kerosene just before an oil change. Quality oil regularly, do it any way you want.
If you are worried about a little residual oil containing particles that will remain at the bottom, then when it gets cycled through the engine that it will cause severe damage, you have a lot bigger problem then a little left oil. A good quality filter should clean out any typical metal fragments as the engine wears.
the oil thing I would do extra would be pull the drain plug every other time if it is magnetic and clean off any metal particles stuck to it.
With the synthetic oil specified for my car, I now just have my oil changes done at the dealership for a few bucks more than the cost of buying the oil myself. I think it's actually cheaper than buying the oil and filter. Same may not hold true if you do more frequent changes and your oil is less expensive that full synthetic 0W-20.
Full service oil change with filter and fluid topups is under $60.
Still too expensive for an oil change IMO. Walmart you can get full synthetic for $25-30 for 5 quarts. Under $5 for a purolator filter which is really good quality. $35, even $40 with a Bosch filter is still $20 savings and the peace of mind knowing you did it yourself and it was done right.
I do as much of the maintenance on my cars as I can possibly do... including oil changes. In the beginning, this was out of financial necessity. Now, it's mostly because I haven't been able to find a place that consistently does good work in a timely manner without dorking something else up in the process.
I'm big fan of the Fumoto quick drain valves for making oil changes easier. The Miti-Vac system sounds like it'd make it even easier, but I've never tried it for fear of leaving residual sludge in the bottom of the pan.
After reading all the comments i decided to let the oil settle in the pump to see if there was some sludge or heavier density oil at the bottom. There was definitively a thicker mix at the bottom of the pump. I also posted the same question on a land rover forum and, for what its worth for your type of car, it seems that it is cleaning the oil pan pretty clean of sludge for most users (tea spoon of oil left when removing the plug).
Fumoto valve. Costs like $20 and will make it so you don't have to use any tools to change your oil. I have them on all of my vehicles and love them. The oil filter is on top on my Tacoma so oil changes are like 5min not counting time to drain. Almost makes me feel like the fancy A/V setup I have out in my garage is a waste of money. Almost. ;-)