New initiate to OIL CHANGE CLUB

Abut 5 minutes.

Try a toyota oil filter, one thing I could guess is a bad bypass valve opening when the motor is cold and run to hard. The grit is likely sludge and would indicate a shorter interval would be better and use a better oil.

I cannot imagine what would cause extractor to suck more oil out than the drain plug which is put in the lowest point of the oil pan and where all the oil will flow pulled by the gravity force.

Sucking thick fluid through a very thin and long tube has to leave some residue on the bottom of the pan... Even if the tube can reach exactly to the bottom. Also, if you think about it, what is left on the bottom is really what you want to get rid of - all the sediments are there on the bottom and should be washed out by the force of the warm oil rushing through the drain hole.

Also, in the average do-it-yourselfer environment dealing with a storage of dirty suction hose will be harder than just drain the oil to the pan...

Maybe I am old-fashioned too much but oil extractor idea is not very apealing to me :-)

Okay Ray O, you bet I'll be extra watchful next time I change the oil :-)

Ransley, thanks for the suggestions, but I'm on it. My car has always used OEM Toyota filters, and the oil is about the best synthetic you can get: Pennzoil Platinum (PP). The oil change interval was only 4,000 miles, which is 1,000 less than the 5,000 recommended. I did stretch the time to 7 months, instead of 6, but I don't think that made much of a difference. Thanks for the ideas, though.

Ray O, dunno if this is surprising, but I got much more oil on me when I removed the oil filter than the drain plug.

I think my next oil will be Amsoil ASL 5w-30. It's suppose to be even better than PP, and I want to hear how my engine sounds with it. I noticed a marked difference in engine sound when I switched from dino to Mobil 1 synthetic. Here's something new: It looks like the Amsoil web site now ships oil directly to your door instead of requiring you to contact a local distributor.

For the most part, you're paying a premium for the marketing with Amsoil, although it seems to be a reasonable product, just overpriced.

This probably had a lot more to do with having fresh oil in there than what kind of oil it was.

--scott

The Royal Purple actually isn't any more expensive than the Pennzoil or Castrol synthetics if you buy it in large enough quantity. There is a very substantial quantity break, unlike with the Castrol.

I have liked the Royal Purple gear oil as well... it seems to be as good as the Red Line for substantially less money.

For the most part, all the synthetic oils today are excellent, and if you are changing them regularly it doesn't matter so much which one you use. So there is no reason not to just pick the lowest bidder.

--scott

========

Scott Dorsey, thanks for that idea, but in this case, I don't think the difference in sound was due to having fresh oil in there because I had had 2 or 3 conventional oil changes before switching to synthetic, and never noticed a change in engine sound until switching to synthetic.

I don't blame you for being skeptical (I was also), but if you Google and read other people's experiences or some car manufacturer recommendations, you may learn something.

I bought one of these oil extractors and it didn't work on my 1999 4cyl. I think there might be baffles in the oil pan (to prevent oil starvation on curves) that interfere with the hose.

Latex or Nitrile gloves work well... ;)

May be easy for some, but I'm 6 foot 1 and I need to put the car on Rhino ramps to reach back that far. (Plus ramps make it easier to drain the transmission fluid too.)

Ditto that for curbside oil recycling!

Man, the Honda Accords put the oil filter in the toughest places to reach...

Michael

I've got an F-150 (300 I-6); '55 Studebaker with later Stude V-8, and a Porsche 944. All are cake easy to change the oil on and none require jacking, but the Porsche does have the filter mounted so that you invariably drizzle oil on the crossmember. Had a long string of watercooled VWs, all of those were pretty easy too. I think painful oil changes seem to be a Japanese trait; I changed the oil in a Sentra once and really don't care to repeat that experience.

nate

Did you use a manual pump or one that uses an air compressor? I had trouble with the manual pump, sometimes it worked great, and sometimes it was lousy. The ones that use an air compressor do a much better job. But you do have to sometimes move the tube around a bit to make sure it gets to the bottom of the drain pan.

not only that, but on some cars, such as my Subaru, I can change the oil without jacking the car up. I like to use the 5 minutes while the oil is draining to have a look around underneath - look for leaks, check the CV boots, check the exhaust, etc...

Ray

Hmm, that is a lot faster than removing all of the bolts from the transmission oil pan in the Escort, which does not have a drain. I may give that a try next time.

I don't know which automakers that recommend an oil extractor to change the oil, but there are some applications where an extractor is the most practical way to change the oil, like a marine inboard motor where there isn't enough clearance to put a drain pan under the motor.

If you are using an OEM filter, I doubt if the grit was actually in the oil.

If you look at Amsoil's web page for their ASK oil:

they say that it is recommended for use for various certifications but if you read carefully, they do not say who is recommending the oil (I suspect that it is Amsoil and not the automakers) and they do not say that the oil actually meets those certifications. Most oil suppliers will say that their oil meets this or that certification. If you want Toyota to warrant your engine during the warranty coverage period, use API certified oil. Amsoil may or may not be great stuff, but I am always a little skeptical of claims without any kind of warranty to back them up.

Mercedes is one. Also BMW on certain models where they do not want oil dripping on sensitive components.

Just to clarify, 5 minutes is for the one that hooks up to air compressor. The hand pump ones sometimes take longer and require multiple attempts at building up enough pressure.