Draining engine oil

[insanesam]

I took my car to service, and saw the technician siphon the old oil out through the place where you pour in the oil. Is this normal practice or a dodgy quick way to drain the oil instead of removing the bolt at the bottom? I'm leaning towards dodgy because this would mean most of the crap is still in the engine. Anyone shed some light?
Thanks

[mrwillz]

it wont be fully drained, well as much as it should be drained

what a tite ass of a garage, dont even have a hoist?
lol...

[Zilli]

an interesting way of doing things... how on earth would they get a syphon down through the head past the crank and into the sump? that is impossible?????

Im confused?

[insanesam]

an interesting way of doing things... how on earth would they get a syphon down through the head past the crank and into the sump? that is impossible?????

Im confused?

I got no idea. I just saw them shove a plastic hose down and siphoned the oil out, then poured in the new oil. Mind you, this was done at a respectable garage.

[Zilli]

are you sure you saw this at a mechanic or you are just checking to see if this is possible because you cant be bothered getting underneath?

The whole point of having a sump at the bottom (the boulous part at the bottom of your motor that the drain plug is screwed into) is to have acentral place to collect all of your oil. Most of the contaminants and rubbish in your oil will drain down there or be caught in your oil filter. syphoning oil out from the top is impossible.

[insanesam]

I 100% saw the mechanic do it. It was weird. Basically he popped the hood, took off oil cap, put hose down, connect hose to some suction machine of some sort, and out the oil went. Then immediately after he poured in the new oil. After that, the car was hoisted up and the oil filter was replaced and the rest of the service continued (brake fluid, gearbox fluid replaced)

[Zilli]

where was this done? It sound highly unusual for it to happen this way. In fact it sounds ridiculous... where was this done?

[insanesam]

where was this done? It sound highly unusual for it to happen this way. In fact it sounds ridiculous... where was this done?

Am i allowed to say where it was done?
Yeah i'm no mechanic and i though it was bizzare. I know i am not dillusional.
This was done at my 40k service

[civ04]

yo fellas,there is a device that you put down your dipsick tube and it will sifen the oil out of the engine.ive used one at one of the mechanical shops i worked at.i dont like em.if you dont put tube all the way in to the bottom of the sump,then it wont such out all the oil from the bottom.i didnt think there was any real bennefit to it,so i used to do oil changes the conventional way.
hope this helps.

[EKVTIR-T]

I 100% saw the mechanic do it. It was weird. Basically he popped the hood, took off oil cap, put hose down, connect hose to some suction machine of some sort, and out the oil went. Then immediately after he poured in the new oil. After that, the car was hoisted up and the oil filter was replaced and the rest of the service continued (brake fluid, gearbox fluid replaced)

:confused: So he filled the new oil then took off the oil filter and replaced it?

[aaronng]

^^ Yup, you can if you do it through the dipstick tube in a B/H/D series. However, on newer engines, the dipstick tube is actually along the oil galleries and it is not possible to insert a tube of reasonable size to the sump.

[aaronng]

:confused: So he filled the new oil then took off the oil filter and replaced it?
You can do that, the only time oil is circulated through the oil filter is when the oil pump is doing its job. :)

[Zilli]

ooooohhhhhhhhh ok, well OP made it sound like the guy was syphoning the oil out through the filler!!!!

Dip stick is possible, but yeh you wont get as much out as you will by draining the sump...

[aaronng]

ooooohhhhhhhhh ok, well OP made it sound like the guy was syphoning the oil out through the filler!!!!

Dip stick is possible, but yeh you wont get as much out as you will by draining the sump...

Yeah, makes me wonder why since he is already putting the car on the hoist to remove the oil filter. Might as well drain the oil through the sump plug.

[VTECMACHINE]

Weeeeiirrrddddd... I wanna know what this garage is now!

[VTECMACHINE]

They do it by suction to save mechanic TIME and time is money in those places and it saves a bunch of time not having to take out the drain bolt and waiting for it to drain. So they can do more oil changes in a day and make more money.

Thanks for that lesson in Business studies!

But wouldn't it take longer to syphon it out.. seriously? when you think about pressure etc, would it like build up?

what I mean is, like when you don't take off the oil cap when draining from the sump plug, it takes longer than when you do take off the oil cap. Did that make any sense.. just a thought I had.

[aaronng]

They do it by suction to save mechanic TIME and time is money in those places and it saves a bunch of time not having to take out the drain bolt and waiting for it to drain. So they can do more oil changes in a day and make more money.
I thought that the flow rate out of the sump drain hole was quicker than through a measly tube that fits in the dip stick hole. The only way I can see this benefitting the mech is that he removes only part of the oil (say 3L), so that it takes less time (doesn't have to wait for every last drop to come out before putting the bolt back on), uses only 3L of his oil and saves him 20 cents on that sump plug washer.

[insanesam]

^^ Yup, you can if you do it through the dipstick tube in a B/H/D series. However, on newer engines, the dipstick tube is actually along the oil galleries and it is not possible to insert a tube of reasonable size to the sump.

Yeah i think it was dipstick tube, instead of the other one where u pour in oil.

[EKVTIR-T]

But he lifted the car anyway to swap the filter...
Slide over the oilcatcher stand,undo bolt,drain while doing the filter.Simple
This suction idea sounds pointless honestly.

[Integra89]

yo fellas,there is a device that you put down your dipsick tube and it will sifen the oil out of the engine.ive used one at one of the mechanical shops i worked at.i dont like em.if you dont put tube all the way in to the bottom of the sump,then it wont such out all the oil from the bottom.i didnt think there was any real bennefit to it,so i used to do oil changes the conventional way.
hope this helps.

we dos on truckes. when we need a sample without draining oil, i no the thing your talking about. but to do and oil change this way is very umm...diffrent

[Zilli]

I thought that the flow rate out of the sump drain hole was quicker than through a measly tube that fits in the dip stick hole. The only way I can see this benefitting the mech is that he removes only part of the oil (say 3L), so that it takes less time (doesn't have to wait for every last drop to come out before putting the bolt back on), uses only 3L of his oil and saves him 20 cents on that sump plug washer.

i would back this opinion... :thumbsup:

if you look at it from a process efficiency perspective (where volume of work is your coefficient for increasing bottom line profit) if you had a brain you would do it all whilst your under the car and stop doubling up your time working from the top and then the bottom.... only a dumb shit would do it the other way if they were thinking about time spent and profit per job...

[jzdhgkd]

Wow my mechanic sucked the oil through the oil filler cap last time as well! And then proceeded to hoist the car, change the oil filter and rotate the wheels... wonder if it's the same guy lol.
Might be time to practice changing my own oil :P

[DvS-]

can u pm me the where this was done?
just curious

[bennjamin]

Its THE place for "Hondas" in Sydney.


Its lazy , but its to speed up the process and maximize profits DUH. It is a business afterall....

[aaronng]

I'm surprised.... DIY ftw!

[bennjamin]

4 years old....but has saved me and others probably about $1000 in labour in that time. DIY FTW

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4695

[Integra89]

4 years old....but has saved me and others probably about $1000 in labour in that time. DIY FTW

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4695



its more to spend more time ont he job, i mean 1. it takes longer so its more time and money you spend, and 2. if u miss somthing then they come back for you to fix it, they basiclly think we r all idiots when in comes to this stuff, i wouldnt go back to him

[VTECMACHINE]

Its THE place for "Hondas" in Sydney.


Its lazy , but its to speed up the process and maximize profits DUH. It is a business afterall....


By that do you mean ~snip~'s?!

aaronng ninja edit: removed business name

[VTECMACHINE]

Oh whoopse, sorry forgot you can't write business names.. But Arronng, was I right?

[bennjamin]

it dosent matter really. Its the ONLY place id take my honda to get serviced anyway.

Problem is i dont trust any mechs apart from myself ~ THAT business included lol.

[Limbo]

They do it by suction to save mechanic TIME and time is money in those places and it saves a bunch of time not having to take out the drain bolt and waiting for it to drain. So they can do more oil changes in a day and make more money.

Yep i know one that does that also. Its saves alot of time they can suck it out in less than a min. ALso it stops the oil accidently dropping on the floor.

[aaronng]

Yep i know one that does that also. Its saves alot of time they can suck it out in less than a min. ALso it stops the oil accidently dropping on the floor.

Workshops with hoists should have a raised oil collection funnel bay. It's like a container with a GIANT funnel on top. So no drips and it is easy to drain it out into the waste tank.

[Integra89]

Workshops with hoists should have a raised oil collection funnel bay. It's like a container with a GIANT funnel on top. So no drips and it is easy to drain it out into the waste tank.

i agree and its better for the engine if all the old oil is drained because afer a while of not draining it can cause a build up and cloge the engine and starve it of oil

[Limbo]

Workshops with hoists should have a raised oil collection funnel bay. It's like a container with a GIANT funnel on top. So no drips and it is easy to drain it out into the waste tank.

doesn't stop idiot apprentices dropping oil still

[Integra89]

doesn't stop idiot apprentices dropping oil still

if someone managed to drop the oil out of one of the drain stands then they shouldnt be doing it alone, its not that hard to do anyway