[Jamie '92 968]

Was flying back from vacation last week and saw this thing in the always entertaining "Sky Mall" magazine.

http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm...02716746&c=

Apparently, this device allows you to extract the oil from your engine through a hose inserted through the dip stick tube.
They claim that this is standard procedure for Mercedes factory techs.

If it works, would it mean oil changes without lifting the car?
Sounds good...

Anybody want to rain on my parade, or should I order it?
Would this method extract all of the oil from the engine?

Thanks, in advance, for your opinions,
Jamie

(PS I have a great "atomic watch" from SkyMall that I would highly recommend [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] )

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[94SilverCab]

My understanding is that this product is successful at extracting $$$ from your wallet. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

Jay

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[ds968]

I'm convinced it will not extract 100% of the oil, but if you're willing to live with the perhaps 5-10% of the old oil left in your engine which will likley not drain unless it " drains" ( and whatever impurities that may have collected along the way ) then could be ok I suppose..

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[Fox944]

if this worked as well as it sounds, i think a lot more people would be using it.

my 2 cents.

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[Georges]

I have one of those (different brand) and used it on my 944 as well as my 968. With care I believe I've extracted all of the oil. I change the oil twice a year but drive less than 3000 for the 12 months. My strategy is to do my spring oil change the traditional way but use the extracted in the fall. To use it you should make sure the oil is hot enough and low viscosity to drain it all.

It's also very useful for things like snow blowers and lawn mowers etc.

I understand extractors like these are common to change the oil in marine equipment.

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[flash]

i don't see how it can get it all, since the dipstick tube does not go all the way to the bottom - is this a hose that goes inside the dipstick tube? how do you know when it is in far enough? that would be a pretty skinny hose too, which would make extraction pretty slow at best

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[Jamie '92 968]

The important question seems to be whether this device will remove all of the oil.
It would seem that that answer is dependent on a knowledge of the inner geometry of the 968 engine that is way beyond what I know.
If you put a hose down the dip stick tube, would it go to the lowest point in the engine?

Georges,
What makes you believe that you were able to remove all of the oil?
Did you ever remove the drain plug after extracting the oil with the device to see what else came out?


Jamie

(EDIT: Sorry, Flash, I didn't ignore your reply. My reply was in work when you posted yours, so it was somewhat unsequential)

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[flash]

if you put a hose down the skinny dipstick tube, AND it managed to not get snagged along the way, AND you found the bottom, AND you managed to not block the hose with either the bottom of the pan or anything else, then yes, it could conceivably get MOST of the oil

however, i'm pretty sure the dipstick is not the lowest point

this also does not address the removal of the sludge on the bottom of the pan

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[xrad]

agree w/ Flash...but sludge is always a problem no matter which way the oil comes out

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[Mark]

<!--quoteo(post=73969:date=Jun 15 2009, 03:07 PM:name=Georges)-->QUOTE (Georges @ Jun 15 2009, 03:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->My strategy is to do my spring oil change the traditional way but use the extracted in the fall.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

That was going to be my suggestion for it's use.

Personally I hate dealing with the used oil so I just pay someone to change it. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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[Georges]

<!--quoteo(post=73971:date=Jun 15 2009, 03:20 PM:name=Jamie '92 968)-->QUOTE (Jamie '92 968 @ Jun 15 2009, 03:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Georges,
What makes you believe that you were able to remove all of the oil?
Did you ever remove the drain plug after extracting the oil with the device to see what else came out?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

My extractor has measuring lines to show how much oil is in it and I check how much volume has been extracted. Also, when I refill I keep track of how much oil is put in and where it ends up on the dipstick and have been satisfied. I also check the color of the oil after the change and a short drive to see how clean it is. One problem with all this is I that I change the oil filter and there's always some spill involved with that operation and oil remaining in the filter. You're right I should take the drain plug off and double check but have not done so.

When I do the operation I park the car on a very slight incline with the nose up to encourage the oil to the back of the engine. Very slight incline.

Keep in mind that this is for an oil change based on months in the car rather than mileage and I argue any small amount of oil remaining is still in pretty decent shape.

I didn't use it last year because the underpan is off and it's then almost as easy to do it the traditional way. The underpan needs some fixing up. The holes for the bolts in the front have grown too large and even large washers don't keep it in place.

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[flash]

it's certainly better than not changing it at all

the canton filter would resolve the "mess" issue

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[Cloud9...68]

<!--quoteo(post=74095:date=Jun 17 2009, 07:46 AM:name=Georges)-->QUOTE (Georges @ Jun 17 2009, 07:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->My extractor has measuring lines to show how much oil is in it and I check how much volume has been extracted.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's the key. If you've removed 6.9 quarts, you've gotten it all out. Not sure about the sludge, though; I suppose I could be convinced that a vaccum device slurping away at the bottom of an empty oil pan could do as good of a job of removing the sludge as the traditional drain method.

Let us know how much oil you get out with the extractor.

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[Georges]

<!--quoteo(post=74139:date=Jun 17 2009, 08:00 PM:name=Cloud9...68)-->QUOTE (Cloud9...68 @ Jun 17 2009, 08:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Let us know how much oil you get out with the extractor.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

You might have to wait a few months for the next change...

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[kodomokid]

Sorry for the late reply but the claim is true, MB uses this method to do oil changes on their newer cars. I was talking to my mechanic a while back about an extractor. He owns a 2007 MB CLS and says that is how the dealership does it.

But there are other great uses for it. Getting tranny/diff fluid out, brake fluid, if you accidentally over fill your oil, etc...

I may get one soon.

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[mike]

I'm also late to post but a friend with a BMW Z4 M-Coupe (former Porsche guy) claims this is common practice for BMW owners too.

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[flash]

sounds like a great way to sell oil changes - "let's figure out how to leave some of the dirty sludgy stuff in there"

having taken off at least 500 oil pans, on cars of all types, i can tell you that NONE of them were free of deposits in the pan that were left behind even after a full drain of the oil

what they need is a flush system that shoots solvent or something into the drain plug, and then removes the gunk via pressure or something through the dipstick tube

oh wait - back before computer controlled engines, airbags, and bluetooth, we used to do that with a quart of tranny fluid just before the oil change

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