Draining oil with pump

mijyou · Post by **mijyou** » 05 Jun 2011, 18:09

Hi, I have a Xsara 2.0 HDI.

My preferred method of draining the engine oil is to use the suction method with a Pela pump.

I have just tried to insert the tube down the dipstick and it seems something is obstructing the tube.

Is there something to stop this method of extraction?

I know that not everyone agrees with this method and will say take the tray off you idle basket!!

But I have been using this method on a my Skoda for the last 120k and 40k on daughters Punto with no ill effects.

Thanks Jim

cachaciero · Post by **cachaciero** » 05 Jun 2011, 20:39

Don't know about the Xsara but on my C5 I was initially thrown when trying to get the pipe down the hole, as you said it feels like an obstruction, however giving it some "welly" resolved the situiation. I wonder if there is a seal of some description around the dipstick because that's what it feels like, the tube goes down easy to the "obstruction" apply a bit of force to get the end through after which it carries on down but not quite so freely.

Of course the Xsara may be something else again

And there's nothing wrong with sucking it out, it's the way that any sensible person does it !

.

Yeah! yeah! I can hear the comments about you get more of the old oil by letting it drain for half a day, well true, you may get the extra half cup out but in the great big scheme of things it's irelevant. For me the ease of taking the oil out with a pump means that changes get done much closer to schedule than they would do if I had to grub around under the car farting around with spanners and drain trays.

cachaciero

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 05 Jun 2011, 20:54

Some cars are not supposed to have their oil sucked out, I believe this is the case with the 16v HDi engines. However I dont think its a requirement on the 8v Hdis.
There should not be a blockage, have you tried fiddling around with the tube to see if you can get past it?

I do have an oil sucker which I find works excellently on VW TDi engines, it gets every bit of oil out and it also enables you to suck out the oil which is left in the filter housing - a paper type on those, which is ideal. Though I dont use it on my cars now, only the odd TDi as I look after a couple for close friends. I actually find I get more oil out of the 1.4 and 1.9 TDis than by dropping the oil out. Odd.

However there are some cars it wont work on effectively, some wont let you insert the pipe and others will not let you get down to the very bottom of the sump. I tried it on a ancient Skoda Felica, only about 2 litres could be removed by the oil sucker.

On the HDi 8Vs they have a canister oil filter so to avoid a mess the under tray should ideally be removed. As I remove it for that reason I also drop the oil out of the sump as its easier.

Some people do argue that sludge in the bottom of the sump will not be let out and so will build up - I think this is the reasoning behind the fact some manufacturers discourage against it. Others would argue that in a healthy engine with regular oil changes the sludge wont be there.

mijyou · Post by **mijyou** » 05 Jun 2011, 22:27

The Winkly Ninja on the citroen Xsara forum, posted the following image:

Which shows the right angle on part 5 is what the tube must be hitting

I did try giving it some welly with no luck!

Thanks Jim

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 06 Jun 2011, 11:57

Citroenmad wrote:Some cars are not supposed to have their oil sucked out, .

Citroen issued a notice advising against suction methods particularly for the 1.6 HDIs. They said it would lead to turbo failure.

Post by **myglaren** » 06 Jun 2011, 12:03

JohnD wrote:
Citroenmad wrote:Some cars are not supposed to have their oil sucked out, .
Citroën issued a notice advising against suction methods particularly for the 1.6 HDIs. They said it would lead to turbo failure.

That seems rather odd, I wonder why that might be.
I'm still firmly in the get underneath and drain it out camp but a remote controlled drain would be a big improvement.

KP · Post by KP » 06 Jun 2011, 13:06

Place the tube between both palms and rub your palms opposingly back and forth while pushing the tube down and it should get round that kink...

wheeler · Post by **wheeler** » 06 Jun 2011, 13:14

The DV series engines (1.4 & 1.6 HDi's) can't be drained by suction as there is a little stopper at the bottom of the dipstick tube that prevents the pipe going all the way in.
The DW engines should'nt be a problem if the suction tube is flexible enough.

Post by **myglaren** » 06 Jun 2011, 17:51

Just done mine on coming home from work, while the oil was hot (and by god it was hot!)

25 minutes including making a cup of tea and drinking it while the oil drained, clearing up and washing my hands.

After I removed the jack and lowered the suspension/ran the engine, then turned it off, the suspension kept rising then sinking for a few minutes but seems OK now I have moved it to it's proper parking place.

Had a scary moment when I put the dipstick back and missed the tube. A healthy looking spark jumped from somewhere under the engine cover but all appears to be well, touch wood.

Definitely no copper washer on the sump plug. I did mean to buy a new plug and some washers at the dealer but forgot, of course.

howiedean · Post by **howiedean** » 06 Jun 2011, 18:47

cachaciero wrote:Don't know about the Xsara but on my C5 I was initially thrown when trying to get the pipe down the hole, as you said it feels like an obstruction, however giving it some "welly" resolved the situiation. I wonder if there is a seal of some description around the dipstick because that's what it feels like, the tube goes down easy to the "obstruction" apply a bit of force to get the end through after which it carries on down but not quite so freely.

Of course the Xsara may be something else again

And there's nothing wrong with sucking it out, it's the way that any sensible person does it ! .

Yeah! yeah! I can hear the comments about you get more of the old oil by letting it drain for half a day, well true, you may get the extra half cup out but in the great big scheme of things it's irelevant. For me the ease of taking the oil out with a pump means that changes get done much closer to schedule than they would do if I had to grub around under the car farting around with spanners and drain trays.

cachaciero

I've been using a pump to remove engine oil for the last few years now and it makes the job much easier.
I would prefer to get every last drop of oil out draining from the bottom of the engine however I'm much too lazy now!

Howie

mijyou · Post by **mijyou** » 06 Jun 2011, 22:43

I use a Pela pump which has a stiff weighted end which would make it difficult to go round the bend.

I have been using this pump method for about 5 years now on my Skoda.

I have sucked the oil out and then removed the plug to find not even a drip!

I never much worried about sludge as I do about 650 miles a week.

Shame about the Xsara sump though

spider · Post by **spider** » 07 Jun 2011, 10:13

Interesting to read about these bumps, I did consider one myself a few months ago but did not bother with it at the time.

I was concerned about sludge etc, although I can see them also being useful for draining say ATF (assuming trans type with dipstick or other access to the 'lowest' point)

I may invest in one in a month or so now.

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 07 Jun 2011, 13:25

Nobody drop the sump off whilst they're at it to give the inside a good clean?

Only kidding!

I'm sump plug type with rare earth magnets on the filter just in case.

Steve.