neweagle

Any thoughts on these? I'm sure there's a reason why people don't use them more, even thought it would seem to make an oil change MUCH easier:
http://www.right-tool.com/lioilchpukit.html

07summitwhite

yeah, I see a very big concerning problem.

for starters, your told do do an oil change on a warm motor.

When backing the drain bolt out of the oil pan the warm oil will be thinner making the oil flow better then thicker oil and grabbing grudge and junk from the bottom of the oil pan along with it while it's flowing out into the drain pan.

OK, now the problem I see with this device is when using the small diamiter tube not only will you notknow when its at the bottom of the pan, it's not going to grab the grudge and junk from the bottom of the pan ether.

After a while of leaving the extra grudge and junk at the bottom of the pan its going to keep acuminating. Once the oil pump starts picking up the grudge it's only going to be a matter of time before the oil pump fails and it's very possible that your going to seize your motor along with it.

All this because someone thought they had a bright idea and had money signs floating in there head and thought to themself that they can get rick quick on some poor lazy guy that didn't want to get under his vehicle and loosen up a drain bolt...

addkev

The military started using these about 10 years ago, and we use them (I am a diesel mech in the Marine Corps) with pretty good success. There have been many debates about what was stated before about build up and grunge. But from what I have seen, if you consistently change your oil and use a quality oil and filter you will not have a build up of junk in your crankcase.

McGuireV10

I use a PneumatiVac for oil changes, diff gear lube changes, transfer case oil changes, brake fluid changes, and just a couple weeks ago I used it to empty a fuel tank. As addkev says, I use it because it gets EVERYTHING, not as a convenience item. It drains relatively slowly unless you have a pretty good seal on the tube, but particularly with things like diff lube changes, you'd be surprised at how much garbage is left behind with any other method.

http://www.toolsource.com/pneumativa...0-p-91202.html

I don't think I'd bother with a chincy little thing like the one posted earlier, and this one does require the use of an air compressor to generate suction. Plus this one holds about five times as much and is only a bit more expensive.

FYI, my local Dodge dealer uses a rather larger, more industrial version of these kinds of things for fluid changes, too (theirs clamps to the top of a 55-gallon drum). In fact, I became friends with their Viper tech and after watching him suck all the junk out of my Ram's transfer case and diffs, he told me about the PneumatiVac, which he uses at home in his garage.

All that being said, I don't think it's worthwhile for just an oil change, but if you're a do-it-yourselfer, get one.

Big D

I had a chrysler crossfire (Mercedes engine) and I had a LiquidVac.... worked like a charm. I believe this method is Mercedes Benz approved. Also, on that car the oil filter was on top so I never got my handsdirty. Anyway this is a tahoe site, so my thought is to try it next oil change. My question to ZX is can i put the vacuum line (about an 1" longer than the dipstick) down the dipstick tube without harming any oil pan sensors?
thanks
Big D

McGuireV10

Personally I'd still pull oil from the drain plug. Going down the dipstick tube, you don't really know where your suction tube winds up. When my vac is clearly hitting the end of the fluid I'm draining, I just kind of move it around in there, and much of the time I'll little pockets of gunk and suction those out.

Oh yeah, draining the tranny is another good usage, particularly on 4L60E's that come with a drain plug pre-installed (assuming you don't round off the piece-of-junk soft bolts they use).

07summitwhite

Hummm, if you have to get under the truck to take the oil filter off, then why not just drain the oil from the drain bolt?

They claim so you don't have to make a mess?

I never make a mess when taking the drain bolt out, the mess happens when removing the oil filter.

McGuireV10

Because you'll get more junk and sludge out with the suction than you will just draining free-flow. I don't care about making a mess... a couple coats of xylene floor-sealer in the garage, and ANY mess just wipes away.