| Author |
Message |
david schirmer (David)
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2001 - 3:23 pm: | |
It is definitely a Friday before a long weekend. I believe the postings today are moving toward the lunatic fringe. I will try to refrain from using up any more valuable bandwidth with wisecracks. In order to do so I will have to make the ultimate sacrifice and leave work early. I'm going home to wash my oilpan... |
David Harris (Dakharris)
| | Posted on Friday, August 31, 2001 - 1:11 pm: | |
Why not just pull the pan off every time you change the oil? You could put it in your dishwasher to make sure it is sterile, being careful to dry it completely. A nice benefit will be the reduction in oil leaks with a new gasket every 3,000 miles. |
Neville Pugh (Nev_Pugh)
| | Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2001 - 7:00 am: | |
Now, thinking about this, if you REALLY wanted to be fanatic about making sure ALL the old oil is out, you could empty all the old oil out, refill (with old filter in place) with fresh, new (but maybe slightly cheaper, unless you're rich !) oil, run the engine for a while to mix the last 5% of old black oil with the new oil, then drop the new oil. The 5% left in your engine now would be nice new oil with just a hint of old. Finally refill with expensive oil once again, with a new filter.
Or is this serious over kill !! ;-)
I wonder .... does anyone actually fanatical enough to do anything like this ? |
magoo (Magoo)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 10:49 pm: | |
Personally I think that extracting the oil is too easy and not thorough enough. Ferrari put that drain plug there for a reason. For my satisfaction and how Ferrari intended it to be, I'll remove the drain plug and get as much crud out of the pan as possible. It's kinda like the guy washing his feet with his socks on. Just not a good enough job. |
david schirmer (David)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 10:16 pm: | |
I just recently tried an oil extractor. It appeared to remove all the oil. Excepting the oil on the other side of the baffle as mentioned in my previous post. So the concept is that you vacuum out most of the oil and then you can remove the rest of the oil from the drain plug side and minimize the old oil leftovers. Yes I am insane. Anyway the extractor worked amazingly well, and if you don't mind the little leftovers on the plug side you don't even have to crawl under the car. How about that for a quick and easy oil change! |
S. Long (Sml)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 3:58 pm: | |
Has anyone used the LiquidVac product that sucks-out the oil through the dip stick? If so, what are the + and - of using the "devise". Thanks. |
fastlane (Fastlane)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 2:45 pm: | |
Martin, you can bring as much used oil to any DiscountAuto Parts store. They have a large recycling container in the back of the store. I store my used oil in an old 7 gallon glass water bottle in my garage. |
Doug Meredith (Doug308)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 2:38 pm: | |
Goto any oil change place. Many of these places have oil change specials for $15-$25. You supply the filter and deal with them to supply the extra oil(most only give a 5qt fillup), because they are not supplying the filter. Poke some holes in the old filter first then drain. Let it sit for a little to let the excess oil drain and then remove the filter. You won't have to worry about the waste either. |
Jim E (Jimpo1)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 8:53 am: | |
I can't believe you guys have these problems. Just have the mechanic change it when the engine is in pieces for repair! I've had my car a month and it's on its 3rd round of clean oil! |
Martin (Miami348ts)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 8:18 am: | |
Some other questions from me.
Where do you dispose of the old oil you just got out of the car? |
'75 308 GT4 (Peter)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - 3:43 am: | |
David S., you shouldn't say things like that: "glad to be of no help whatsoever" You are perfectly correct that some sludge remains in the pan when all of the oil is drained. I saw it for myself. In a perfect world, yes, its not good to have that stuff in there. But here in the real world, there'll always be crud floating around in the engine and I'd rather have that little bit of crud and keep all of those ingenious baffling and trap-doors to give me sustained oil pressure when I corner fast. I'd say its not a %100 perfect system, but its the ideal fast-car, wet-sump setup. Changing your filter everytime will keep that build-up to a minimum.
About jacks/ramps: Why struggle? Get good quality jack stands (you'll need four, for each corner, will make the pan level and drain the most) and hoist her up! |
David Harris (Dakharris)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 11:43 pm: | |
Stephen: Dolly Parton and "The Rock" would have trouble fitting under a 328. Otherwise, you can do what I do. Put on an old shirt and a cap and slide under the car on your back. You are correct...a creeper won't fit. You will need a large capacity, low profile container (available at most any auto parts store)for the waste oil. It's one of the easier cars I have changed the oil on. True, you will never get all of the old oil out without removing the pan, but that shouldn't be a problem unless you swallowed a valve or threw a piston and have some abnormal debris as a result. |
david schirmer (David)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 11:16 pm: | |
An interesting point on oil changes for the 3x8 and maybe others as well. This past winter I was at a tech session and saw the inside of the oil sump (pan). It has baffles in it with flapper type valves to keep the oil from sloshing from one side of the engine to the other on turns. It appeared to me that no matter how you set up the car you wouldn't actually be able to get all the oil out ever. There would still be some residual sludge left over. So there you go. Glad to be of no help whatsoever... |
Frederick Thomas (Fred)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 6:18 pm: | |
My garage has a slight down grade right as you drive in. It is about a 15 degree slope. I back the rear wheels right to the part where it is still level so that the exhaust hangs over the downgrade giving me enough clearance to slide a pan under to catch the oil. I get the drain plug by laying down by the passenger rear wheel and just reach under. Before I did it the first time I was wondering how in the hell I was going to get to it.The car is so low. |
magoo (Magoo)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 6:04 pm: | |
SML, Not to give you a short answer but, jack it up and support it with jack stands under the frame rails. |
David Albright (Dalbright)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 5:20 pm: | |
Stephen, I usually take my car to Ferrari of Washington. They allow customers to use the lifts on Saturdays when the shop is closed for business. They even have a technician there to help out with the lift and other minor things. Not sure if you're close to DC or if you local F-Dealership has the same program. Good luck! |
S. Long (Sml)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 4:32 pm: | |
OK, I've read all the links on DIY oil changes, but for the life of me, I cannot understand how it's possible. Please enlighten me: 1989 328 GTS; Biggest problem is getting under the car to access the drain plug without using multiple jacks or ramps that are too steep to be usefull? What is the secret? I thought about buying a pump, but decided to do it the ol' fashion way and get all the sludge out with a complete drain and fill. All I need to know is how to get under the car in a safe way for me and the car. |