What does an oil extractor do?

The purpose of motor oil
Changing your oil is one of the most important car maintenance tasks you can perform.  There are two reasons why motor oil has to be changed. The first is related to the additives included in the oil. Additives are added o the motor oil when it is refined to change its mechanical properties. For example, motor oil can get extremely viscous in cold weather. Basically it gets thicker and does not flow very easily, just like honey. This means it is much harder for it to cover and protect the engine, this hinder its ability to lubricate.

At the opposite end of the scale when oil gets very hot it becomes thinner and again this stops it from lubricating properly (and also from cool link). Additives help keep the oil thicker when it gets hot. Chemicals which act as detergents and dispersants are also included in the oil, these help to clean the engine.

Changing oil without an oil extractor
To begin with you have two choices. You can let the engine run for a few minutes to heats the oil up and make it run the, therefore easy to train. Or you can empty from cold. It depends if you want to risk burning yourself on the oil all the underside of the car. With care and practice it can be a good idea to drain the oil when it is slightly hotter but if in doubt choose the cold option. As we shall see later the result alternative.

It used to be the case that this would involve following a sequence of steps that when something like this:

• Raise the car onto some ramps (remember, never ever get under a car supported by jacks).

• Position a suitably large container beneath the oil pan so that when you remove the drain plug the oil will be caught. It’s a good idea to use a dedicated piece of hardware called an oil drain pan.

• Remove the oil pan drain plug and wait to the engine to empty. You’ll then have to replace the oil filter.

• Use of the new oil to wet the gasket on the drain plug before screwing it back on. Now ready to fill up the engine with new oil.

This is a highly condensed version of events and is included here for illustration purposes only. For the novice just getting past step one can be difficult. If you have no experience of supporting a car or getting underneath it, it can be quite daunting to approach this on your own.

Make life easier with an oil extractor pump
This process has now been made a lot simpler by the arrival on the market of oil extractors. These devices are simply pumps are designed to work with motor oil. They can be used for many different kinds of engines living speedboats, motorcycles and cars. The only limitation placed on them is if the dipstick tube has a tight bend then the hose used to suck up the oil cannot get down into the oil pan. The flexible tube is fed down into the oil pan and a vacuum created using a pump handle which then sucks out the oil. These units have a self-contained oil container, usually between 4 and 7 litres inside it. This should be adequate for most vehicles but check with your owners manual to be sure of the volume of oil held in your pan.

Oil extractor pumps have several advantages. The big benefit is for those who are uncomfortable getting underneath their car. It means they can do their own oil change. Also, because the oil doesn’t come gushing out of the drain plug it is a lot less likely to be spilt. You can also use them the extract motorcycle oil, boat engine oil and lawnmower oil.

The disadvantage is that it’s an expensive way of doing something which can basically be done for free (although you have to have the ramps to support the car) and because it is not using gravity to push out the oil it takes a lot longer to empty.  Sometimes you’ll have to create a vacuum used to suck the oil out several times so it is not the kind of job you can walk away from a comeback in half an hour when it’s finished. You should always replace the and an oil extractor pump can’t help with this. Prices vary but expect to pay around $50 for a Topside Oil Changer on Amazon.

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