Change oil without draining?

[Nardly]

My wife went and had her oil changed in her Hyundai at Valvoline oil center and she was telling me that they removed the oil with a pump through the filler tube. I haven’t heard of doing it that way. To me it sounds half assed, possibly leaving sludge in the bottom of the pan. Is anyone changing their oil this way?

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[K4fxd]

I do my lawn mower like that. Most cars that won't work due to not having a direct route to the oil pan.

 

[sk47]

Hello; Two comments. First even an oil change thru a drain plug leaves some residual old oil in the pan for most cars/trucks I have worked on. May or may not be sludge depending in the vehicle. I have removed a few oil pans after a drain to always find some oil.

Second, I do the same for the automatic transmission of my truck. When i do an oil engine oil change I use a pump to draw some trans fluid out of the transmission. The pumps do work pretty well.

The only question is how much is left behind. If just a few ounces no big deal. If the oil change place is honest, they will have the actual quantity of new oil replaced on the ticket.

 

[Hack]

When you go to a place like that, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Be thankful they didn't cross thread the oil plug like happened on my 1970 Mustang. I learned my lesson and will never go to a quick lube type of place again.

 

[K4fxd]

I learned my lesson and will never go to a quick lube type of place again.

I was in a hurry and stopped into one, they wouldn't let me out of my car. I said I watch or I drive off. I drove off.

 

[Gnatsum21]

I dont even know how my Ford dealership does it.. I just trust them. I pray that they change the oil to begin with and not just say the changed the oil and they didnt.

 

[2022 Mach 1]

I've seen them suck it out of the dipstick tube as it reaches directly to the oil pan

 

[James1980]

I know that's how its done at Mercedes. Its called an oil extractor

It should be ok if they got enough out, they would know easily enough.
Not every car's dipstick has a direct shot to the oil pan. I know the F150 ecoboosts don't, there is a little channel is lives in.
If they're doing this regularly they probably have encountered all that before and know what to do. But that puts a lot of faith in a lube tech

 

[boB]

Afaik some Mercedes don't even have a drain plug (A220 does but no dipstick). Inboard boats are like this, ours had a drain plug but getting to it meant drilling a big hole in the hull! I went with the dipstick method. ;)

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

I was in a hurry and stopped into one, they wouldn't let me out of my car. I said I watch or I drive off. I drove off.

I definitely understand your point but look at it from the perspective of who’s working on the car. I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone over your shoulder watching you work all day.

 

[2022 Mach 1]

Correct. The dip stick itself sits in it own tube but the oil has to get into the tube at equilibrium of the oil pan somehow. Therefore it's logical you can drain oil via vacuum from this location.

 

[David Schmidt]

Change your own oil, friends. Don't rely on what your spouse tells you happened or didn't happen at the "oil center." Pull the drain plug, spin off the filter like an adult. It's not rocket surgery.

 

[Park]

I have never heard of this

 

[KeyLime]

This is routinely done in marine engines where access to the oil pan is restricted by the bottom of the boat, engine mount beds or other structures.

 

[Nardly]

I've seen them suck it out of the dipstick tube as it reaches directly to the oil pan

That's what I was wondering, would it reach the oil pan. Was that on a 5.0?

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