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remove/top of oil from the top?

5K views 23 replies 9 participants last post by  17Hatch6MT 
#1 ·
Hi,

Is there a way I can use a syringe with rubber hose, somewhere on the top to drain my engine from some oil, without the need for opening on the bottom?

Like, when my oil levels are slightly above the top line on the dipstick.
I know a little above the top line won't harm, but I still would like to be able to do that, I just don't know where.

My motorcycles, all have access to the oil levels in the crankcase like this.
But I think the oil entered in the engine, goes via the 'tappers', down the engine, and I don't think I can access the oil from the top.
 
#3 ·
I think I need to do this. Rather than take it back to the dealer who overfilled it. Looks like it's about a quart over. I'll have to get it on 'verified level' ground to be sure, though. My garage floor has a slight slope to it. Very, very disappointed in the dealer service at this time, might not even use the 2nd free oil change.
 
#5 ·
I suspect the dealer, rather than add the specified 4.25 qt called for, put in five quarts even. This is a sign of a shop that does not use a bulk oil dispenser and instead hands the mechanic five one quart bottles of Dexos, who, in turn, pours all five into the engine.
Since this overfill only represents about a half inch above specification when the engine is not running, it is still well below any spinning parts, specifically the crankshaft, and, when running, a great deal of that oil is up in the head.
Although aggravating, this overfill won't cause any harm.

If we were discussing a diesel, my response would be different since a overfilled diesel can experience 'runaway'. This is when the overfilled crankcase oil is such it gets pulled into the venting system of the block and is drawn into the intake, creating a secondary (and uncontrollable) source of fuel supply.

Anyways, I cannot think of any way to cleanly draw oil out of the engine beyond siphoning (using a pump) up and out of the dipstick hole using a small vacuum hose, if this is really driving you nuts.
I'd be inclined to leave it as it is and make it clear at the next service that you expect the correct amount to be installed.

Rob
 
#7 ·
I tried one of those $12, 12V oil pumps, they sell on ebay.
However both with the plastic hose, as well as the copper tube, I'm not able to drain the oil :(
The dipstick seems to bend a little downward, so I tried shaping the drain hose and pipe in that arc, but it gets stuck somewhere, about 6 in before it should reach the oil levels.

What would happen if I unscrew the oil filter?
Anyone has an idea, before I experiment?
 
#10 ·
winks79-

I also have a Mityvac. Have you tried this on a GEN2 1.4L engine? Does it get to the bottom of the pan? Some engine designs have a baffle splash plate above the bottom of the oil pan that doesn't allow all the oil to be pulled out.

I had problems with one of the older GM 3800 Series Engines. I think it was a Series III. I really like using it on the GEN 1 1.4L works well.

With the oil filter at the top, you can nearly do an oil change in your sunday clothes, it's so fast and clean.
 
#13 ·
I'm using some tubing I picked up at Amazon.com

It's Advanced Technology Products ww.atp4Pneumatics.com 6mm OD X 4 mm ID. It was like $10 for 100 feet of the stuff. It has a larger inner diameter than most standard inch size tubing.

I use the small rubber stopper with the Vac.

It's not a smooth first fish to the bottom of the 1.4L oil pan. going slowly and mark how long the dipstick is and only fish that much down into the pan. When you feel a little resistance slightly turn the tubing very gently to get past it. Once past that one point it slides down easily.

I get about 3-5 oil changes on one section of hose. Like 2 oil changes on each end of the tubing, then I use the other end.

Buying tubing in bulk keeps the fear of something degrading or breaking off much less of a risk. I learned this from a former forum member Shelphi (spelling) and have been doing it since the car has been new. My oil pan plug has never been out. 67,000 miles. With roughly 5,000 mile intervals, with a few early ones when I first bought it. I'm guessing I've done 14-15 changes this way.

Shelphi was using the smallest tube that comes with the Mityvac. I still have that tube. I've never used it and I think it might be a little tight on the Cruze 1.4.

I know the filter on the GEN2 1.4 is at the bottom, so you might not save much time with an extractor, but it's so clean. I'd be interested in seeing if it works.

What other engines have you guys done? I've done the Nissan 2.5L QR25KDE. I think that's the engine code. Goes to the bottom on that pretty easily.

GM 3.5L DOHC LX5 engine.. I think I may have used it on that engine as well, but the filter for that is in the oil pan, and I had problems getting a wrench to fit that car, so I didn't do many oil changes on that.
 
#14 ·
Apologies, I don't know what gen my engine is.
It's a 2011 Cruze Eco 1.4l Turbo engine (with 6SPD auto transmission).

The pump I used is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KZIFZVK/

It comes with a [FONT=&quot]1x 6mm Nylon pipe, and a [/FONT][FONT=&quot]1x 5mm Brass pipe[/FONT], and neither one of both slide all the way through.
From the dipstick, (doing by memory) I need about 1,5ft of tube length, but the plastic tube gets stuck around 1.25ft or something...
The brass tube gets stuck about an inch higher.
Anyway, a good 3-5 inch above the top oil level.

I can force the plastic tube in the engine further, but I believe the tube just bends upward instead of downward.
I notice, because when pulling out the tube, the plastic is more bent upward (it remains having a bit of the angle it was forced in with).

If I want to get the oil out of the engine, I might need a thinner tube.

From what I can see of the dipstick, is that the dipstick hole bends downward, and may be only 5mm in diameter top, since I can not get the dipstick to slide in at a 90 degrees angle (just 0 or 180 degrees).

Maybe I should find a thinner tube, to fit in the pump, and hope it has enough flow.
This pump in particular, I chose because it had a lower flowrate than other pumps sold online (5L/min or 1.3gal/min, which is more than enough to level off the oil).
 
#15 ·
Topping off the oil isn't the only reason to use this device.
You can also drain bad oil, to add some synthetic oil, to lengthen your service intervals.
And in places where it's not legal to do oil changes (eg: on the street parking, where a cop would ticket you, for being under a car draining oil), you can always get away with pumping the oil in an oil jar, provided you don't make a mess.

It's relatively clean, no one even sees oil, as you can use an old oil jar or can, and fill it up with the old oil.
If a cop stops you, you could be filling up radiator fluid, or battery fluid for all that, and no one will give a dime.
 
#16 ·
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoWNWowzDBU This is the one I use. Never had any problems with it going into the valve cover of my '13 Cruze 1.4 turbo. Made by PMD. Bought it off Amazon a few years back. Holds 9 liters, and comes with the brake bleeder tube also. I use it on the Cruze, '08 Civic, my old Buick with the Supercharged 3800, and my wife's '15 Impala LTZ with the 3.6L. I still change my 2 trucks manually, since they are easy to get under, and it is no big deal on them. I think I paid around $90 for it. Been worth every penny.
 
#19 ·
That's very similar to the design of my Mityvac. I have the one that connects to an air compressor, so you don't have to manually pump it. I think I paid around $90-$100 for it as well. Really handy to have, especially for transmissions that don't have drain plugs. Like the old GM 4T65E where you had to drop the entire pan with 5-7 quarts in it. That worked great since the dipstick tube on that transmission was so large.

One of the earlier posts mentions using a metal dip tube. I would think that would be very difficult to near impossible with the cruze 1.4L design. You need some flexibility in most of the dipstick ports to get to the bottom of the pan.

I'll mention also works with the old Ford 4.9L Inline 6 engines.
 
#20 ·
The copper tube does bend a bit, but not enough to follow the rabbithole (the curves in the dipstick hole).
It could bend in the shape, but it doesn't glide in the shape.
I'm sure once the tip is in the right direction, the rest of the pipe will bend in the right direction as well. But to get the tip not to get stuck is another story.
 
#21 ·
On the 1.4L yes you can change the filter without changing the oil. Open the filter cap, and leave it sit there for a few minutes. Filter will come out nearly dry. Maybe a drop or two, I always pack a rag around the cap first, but I'm over detail oriented.

There's no oil in this housing when you pull the filter. It drains back to the pan. If I recall correctly, the service manual says pull the filter and then change the oil. It allows air into the oiling system, and if it's really quiet in a closed garage, you can hear what is probably oil dripping back to the pan for a few seconds after loosening the filter.
 
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#24 ·
It looked really high. Made an appointment with the dealer. Before they drove it into the service bay, had the service rep review it with me. Not as far over as I thought. Oil caught in the dip tube, or something, may have made it look higher. Actual level was just above the 'z' bend in the dipstick.

They changed the oil with fresh stuff, but without changing the filter. Also reset the o.l.m., but didn't tell me, I noticed this as soon as I got it back, had ask the service advisor what was up. Only then did I learn they changed the oil but didn't change the filter. Thanks a lot. :(

Have noted a couple of instances when, at full throttle, the engine pinged and lost power briefly. Once about 2k rpm, the other time about 3k rpm. Starting to wonder if they'd put bottles of a cheaper or older oil in and that's how it got overfilled. When I called to inquire about the overfill, the service advisor said, 'hmm, that's a metered fill, how did that happen'?

Just thought of another guess... at the original change, maybe they didn't change the filter but wrote that they did, it may still have the original factory filter?

Overall, this dealership is becoming lumped in my mind with the quickie lube places, as a place to avoid.
 
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