Easy oil change with a Pela pump

[MissMoppet]

I must get out more. Have just come across the Pela pump which will extract your oil via the dipstick. No more jacking up the car, crawling underneath, wrestling with sump nuts etc. Presume every village garage now has one?

Maybe everyone else here knows of it - though Search draws a blank - but for excellent description see here on the Rover 75 forums (excellent motors by the way): http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=273335.

And costs an attractive £39+ off eBay. Presume will work on a Stag?

[V Mad]

You still have to get down and dirty to change the filter you might as well drain the sump at the same time.

[jleyton]

These sort of things are widely used in dealerships on new cars and seem to work ok. That said, there probably isn't too much muck and debris build up in a new engine and so they're fine to use in them.

However, I'd be a little cautious with older engines as muck can build up and I think that a proper drain is more likely to clear this out.

Cheers

Julian

[DJT]

I think I'd rather drop the oil out in the traditional manner so that I can inspect the magnetic sump plug. As Chris says, you've still got to get underneath and change the filter, so nothing gained really..........

[NickA]

These sort of things are widely used in dealerships on new cars and seem to work ok. That said, there probably isn't too much muck and debris build up in a new engine and so they're fine to use in them.

However, I'd be a little cautious with older engines as muck can build up and I think that a proper drain is more likely to clear this out.

Cheers

Julian

I assume that why "moderns" have the oil filter at the top of the engine so no need to crawl underneath for an oil & filter change or is that too simple a view?

[V Mad]

I assume that why "moderns" have the oil filter at the top of the engine so no need to crawl underneath for an oil & filter change or is that too simple a view?

I didnt know that. But my 1964 Sunbeam Tiger has an oil filter that is accessed from the top, in the engine bay. Its a remote mounting which you could apply the same principal to any car eg the Stag (and fit an oil cooler at the same time).

[milothedog]

Similar to the general principle applied in the Bus and Coach industry now, If you look at a Bus next time your stuck in the traffic you'll notice that all the level checking and refilling points are on the O/S this is the result of development to prevent accidents in the depot's where staff have been crushed in between them in the past. Battery boost points are also inside the vehicle to make road side assistance safer.

Ian,

[richard w]

These sort of things are widely used in dealerships on new cars and seem to work ok. That said, there probably isn't too much muck and debris build up in a new engine and so they're fine to use in them.

However, I'd be a little cautious with older engines as muck can build up and I think that a proper drain is more likely to clear this out.

Cheers

Julian

That's what I think too. I've seen too much sludge come out of the drain plugs of old engines over the years. Think I'll stick with doing it the old-fashioned way.

Richard

[Escape]

I too would never use it on an engine I care about. It's fine to speed up services in a dealership, especially with most modern cars having a bottom cover that has to be removed and takes considerable time.
When I do a service, the first thing on the list is opening the sump. I then let it drip until ready to refill, so I'm sure as much old oil gets out as possible. When you use a pump, you must make sure the engine is properly warmed up, so the oil is liquid enough, but that also means there is a larger portion still in the heads etc making it's way down.
When working on a Rover V8 in the past I was always surprised how much oil remained in the sump when I took it off, even though it had been drain as best as possible. I can't imagine a suction pump being more effective, a lot will depend on the exact location where the tube ends.

Filip

[Stag therapy]

I assume that why "moderns" have the oil filter at the top of the engine so no need to crawl underneath for an oil & filter change or is that too simple a view?

I can only speak from personal knowledge of two cars. My Golf (MkIV) has the filter accessible from the top of the engine. My daughter's Polo which is less than 12 months older has the filter accessible only from the underneath and it's a knuckle grazing job.

[jleyton]

I assume that why "moderns" have the oil filter at the top of the engine so no need to crawl underneath for an oil & filter change or is that too simple a view?

That reminds me of an incident when I was a mechanic many, many moons ago

Because our (Rover/Triumph) dealer was so busy we had what was called a quick service 'flowline' ramp. The ramp had walkways all around the car and one mechanic went up with the car to do the 'above' jobs, whilst another stayed underneath doing the underside jobs.

Of course, there was the occasion when 'above' mechanic filled the engine oil before the 'underside' mechanic had undone the sump plug - very messy when he did

We also had a Land Rover come in with transfer box problems. Upon opening it up it was found to be going rusty. Turned out that 'underside' mechanic had, correctly, drained the box. 'Above' mechanic had forgotten to fill it

It may have made things quicker but there was a lot to be said for one person doing everything !

Cheers

Julian

[torque2me]

That reminds me of an incident when I was a mechanic many, many moons ago

Because our (Rover/Triumph) dealer was so busy we had what was called a quick service 'flowline' ramp. The ramp had walkways all around the car and one mechanic went up with the car to do the 'above' jobs, whilst another stayed underneath doing the underside jobs.

Of course, there was the occasion when 'above' mechanic filled the engine oil before the 'underside' mechanic had undone the sump plug - very messy when he did

We also had a Land Rover come in with transfer box problems. Upon opening it up it was found to be going rusty. Turned out that 'underside' mechanic had, correctly, drained the box. 'Above' mechanic had forgotten to fill it

It may have made things quicker but there was a lot to be said for one person doing everything !

Cheers

Julian

Yeah, but I still managed to "fill up" a 2.5 without replacing the sump plug. Never did get it to the Top fill mark on the dipstick and for some odd reason the concrete floor became slippy.

Kev

[jleyton]

Yep, but at least your concrete never went rusty

Cheers

Julian

[MissMoppet]

You still have to get down and dirty to change the filter you might as well drain the sump at the same time.

Not had to do it yet but on my RV8 (10A engine) the filter looks accessible enough to get it off without ramping and crawling. And, just a thought, presumably if it can vaccuum up it will take off any sludge better than relying on conventional gravity. And as most of us do modest mileages I would hope the filter would have done its stuff anyway.

[Jeff]

These sort of things are widely used in dealerships on new cars and seem to work ok. That said, there probably isn't too much muck and debris build up in a new engine and so they're fine to use in them.

However, I'd be a little cautious with older engines as muck can build up and I think that a proper drain is more likely to clear this out.

Cheers

Julian

So only having done under a 1000 miles since a full re build 4 years ago, is mine a new engine, a new old engine or an old engine?

I would class an old engine as one that had done at least 70,000 miles.

Jeff.