Draining Oil Through Filler Tube

[Mike A]

I would like to stick to a 25 hr oil change regimen, however with the challenges that removing the lower cowl on a 231 by yourself presents, this time frame seems to always stretch closer to the 50 hr mark and a full oil and filter change.  

 

Has anyone experimented with using a fluid extractor device (http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/multi+fluid+extractor.do?code=FROOGLE&gclid=CKWMj4zytMACFWoR7Aod4CAAFQ) through the oil filler tube to drain their oil?  Does anyone see why this would not work well with our engines?

[chrisk]

I have not done this, but I suspect you could attach a drain tube to your quick drain without removing the lower cowl.   Maybe by disconnecting a cowl flap? 

[The-sky-captain]

I have not done this, but I suspect you could attach a drain tube to your quick drain without removing the lower cowl.   Maybe by disconnecting a cowl flap?

Yes you can, I've done it several times.

[DonMuncy]

I know this isn't responding to your question, but that won't help a lot. You need to change your filter as well, and the lower cowl has to come off for that. But it really isn't difficult to remove and replace the lower cowing. I did it this morning by myself on my 231, It takes about 10 minutes to take it off and about 15 or 20 to replace. PM me or call me and I will give you a hand.

[chrisk]

After thinking about this a bit more, what are you really saving.  Just a little bit of time and the cost of a filter (and associated mess).   As for removing the cowl.   I've not done that by myself either.   However, I think I could without to much trouble.  When pulling it off, I use a pneumatic shop stool under the cowl.  It makes it easy to move and only lets it drop an inch or two.

 

With that said, my wife (and helper) encouraged me to take the plane to the shop for it's next oil change.  It was a 100 degree day, so it was hot in the hanger.  And I guess she got tired of my 3 attempts to get the safety wire right on the oil filter.   Of course, I am a little OCD when it comes to this sort of thing.  Close enough is not good enough! 

[BillC]

Mike,

I used a similar pump when changing the oil on my boat. There was no other choice. But for the Mooney, I want the oil to drain overnight so I came up with this idea. Like chrisk, I also use a stool to support the lower cowl during removal. I found an office chair someone was throwing out and took the back off it. It has no arms so it slides under the cowl perfectly. The idea came out of necessity when I found I was the only one at the airport. (Guess I'm the only retired airport bum there). You will find it very easy to do after you do it once or twice. Don't forget to disconnect /connect the landing light wires like I have. lol.

[Mike A]

Thank you everyone for the feedback, however I think that the question got a little corrupted:

 

I get the need to change the oil filter, which I try to do every 50 hours or 6 months, which ever comes first.  In between those times, I am trying to keep fresh oil in the sump and was looking for a clean and easy way to just extract the oil from the plane without having to take apart the cowlings.  I have tried to do the easy access through the cowl flap with limited success, both with attaching tubing directly to the drain and using a funnel below it.  The drain is located in close proximity to the engine mount and various tubing which makes access not as simple.

 

Like has been mentioned here, I use a taken apart desk chair attached to some 2x6's to help me with the lower cowl (the chair doesn't articulate high enough to reach the cowling on its own, hence the 2x6s).  Even with the helping hand, it is still a massive hassle.  I always manage to get it caught on the gear travel indicator on the front and end up taking it on and off multiple times.  Also, using Don's time estimates, removing the lower cowling adds 30 - 45 min of work to an oil change (not including cleaning up the cowl from my nasty oil hands after the work), a lot of times which I don't really have.

 

The appeal of the fluid extractor is that it seems to be the simplest, no mess way to get the oil out.  The process is used by some high end car companies during their oil changes (or at least that's what Sky Mall told me at one point).

[MB65E]

http://www.autohausaz.com

They make/have a nice one for about $135. A lot of the Bmw's and Benz have the cartridge filters on top of the engine so an extractor just makes sense. There is no need to even jack or ramp the car anymore. I'd be remotely worried about not getting all the crud out of the oil pan, but I guess if you do it often and fly often, there won't be much there.

-Matt

[Mike A]

This is what I am actually looking at purchasing for the task:

 

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_390306_390306

[orionflt]

Mike, 

there are no issues pulling the oil from the dipstick tube. the only thing you will find is that you will not get out all of the oil but since you are only looking to refresh the oil not do a complete change it wont be a problem.

 

Brian

[Mike A]

So just to give everyone an update, today at lunch I decided to head over to Northern Tools and pick up the oil drain above and then went over to the plane and performed a 45 minute oil change replacement!  It seems to have worked great and after I got the feel for getting the "probe" tube down the dipstick hole and to the bottom of the sump it appears to have gotten the vast majority of the 6.5 quarts remaining out with no problem!  7 quarts in yielded +/-7 quarts on the dipstick.

 

Here was the rundown of how long it took me:

 

10 min initial inspection and oil warmup

20 min oil drain (while this was going on i took the time to knock out a few issues that had been lingering - added bonus)

10 min oil filling

5 min oil pressure test and cleanup

 

I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for an easier way to perform 25 hr oil replacements.  Once you get the feel for how the tube interacts down the dipstick tube and into the sump it is easy to maneuver it around to get all (or almost all) the oil.

[David Mazer]

If this is a hand pump, how is it you knocked out other issues during the draining process?

[Mike A]

It uses a hand pump to create a standing vacuum in the collection container.  You use a pinch fitting up to seal the line off while you create the vacuum and as soon as you release the pinch oil starts flowing.  There were a couple times when the oil flow slowed down due to loss of the vacuum, but all you do then is pinch the line back off and pump it 10-15 more times and release it.  It really worked great.  Besides putting it together, it was about 2 minutes of actual "work" to get the oil out.