Oil Extractor vs Drain Plug - Does the Easy Oil Change Work? 

If the oil filter is on top of the engine (most German cars) then the car was designed to use an oil extractor and it will extract nearly all of the oil. If you tip the car towards the side of the car where the dipstick is located you can get a little more.

Just used the extractor to change the oil on my Jaguar XF 3.0D. Exact 6.6 liter out. 6.6 liter in . No problem at all. Jaguar dealer use extractor too.

From a mechanic, use a more Rigid hose and feel for the bottom of the pan if you want to extract it once it starts making slurping noises feel around the bottom of the pan with the hose, but extracting it is only really worth it if the filter is on top

So glad I saw this video. I thought I was going mad because I only extracted 5L from my BMW 635d after an hour of pumping! So I drained it through the sump plug and recovered another 3L! Looking at the size and shape of my oil sump and where the dipstick enters it makes sense that the tube never gets near the bottom. Be warned.

I have a 2014 MB E350 and I use an evacuator. This car takes about 7.5 Liters. That is about how much the evacuator removed. I pulled the plug and about 100 ML drained out. Even if you do the drain plug method, or evacuator, it is good to add about a 1/2 quart of clean oil to flush it out. This can be cheaper, but, new oil to use for flushing the remnant of the oil pan. If you look at the design of the oil pan, even pulling the plug will not drain all of the oil as there is an indentation to add the drain plug to the pan. Also, if you warm up the engine first, most of the sediment is 'stirred' up enough where you will get most of it in either method. Basically, it depends on the design of the oil pan, and can the tube reach the bottom of the oil pan for success.

I just used a small vacuum pump for my motorcycle since the oil plug is really inconvenient to access. That was such a clean and convenient oil change. I still got my 2.4L out, as the manufacturer stated. I think it depends on the oil pan design. Some are necessary to empty via the drain plug, some actually drain more thru the dip stick tube

I agree. With an extractor you're leaving the worst sludge, metal particles and other contaminants stuck in the bottom of the oil pan because that's where they sink when the engine is turned off. The fresh oil is just diluting all those contaminants so they can be re-circulated in your nice new oil and back into the engine. Older cars have more engine wear so the older they are the more you need to remove all of the contaminants. You're trading efficiency for speed and convenience. That could come back to bite you in your bumper.

I overfilled by accident, so extracting the extra bit I overfilled with this pump really helped

Thanx. Very informative. I have always been changing oil by the old school “ drain plug” method but recently bought an extraction pump from Lidl - an impulse buy . I think after watching your video I will do both methods together 😎👍👍👍

Good lad. Just saved me a few quid. I'll just need to get under the engine bay, old skool style.

well done, I always knew the lazy way was the wrong way , also the magnetic plug shows you any trouble you might have, finally heat up the copper washer to red hot to anneal it and save yourself a few quid......

Congratulations for hitting 5k, am so happy. You really deserve more than 1 million subs 😄😄

This actually depends on your engine. My Honda Pilot engine reach the very bottom. But I had a Ford Explorer where an extractor was an absolute no go.

thank you , saved me buying the extractor machine in the first place .

Thank You for this video.....very logical approach.....

Depends on the model and technique. There may be some sumps with lower areas then what the extractor tube can reach. On both my current vehicle and previous vehicle the extractor removed as many litres of oil as is specified as the sump capacity in the vehicle specs. Good enough for me. You have to warm the engine first, and when you have drained the sump, wait another ten minutes for any oil that was elsewhere in the works to settle, then suck out some more.

Fun fact. We own a diesel SmartCar, which doesnt have a drain plug and never has. You are suppose to take them to Mercedes (who own Smart) and they use an electric extractor (basically just like this extractor, but you dont have to pump it manually). So on some vehicles it's a must. It's not about which is better. There's a time and a place for both methods. As someone stated in the comments below. Some cars have raised sump plugs, which don't allow all the oil to come out anyway. An extractor would actually remove more oil than the plug. I'd also like to add. I use one a lot on machinery. For example commercial mowers, they aren't designed like cars, and engines and such are often in awkward locations. So instead of a drain plugs, they come with brass taps and other arrangements, which seize up or fail after a year or two, and cannot be removed. Plus you carry out the oil changes so regularly on machinery, I don't lose sleep over getting every last drop, an oil change is better than no oil change. There is no 'best way'. They best way is to make sure the oil change gets done full stop. I would use a drain plug if perfectly possible, but an extractor is another useful tool in the tool box.

Thanks for the video! I'm gonna bypass the oil extractor.

Of you want to get it all out you need to make sure you add some of that fresh stuff in your case. Some engines need that others don’t. Mixed results all the time. All in all should take off the plug and replace the ring anyway. This is mainly I think personally to change your oil more often with cleaner fluid.

Thank yoiu. I was wondering if they worked.

Great video, thanks. I was looking for an easy/clean way to change the oil without having to jack up the car so was about to buy an extractor pump. Im glad I watched this! Sump drain it is...

It depends on the engine tank of each car, and also the inlet tube size. For most European cars, extracting oil works well. But yet to see other car models. Also the inlet tube size matters as big size prevents you from reaching bottom of a tank, while smaller size reaches bottom, but may effect extracting speed. Also someone actually studied some Bens-Mercedes engine tank, and found that extracting oil pulls more oil than traditional plug-drain method, as the plug locates above the bottom, and cannot drain some good size of oil, while the inlet tube can reach bottom, and thus extracts more oil. Hope more people can show how the extracting method works on Japanese models.

I’ve found you’ll get virtually all the oil if you leave the engine oil cap closed it’s better for the suction when using this method,also when you hear slurping move the pipe right down towards front of oil pan (you’ll feel what I mean when doing the process) I found doing it this way I only left 60 ml of old oil,in my opinion you are always best to drain oil from the sump plug

Very informative. Good video Thanks!

Most things in life are simple if you're shown how to do it correctly 👍🏾

Someone recommended this product to me. So my immediate question can it get all the oil out. I found the answer. Thanks

You did it wrong😂😂😂 all other users extract all of the oil except less than a 1/4 cup.

Tip 1: wait 5 minutes after extraction, then do a 2nd pass. Should get all the remaining oil that way. Tip 2: be sure to insert the hose down as far as possible, then move up/down and check again. Mark the hose so you know how far to insert the next time.

Thank you for the helpful tip👍🙏

1 =USE RIGID PIE, 2 =MAKE SURE OIL IS HOT AS POSS, 3 =JACK FRONT OF CAR ON ONE SIDE SO TO TILT THE ENGINE OVER FOR BEST REULTS, 4 =WHEN U HEAR SLURPING NOISES WHEN ALMOST DONE PUSH PIPE TO BOTTOM OF SUMP MORE, 5 =EVERY 3RD OIL CHANGE DO IT WITH THE SUMP PLUG METHOD, THIS PUMP IS GOOD FOR DOING MORE REGULAR CHANGES, BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN DO THE CORRECT WAY.

I used one of these on my 2003 VW Passat, and it got most oil out, however, on my 2005 Corolla, it left 2 quarts. Must depend on how the engine & oil pan are designed. I've read that Mercedes dealerships only use the extractor method.

I was once an unbeliever in oil extractors until I used one. I use one to change oil on all my small engines as it is much faster, easier with less cleanup. When I'm finished extracting, I remove the drain plug and I might get a dribble out. (my lawn mower, nothing) It makes me wonder if small engines are actually designed for them.

Thank you for doing this video.

I have a 2015 A4 TDI. Use extractor then removed drain plug. Only around 150ml came out by drain plug

oil extraction works great on cars with oil filters that can be changed without going under the car like the EA888

Great job 👍 you helped me and o Betty

I used and extractor then opened the drain plug. Not a single drop left. Did it 3 times before I felt comfortable that it does get all the oil. However I used a electric oil extractor. They are cheaper too.

I bought an oil extractor, used it once, and put it away. Like you I found that I couldn't get all the oil out. The other problem - I still had to get under the car to remove the oil filter which pretty much defeated the purpose of getting it in the first place

This is a good video, well done. My maintenance manual though suggests using a pump. (Mercedes) so my take on it would be to go with the manufacturer recommendation. I accept though that might be because Mercedes want folks to go to a dealer and pay through the nose for an oil change via the sump plug. Personally I can see benefit in using a pump because I can change the oil twice a year using the pump method in the knowledge that my oil is better than leaving it a year. What do you think?

n my clk 200 I sucked almost 6 liters and the engine should be 5.5 so in my opinion it gives advice with frequent changes there is no point playing in draining oil from the bowl traditionally

Don’t know how missed this Richard.

All Marine engines use an oil extraction system .

Best to do oil changes yourself as not only you know its been emptied properly but you also know that your putting the correct oil in. Only downside is when you take your car for a service you need to remember to tell them not to do an oil change

Audi with out a drain plug use the extractor until you can’t get any more oil then loosen your oil filter then extract don’t take your oil filter off all the way you will hear a empty noise .. if you don’t loosen it first and take the filter off you will get a big mess .. really helps

still some left w/'plug removal' method. Will U use the "drop pan/scrape its sump" method? May B... but the same methodical approach is used when figuring best use of 'extraction' method. It is not worthless~

Pump works perfectly fine with my ford focus tdci 2.0 takes out what the oil capacity everytime

Use the ones with metallic tube, like the pela 6000 Tested it on 3 Ford (orion, fiesta, puma) and a 1.7 diesel astra. Took out the exact factory oil capacity.

It seems that it would help if towards the end (when you start hearing sucking noises), you close the oil cap tightly and try to cover tightly the top of the oil dipstick pipe where the plastic pipe goes in to avoid air going in and the vacuum can lift any remaining oil. You may want to try that and let us know.

Depends on which vehicule and the way you use it, i'm not sure that it was well used works fine on my 2010 E350 and 2004 C220

HI, I JUST BOUGHT AN ELECTRIC OILEXTRACTOR PUMP, WILL THAT GET ALL THE OIL OUT? THANKS

Thanks so much for this video, it's really helpful :)

One thing Oil Extractors are great for is just reducing the oil level if it was overfilled, when you don't need an oil change and just need to reduce the amount in the engine they are perfect

Not to mention if there's still oil in the bottom and whomever thinks it's empty then go to fill it up just to over fill it. Great video my Dude

Oil extractor gets all the oil out --- been there removed the sumps --- if any doubts just jack the car a little or use a slope.

I was about to buy that extractor pump thank you so much for this informative video I was thinking about the same thing you proved it To me

I may have overfilled my oil, but my car doesn't have a dipstick it's done via the measurement screen on the BMW system and says engine level ok. As a general question can you drain the excess oil via an extractor even though my car doesn't have a dipstick oil level? If that makes sense, Sorry may be a silly question. Thanks

Using this tool on a Honda outboard. Does removing the engine oil filler cap actually make it suck out faster?

the oil sludge remains inside the engine and also the metal dust trapped by the magnet

Hot engine, collection vessel under sump, remove drain plug without hot burning your hand. It is also important to fit a new oil filter element when you change the oil.

I would’ve said that you didn’t loosen the oil filter, but either way that was a lot of oil left in there.

It's definitely hit or miss. I work in a lube center. I prefer to use an extractor when it's a topside filter. I can get a car out in 10 minutes or less. If its a bottomside filter, there is not point in not draining Certain cars will evac all the oil, others it's very apparent when it cant

I can't pump and I can hear the wind blowing. What should I do? Where should I fix it?

FYI, don’t shove that tube too far. If it gets hung around one of the baffles, you’ll have to remove the oil pan to get it out. Don’t ask me why I know.

not entirely true, you have a better chance of extracting more residue via an extractor, than the drain plug. If the suction tubing is quite flexible you can twist and move it around a bit through the dipstick hole. Oil sumps can vary in its base shape and can have areas where oil will still be left in these 'ppcket spaces'.

I use an oil extractor for my lawn tractor and it works awesome 👍 I'm not going to use it on my vehicles, I'll remove the oil plug.

I hate to break it to you but even when you use the drain plug there will be a film of old oil over all of the engine internals so you will never get it all out. I am not sure how you manged to have so much left in, every other video is about 100ml. Maybe you werent on level ground or you had oil locked in the filter? There are many other advantages to extracting the oil, safety of not being under the car, its a lot cleaner etc etc. Most Mercedes dealerships in the uk extract the oil when they service their cars, this isn't a back street garage technique.

Does it only work on imports? Cause some idiots at an oil change place stripped the oil plug and put lock tight too!!!! I have a dodge durango. Please help!!!!!! I bought an oil extractor call "topsider" oil extractor

If your oil filter is at the top of eng3bay like Mercedes this saves heaps of time taking all the under body guards off

I think it is good idea to change even 75% of motor oil every few thousand km on your own and then do proper service in the garage/dealershop after mileage recommended cycle by the manufacturer.

Some (shity) garages (in the northern states) use an oil extractor to remove oil. because they are not real garages. do they change oil filter?

What about the oil left in the filter?

You haven’t done it correctly mate. Run the engine to temperature then extract through the dipstick. Leave for 5 mins undo the oil filter if it’s on top and run again. You’ll be left with barely 100ml. Works great on most VW group and Mercedes engines. Mercedes dealer uses the extraction method too…. Also remember that with the manual pump you have, you’ve gotta do quite a bit of pumping to get it all out.

Hi. I have a bmw 320d which has no dipstick so how would I extract the oil using the vacuum ?

So close to 5k 😁

I have a MERCEDES E Class 350 Bluetec Diesel. It's 3.0 litre V6. It takes 8 Litres. I've used the syphon pump on all my Mercedes. It's a Seally brand. The pump removes all the oil from the engine. All 8 litres. Used to always drop sump oil plug and change washer. Don't bother now. All my mercedes have been V6 petrol and diesel. The sump plugs are a nightmare to get to. Especially E Class and GLE. I really do recommend the pump for Mercedes. Hope this helps someone. 😊

Very useful, but which method should i use for my Tesla?

I bought that Mityvac style unit. Here's what happened: All of this started due to not wanting to go to the dealer in the thick of the Pandem. So I Purchased the Mityvac 7201 Manual Fluid Evacuator Plus, right here on Amazon in May of 2020. It FAILED ...literally after only 1.5 oil changes, done on a babied, always garaged Benz, owned since new and always to that point Mercedes-Benz dealer serviced. After that first use, I cleaned and put the unit away in the box it came in and put said box into a pristine, enclosed, garage cabinet for storage after that first awful use-experience back in the spring of 2020 as outlined above. Pulled it out again for only the second use at the end of July, 2023. Already toootally dreaded it because of the bad memory of the first multi-hours-slow-as-molasses process of pumping, pumping, pumping only to see trickles of oil into the containment cylinder of the unit as reward for the insane, constant physical input and babying of the unit that is required, although following all of the instructions to a T. Yes, the whole process takes hours and hours on end... But, in a blatant violation of the proven "Life is too short" principle, I figured that the initial cost of this danged thing had to get "amortized" through DIY oil changes here and there instead of just taking the car to the dealer, since our model Benz is really too low for DYI oil changes in your own garage in the first place unless you want to deal with setting up ramps and working through the process of jack-stand positioning, and so on, which I've done on this car doing rotor/pad replacement, etc., where a crawl to take off covers underneath the car is not in the picture. (Speaking of DIY oil changes with this moronic unit: The other added negative is that since it's such a beast of a job due to this insanely badly designed and built unit as well as it's malfunction, you actually keep sorta' procrastinating. So ...the oil change keeps gettin' put off since you dread this horrible product so much. Again, for the second time I worked this stuuuupid, inferior, time-wasting unit in the most by-the-book pedantic and meticulous way imaginable - with professional tools and previous wrenching experience on cars and motorcycles to boot. Insult to injury/inconvenience/cost: I had to abort the second oil change right in the middle of it after having extracted just under 4 liters (4.23 U.S. Quart's) due to the pump or seal(s) failing, hence the "1.5 oil changes" comment. Checked all fittings and fasteners -- Nada! Am NOT about to waste even more life-cycles or dollars trying dissect and trouble shoot this disaster and/or rebuilding it with some kit. The unit is practically new for cryin' out loud - shouldn't need a "re-build." Hoooorribly slow, hoooorribly laborious, and hoooorribly poor quality. A total joke ...and the joke has been on many of us consumers - just read the negative, genuine reviews. Stay away - stay away - STAY AWAY! from this poorly made and poorly thought out "product" made you-know-where. And then they have the gall to state "quality controlled in the U.S.A." Yeah, my foot! 🙄 There - I paid it forward. Happy wrenching!

just imagine....there are shops that promote this practice.

Leave the oil plug open for one hour and see how much oil you will get out?! I leave the oil to drip for three hours or more.

This really depends on the car.

The decision between using an extractor or a drain pan should be made only after determining if the engine design has the dipstick tube located at the deepest part of the oil pan. Only if the manufacturer actually designed the engine for extractor oil changes would I choose the extractor method. Btw, you have to change the oil filter as part of an oil change, and most are accessed from the bottom. So if you have to get under the car to change the oil filter, there is no special reason I can think of to use an extractor to remove the old oil. If you are only trying to reduce the mess, I'd suggest adding a special drain plug with a valve (Fumoto makes and sells one such valve) that you can attach a small hose to and run the hose from the valve to a catch pan. IMHO oil extractors are great for reducing the mess of changing oil in things like lawn mowers and similar equipment. But for a car or truck, I'd stick with the old fashioned method.

I pull the plug when its hot and drain over night get every drop i can

How do you clean out the extractors after use?

Never seen anyone make such hard work of vacuuming oil out. And seriously, PUT SOMETHING ON THE GROUND BEFORE YOU SPILL OLD OIL WHEN POURING IT INTO THE EMPTY CONTAINER! It’s going to happen eventually. Then again your yard is a mess already. Many cars have dedicated vacuum tubes that are built into the engine, they go lower than the sump plug.

Whats the point of these oil extractors if you have a jack and jack stands. Maybe if you want to change your own oil and the extractors are cheaper then a jack but other than that I don’t see the point

The plastic tube does not melt?

I just summoned the avengers and got the hulk to shake it all out.

Oil extractors are for removing excess oil not for oil changes. At least that is what we use them for in the shop.

Why not do both?

0:47 did you mean to say hot or cold?

Some manufacturers recommend oil extractors - Audi s3 golf r recommend sucking the oil out rather than. Draining it

I've never seen more than 50ml come out in my experience over 15 years

I don't trust anyone to do my car apart from my indy Mercedes expert. I do the oil myself, my sump plug is slightly raised so this works wonders and clears it all out, all 8.5 litres. Pump for my car is ideal.

But don't you end up leaving behind bits of debris at the bottom when you just suck up the oil?

Is the machine save to use on water?

Depends where your oil filter is really, if you need to jack up to access the filter, then change it the sure way, remove the plug and don’t be lazy! Simples...

I use the oil extraction system to remove the contents of my nose.

Was your engine warm?

I will say one thing before using these. Make sure the car is sitting on level bit of ground. If not it will not drain most of the oil out. I've see people using it with the car sitting up half on a kerbside so not level and it doesn't pull half the oil out.

That's a shame, it'd be nice to change your oil on your driveway without any jacks