How is this extractor holding up after 6 years? Are the seals still good? Have they had to be replaced. Trying to decide if I should get that or one of the plastic ones on Amazon
I have used my topsider at least 6 or 7 times. It draws 6 quarts in less than 10 minutes. After the initial 30 pumps, it gets most of the oil before losing suction. I pump it another 15 times or so and that will get the rest. You can't go wrong with pumping it a few more times after it gargles just to get everything. I also use it to pump the little amount of oil in the filter housing. I would change my oil any other way!
I may aswell just do it the old way because the pan is going to have to be down there for the oil filter. This is really only a good idea for vehicles with a filter located like this one.
Thanks for this video! I just got mine today, and i'm about to use it on my C300 4Matic. Your tips about getting the last of the oil out are going to be very helpful!
I was disappointed with mine. I had to keep pumping to get the oil out and it took forever. I put oil on the 2 seals and could not get the initial suction needed to remove the oil. I'm sure the problem is that the seals were leaking, and I think it was the thin cheap rubber that they use. I bought some higher quality seals, but should I have had to? Also the pump mechanism is wobbly and I doubt that it will operate for more than a few changes. The union of the two tubes was not possible so in general while I like the idea, the completed product leaves much to be desired. And for what it is ( a gas can and and a cheap "bilge" pump) it is very expensive.
Thanks for the informative video. I'm about to do the same on my Audi for the first time and for once I can say I'm actually excited to change my oil. Ingenuity is a great thing😁😁😁
I appreciate your video, and the honesty of not replacing the drain plug. I hate to admit, I have done the same thing. The idea of the magnets is great
Thank you for your comment. I could not let that one go and had to include the experience in the video. The shock that came with the realization that the drain plug was not installed was very real to me. Lucky for us (we) never removed the drain plug to begin with.
For Mercedes owners choices are few for extractor pumps that will hold the equivalent of the crankcase. You are correct when you say draining the oil from the bottom of the engine does not drain all eight quarts on the M272 engine. I have measured the amount both ways to verify this. But the Topsider does remove all eight quarts.
@@swn69 I've always changed the oil and waxed my own vehicles. I feel like it's when you really get in touch with the machine. It's a very satisfying feeling. And I just don't trust other people to give it the care I would.
I too have long given up fixating on getting every bit of oil out of the engine. The ease of getting the oil out will encourage you to change your oil more often anyway!
Actually, I do not recommend this item. Keeping the vacuum on the device requires constant attention. The gaskets do not seal very well and that is a major problem and pulling the oil out takes from 20 to 30 minutes of constant attention.
I used this yesterday. I like it. I had a gasket sealing issue around the base of the tube cap. I was able to put some grease around the base and that solved the problem instantly, took about 15min for me since my oil had cooled.
@@ahmettanriverdi5238 Don't remember. Pretty sure it wasn't hot, never change oil hot. I actually ended up switching to a $30 electric pump off Amazon. The motorized one is smaller too, maybe the size of a 1 liter bottle. It clamps to the battery terminals, you just need a bucket 🪣 to dispose of the oil and recycle ♻️ 🛢️ I think, b/c I was having issues, it got cold towards the end. When I thought it was done, I ended up pouring new oil in. I kept extracting, then the new oil sucked a little more old oil out. It was bone dry. Just get the generic $30 oil pump from Amazon, way less hassle and mess. The metal one needs a better cap and gaskets.
What I do takes a while. After emptying the container, I have the hose elevated and let gravity do the work overnight and put the whole thing away the next day.
Unless you oil the rubber gaskets, its impossible to get the vacuum required to empty engine fluid reservoirs. I just did my transmission and it was a giant fail until I put 10w/30 on the rubber gaskets. then it worked fairly well but still had to pump to maintain vacuum.
Thank you for your comments. I will make sure the oil fill and oil filter cap is off before starting my next oil change. I agree with you, I would not change my oil any other way.
They are easy to put together and use but be observant of the rubber gasket locations. It does not work if they aren't placed correctly. They also seem to work better after a few uses.
Pros of the Topsider: 1) Solid piece of equipment, metal>plastic 2) Inexpensive 3) No jacking or ramping of vehicle required--safer 5) Minimizes contact with liquids, which can burn or be corrosive to skin 4) No skid plate/engine splash guard removal required 5) Less mess/spillage from catch pan placement errors, wind blown fluids and catch pan to recycling container transfers 5) Removes more liquids than gravity 6) Easier cleanup between liquid types Cons of Topsider: 1) No way to gauge how much liquid you've extracted short of weighing the extractor before and after liquid extraction or pouring liquids from the extractor into a measuring container which introduces potential for spillage 2) Takes longer than gravity draining, especially with cold and/or viscous fluids 3) Tubing can collapse if liquid is too hot or vacuum is overdone slowing or preventing extraction 4) Omits assessment of the undercarriage and replacement of the oil drain plug or cleaning of the drain plug magnet of any collected metal particles. All in all, IMO, advantage extraction method. The Topsider extractor is particularly attractive if you will be using this method.
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a well thought out comment. My biggest problem going forward into newer vehicles is that they do not have a dip stick and the fill height is electronically monitored. Oh well ... Back to the Future.
@@A_Renaissance_Man I did find if the oil is too warm the plastic tube will collapse & man it takes forever. But if I keep a strong vacuum, I can usually get 8 quarts out in no time. I wonder if you have a seal issue causing it to have weak vacuum? I also found that you can find the correct size in like copper tubing, to replace the plastic one that goes down the dipstick tube & collapse will never again be an issue. And it fits into the larger hose & gasket just fine. I do this on my classic Mercedes. Empties 8 quarts in no time. :)
Now that I have performed this task several times, I can say that removing the cap makes no difference. However, draining and waiting for the oil to stop dripping is about the same amount of time; no faster, no slower, but definitely easier.
If you're picky about getting as much old oil out as possible (like me), when it's done pumping, add another 1/2 quart of new oil and pump it out, that should flush out any remaining dirty oil. That's how I do the drain plug method. I am intrigued by the pump method though.
I did see a RU-vid video where the viewer was shown how the oil is scavenaged out by the hose. I thought it was one of Scotty Kilmer's videos but I am not sure. The only problem is the vacuum is a blind job, so that makes conformation of complete removal extremely difficult.
Hmm I'm thinking about getting this but I have some questions. When you are done with this can what do you use to clean the inside of the can and how do you clean the tubes? Do you leave the pump and hose clamps on the can once you are done or leave them out? I've heard a lot of people having trouble with the gaskets not sealing properly to get a good suction. One youtuber said used water or spit to lubricate the gasket but the manual that I downloaded from the mfg website said use motor oil. Not sure which one to go with and I'm worried about the longevity of the gaskets. They are 9.00 bucks from the mfg for both gaskets.
Since I have only used oil, I have not cleaned out the can to use for, let's say, coolant. I remove the pump and only attach the pump when needed. The hoses are hung up to drain into a catch pan and gravity cleans them out very well, almost like new. The gaskets are crap and I would recommend fashioning your own. Mine fall out all the time but they do seal - no issues for me there. The vacuum line to the tank was replaced with thicker specific vacuum hose to prevent collapsing. Overall I like this system. I would recommend this product but better gaskets and vacuum hose are needed to upgrade the product to a more user friendly state.
Instead of using their clamp off bracket I would use a 1/4 inch shut off valve. I use an EZ oil drain valve that replaces the oil drain plug. It looks like a shut off valve. All you do is open the valve ( I install a clear plastic tube on the end of the valve) and the oil will flow right into the container. When the container is about full all you do is turn the valve off and put another container under the valve then continue on. No stripping the oil plug that is in the oil pan. I use one gallon milk cartons to drain the oil into. I tried an oil extractor and IMHO there was not enough suction to really suck the oil out it took way too long to do it. To really test this unit to see if it really gets and more oil out would be to drain the oil out the old fashion way by removing the plug from the oil pan. Then after draining stick the tube down into the dip stick as you would to see if it gets any more oil out. Then as a final test take the tube and put it into the drain plug hole and see if any more oil comes out that way. I would be interested to see what results you get doing that.
I have one of these suckers and I liked it, notice that liked is past tense. within a year the pump stopped sucking, I tried to fix it by putting some oil in it but that didn't work either, nice tank, where do I get a new pump? My new car doesn't have a dipper stick, not even a tube for a dipstick, so it ain't gonna work anyhows. I have some garden implements that some idiot designed so that you can't access the drain plug and this was real handy when it worked. In most cases you need to run the engine before using this to heat up the oil.
The main problem I have is with the seal. Make sure you have gaskets on both caps and they are sealing correctly. That is my biggest problem with this. I replaced the vacuum hose from the cap to the smaller line and those issues were resolved. The flexibility is much better. I bought the vacuum hose from amazon after taking measurements.
I have seen multiple videos and they all say to heat up the engine to make the oil flow easier, But isnt motor oil different from other liquids, it is thicker when warm. thus the reading of 0-40W or 10-40w. are you making it harder?
Kathy Bonadonna No. It doesn’t get thicker a 0w-40 just doesn’t thin out below what a 40 weight oil would at operating temps, yet it is still thinner than at cold temperatures. Say for example the 0w-40 is at 1100 cSt at -20° C and 15 cSt at 100°C while a straight 40 might be at 25,000 cSt at -20°C but the same 15 cSt at 100°. Neither of them get thicker when warm the multigrade just doesn’t thin below the viscosity rating of the second number at operating temperatures.
I use my topside all the time for transmission and engine oil. I have the engine and transmission at operating temperature and then the vacuum process is quick.
I have one of these and I find myself constantly having to pump to get "all" the oil out. It's a workout and a half, not nearly as easy as claimed by reviewers on Amazon. At least your review shows you having to play around with the hose and repumping. Also, you're in a nice cool garage, when you outside in the summer and doing this...it kind of sucks, no pun intended, but it will eventually get the job done.
Thank you for your comment. I am getting better at this. If the instructions are followed exactly, the initial charge of 30 pumps seems to remove the oil down to the end of the dipstick in 15-20 minutes. Then scaviging the remainder takes another 10 minutes with several 10 pump charges in between. I do like this better than getting under the car and the quality of the can is excellent.
I did that on my Boat, My Toyota Tacoma I haft to remove the Rock Shield to change the oil filter. it only take 15 min to change oil on my truck no need for jack stand
Very disappointed. My Topsider is taking for ever, even when I inserted the pipe only about one inch into the oil level. It's been half an hour and I'm still waiting for it to gurgle. I thought I'd missed the gurgle, but when I tried pumping it, there is still a lot of vacuum.
David Prokity with the multiple jars and interchangeable lids and the use of larger carboys or similar containers it just gives you a lot of options and the ability to know exactly how much you extract. Thanks for the comment!
