Oil change drain pan

[Pdwight]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Two well known problems with these things:

1. They do not drain all the oil out of the sump.
2. The tubing that you insert into the dipstick tube (which many cars no longer even have) often gets caught on various things inside the sump, preventing its extraction. We just had another car flat bedded into the shop for this exact reason.

From experience, I am not a fan of these units, they cause more problems than they solve. If you cannot jack the car up to drain the oil properly, take it to someone that can.

It got all the oil out of my E36 , only a tiny trickle was left and that stopped in a couple of seconds

[tommy583]

Well the main difference between the pans is that the 16QT one seems to have way better seals on the caps. The 15QT seal on the pour spout is horrible. Also the hole for the oil to go into the pan is way to small and doesn't seal. I ended up making it bigger and covering it with wire mesh. The vent cap is the least of it's problems. The 16QT also can be stored on its end, that is if the seal in the pan part works.

I'll most likely be using it on Monday. I'll report my findings.

[Joe B]

Well, I've used it twice and I can report my findings: the hole in the middle for the oil to go in is big enough, and with a vent cap that won't stay closed, you won't be storing it on end, at least not when there's oil in it. The guy I talked to at FloTool said that the replacement vent cap would seal tighter. We'll see .

[tommy583]

Originally Posted by Joe B

Well, I've used it twice and I can report my findings: the hole in the middle for the oil to go in is big enough, and with a vent cap that won't stay closed, you won't be storing it on end, at least not when there's oil in it. The guy I talked to at FloTool said that the replacement vent cap would seal tighter. We'll see .

The 16QT one i'm talking about has the vent cap on the top if it's standing on end. Check the pic in the first link I posted. (the walmart link).

[tommy583]

I don't see how the vent cap leaking would even matter if I stored it like this. Not that I plan on storing oil in it anyway.

[Joe B]

Originally Posted by tommy583

The 16QT one i'm talking about has the vent cap on the top if it's standing on end. Check the pic in the first link I posted. (the walmart link).

Yup, that's the one I have. With 15 qts. of oil in it (from my diesel truck, not the Boxster), you don't want to stand it up when the vent cap won't stay closed, unless you don't plan to move it at all. And when you take it to the recycling location, the sloshing oil becomes a black geyser!

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by Joe B

Yup, that's the one I have. With 15 qts. of oil in it (from my diesel truck, not the Boxster), you don't want to stand it up when the vent cap won't stay closed, unless you don't plan to move it at all. And when you take it to the recycling location, the sloshing oil becomes a black geyser!

I have one of those oil containers that is easier to transport. I pour out of the drain container into that and it enables me to go longer between trips to advance auto parts to recycle. You could pour some into one of those if you're storing.

[tommy583]

Originally Posted by Joe B

Yup, that's the one I have. With 15 qts. of oil in it (from my diesel truck, not the Boxster), you don't want to stand it up when the vent cap won't stay closed, unless you don't plan to move it at all. And when you take it to the recycling location, the sloshing oil becomes a black geyser!

Ok I get what you are saying. Thankfully the car uses less oil then your truck. I just pour the oil out of the pan back into the jugs after i'm done. So hopefully the vent won't be an issue since I won't be using it for transport.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Pdwight

It got all the oil out of my E36 , only a tiny trickle was left and that stopped in a couple of seconds

Your E36 is not your M96.