Oil change drain pan

[tommy583]

Anyone that does their own oil changes on these cars knows how fast the oil comes out. They also know the large amount of oil these cars have in them. I have tried a few different catch pans in the last few years. The one that worked out the best so far is a 15QT pan I modified with a bigger hole and some wire mesh. The main problem with this pan how full it is when i'm done. It makes it hard to pour the old oil back into the jugs without making a mess. Well I picked up this new 16QT pan from walmart the other day. I haven't used it yet, but this looks like it will work like a charm.

16qt Oil Drain Container - Walmart.com

This is the old pan I used
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/flotool-15-quart-drain-container-11838mi/9017658-P?navigationPath=L1*14924%7CL2*15045%7CL3*16237

[Pdwight]

I have that same pan from Wally World and it works pretty good. I recently got a Mityvac evacuator from my wife as a gift, I have not tried it on the Boxster yet...but it worked so well on my E36 I can see it as my goto from now on involving removing liquid from "Things"

http://www.zoro.com/mityvac-fluid-evacuatorbrake-bleeder-pneumatic-07300/i/G0973174/?gclid=CjwKEAiAmeyxBRCJxoKk7IWLl2oSJABvZjhh5dWFZy5 vbXdF4gA07hePNF3TnZknQxr6k3trP6ljCBoC9Tnw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[steved0x]

I've got that same one, just recently got it, haven't used it yet. Looks nice, I will change my oil in a few weeks and report back unless you beat me to it

[rfuerst911sc]

That oil inlet hole looks like it may be too small to allow the oil to flow fast enough into the container before the level overflows the top. Hopefully that is not the case. I just use a conventional open oil container, it easily has taken oil from 911's , 914's , my diesel truck which have all contained 10 - 12 quarts per pop.

[Joe B]

I've had both of those containers for my F-250 diesel truck that holds 15 qts. of oil. I have the 15 qt. round one and the 16 qt. square one. I've had problems with the caps on both. The pour cap that you use to drain the oil from the round one leaked. They sent me several replacement caps. They all leaked too. On the 16 qt. square pan, the vent cap constantly pops open by itself. Poor moldings. I'm going to contact FloTool about that issue too. They need to get their act together.

No problem with overflow though .

[mikesz]

I have the 15qt round from walmart. works fine for me but I undo the drain cap so the air can escape I also usually put a piece of cardboard underneath cause you do get some splash. You gotta open the drain spout so air can escape or the oil wont flow into the drain pan fast enough and it will overflow. I don't drain back into the jugs I just take the black container to the landfill and empty it.

[tommy583]

Originally Posted by steved0x

I've got that same one, just recently got it, haven't used it yet. Looks nice, I will change my oil in a few weeks and report back unless you beat me to it

Unfortunately I'll probably beat you too it. I'll be doing my going to sleep for the winter oil change in the next few days

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Pdwight

I have that same pan from Wally World and it works pretty good. I recently got a Mityvac evacuator from my wife as a gift, I have not tried it on the Boxster yet...but it worked so well on my E36 I can see it as my goto from now on involving removing liquid from "Things"

Mityvac Fluid Evacuator/Brake Bleeder, Pneumatic 07300 | Zoro.com

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.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by mikesz

I have the 15qt round from walmart. works fine for me but I undo the drain cap so the air can escape I also usually put a piece of cardboard underneath cause you do get some splash. You gotta open the drain spout so air can escape or the oil wont flow into the drain pan fast enough and it will overflow. I don't drain back into the jugs I just take the black container to the landfill and empty it.

If you need to control oil splash during draining's, buy a short section (6 inches or so) or a 4-6 inch diameter PVC pipe, then drill about a dozen or so 1/4 diameter holes around the circumference of one end. Set the pipe in your drain pan, but not over the actual drain opening, and allow the oil to drop into the pipe and then run out into the pan itself; any splash with be retained inside the pipe.

[lkchris]

Extractors are the way to go, but the car has to be designed for it.

The Boxster isn't.

Most of the cars designed for this have oil filter easily accessed from the top, too. Again, the Boxster doesn't. Somewhat the nature of mid and rear engine configurations, perhaps.

FYI, the extractors used at a Mercedes dealership don't involve a tube down the dipstick tube, but rather a tight seal at the top of the dipstick tube. Better, but more expensive and not universal.

When the car is designed for it and the equipment is good, extractors get all the oil out.

[Joe B]

FWIW, I just spoke with FloTool, and they are aware of the leakage issues, and are going to send me several replacement vent caps. I hope they work better than the original one !

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by Joe B

FWIW, I just spoke with FloTool, and they are aware of the leakage issues, and are going to send me several replacement vent caps. I hope they work better than the original one !

Let me know what you find out. I own the 15 quart round one, but would prefer the 16 quart one as it looks easier to drain. But if the vent cap is no good (same thing is a problem on my 15) I'd like to know there is a remedy before purchase.

[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 .

[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.

[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.

[Frodo]

After getting the Box I picked up one of the round 15 qt pans described above. It's worked pretty well for me with one huge exception. One of the first times I used it I accidentally dropped the hot oil drain plug from the car into the opening in the center of the catch pan. Needless to say it quickly overflowed---I ended up with a small sea of used motor oil (maybe 5' in diameter?) on the middle of the drive way. First thing I did (after spending at least an hour cleaning up the mess) was to get my electric drill with my 1/2" bit and drilled maybe 8-10 holes in the top surface of the catch pan. Never had that problem again. And yeah, opening the cap of the pour-off spout helps by allowing air out---I do that too.

I don't have problems with leakage because I always just pour it off into containers (the 5-qt oil jugs or, sometimes, gallon milk jugs) for recycling. Don't like keeping the stuff around---I move it out pretty quickly. I have a dedicated dirty-oil funnel and spillage is minimal. I work over newspaper or cardboard to catch the minor drips.

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

If you need to control oil splash during draining's, buy a short section (6 inches or so) or a 4-6 inch diameter PVC pipe, then drill about a dozen or so 1/4 diameter holes around the circumference of one end. Set the pipe in your drain pan, but not over the actual drain opening, and allow the oil to drop into the pipe and then run out into the pan itself; any splash with be retained inside the pipe.

That's a pretty good idea, I may try that. I've accomplished more or less the same thing by cutting a milk gallon jug in half and inserting the neck of the opening into the opening in the oil catch-pan. Works pretty well, but is a bit less elegant than your solution.

Originally Posted by mikesz

I don't drain back into the jugs I just take the black container to the landfill and empty it.

Geez, Really?? That really wreaks havoc with ground water...you really should be going to the trouble (and it's not really all that much trouble) of recycling the stuff.

[JFP in PA]

Instead of dump oil into the environment, if you do not have a recycling outlet nearby, check with some of your local repair shops as many of them heat their buildings using used oil burning heat systems. They will happily take your used oil in order to stay warm this winter.