Had a bit of a trot just to terrify the locals on this Good Friday and returned to drain the nicely warmed oil. Whilst waiting for the near 2 gallons to dribble out I was reminded I was asked recently about modifications to my car and there is one I always forget to mention and that is the easy drain sump tap. A sprung bayonet type fitting that replaces the conventional sump plug so to drain is just twist & go. I bought it from a US vendor near 20 years ago - apparently it is the norm on aircraft engines which require similar regular oil changes. As well avoiding need for spanners to get the plug out and back in again, the sump plug thread in the alloy sump on the jag is soon mullered and this way there is no removal / refitting and wear on the thread or risk of stripping. The thread on the sump plug thread on our car is pretty marginal but this gizmo is fitted once with a good sealant and oil changing life is sooooooooo much easier. Having a spin on filter instead of the card element canister type is another headache solved. By the way, is it just me that sends a ‘chaser’ pint or so down as a bit of a flush before replacing filter and refilling?
I used to do the “chaser,” but that was back in the day when cars actually sludged-up.
I never saw that with modern oils and engines (1990-on): now, that one can go 10,000+ miles before a total change—and on toy cars where the oil is changed a lot—there’s no real need for the prefill flush.
I usually add a quart of tranny fluid or diesel and run it a few minutes before draining. if the oil is nasty, I will flush the block with diesel and oil. before adding good oil, I always start it and run 10-20 seconds to pump out the old. as for modern cars, just replaced the oil pump on a Taurus that had so much sludge, it plugged the pick up screen!
Yes…I send a “chaser” of oil in my cars. I have noticed that if you wait until the oil flow has reduced to a dribble and let it flow over something white…you notice a dark stream in the flow. Add the chaser and the flow increases as does the darker stream flow. I dunno what is in the darker section of oil flow…but it is something and I want it gone.
I normally wait for several mins to get to the dribble stage then do one or two chasers and have a cup of coffee before closing the sump up and refilling. Dunno if it makes any difference …
This is the second time in the last couple of days I have read anout adding diesel to the oil to clean out sludge. Never heard of it before. Is it an old school trick and is it a good idea to do with every oil change?
Is there a chance of dislodging stuff you don’t want to dislodge from the sludge traps on an older engine?
many argue it will dislodge crud only to plug something else. ive done it for 40 years but not all the time. mainly when oil changes have been neglected and don’t want any of it in my new oil. actually just did it to my sons car 15 minutes ago but it is well beyond ‘normal’ sludge. he had so much sludge that the oil pump pickup looked like a black dandelion. lasted one day and plugged again.
Back in the day—35+ years ago— I did it all the time, and learned it from my Dad, back from the days where sludging was a big concern.
Id use 1/2-1/2, oil-diesel, and it works a charm.
At high idle, with no load, it is harmless to the engine. Id use a new filter(if the car was equipped with a full-flow filter) then another, once the new oil was in it.
Very interesting idea of using a tap. Why didn´t Jaguar think of this, when they had those cute taps on the cyl block for the coolant, and on the rad with an extension column to the top and side of the rad…
Wonder where I could get a suitable tap, with the correct thread???
Tried on…didn’t like it. If the oil was smokin’ hot, it’d drain slowly: cold, and it took FOREVER. It always dribbled a bit.
This is one place overthinking overtakes the simpler, better solution.