Bummer
I wrote a few months ago about what a pain it is to change the oil in both my truck and in my wife's car and that I was going to invest in a device where you place a hose down the dip stick shaft and pump the oil out.
Yesterday I borrowed my brother's pump to see if it would work on our vehicles. It worked great on my wife's Subaru, but I couldn't get it to work on my truck. The problem is that I still needed to partially remove her skid plate to access the oil filter on the Subaru.
It is disappointing that I'll still have to crawl under both vehicles every couple months, but not so disappointing that I'll pay to have it done.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
5 Comments:
I'm a complete clummox when it comes to any sort of mechanical chores, so I usually take our vehicles to a competent mechanic. I saw one of those pumps in a sportmansguide catalog and thought "Hey, even I could do that!" So the next time I went for an oil change I paid more attention to where everything is. Turns out the oil filter in my truck is right up behind the front bumper. I mentioned that it wasn't really a good place for it and the mechanic said "Oh yeah. You even get into a fender bender and it will rupture the filter. Probably tear off the whole mounting. Stupid idea." Sigh. Who designs these things? Monkeys with dice?
I stopped changing my own oil in the late 1980s, in part because increasingly crowded engine compartments made this task difficult and knuckle-bloodying, but also because I got busier with more important things. Now that I'm an empty-nester and (theoretically) have a bit more spare time, I still delegate car maintenance out to a pro. I don't think a pump-out-through-the-dipstick-tube device would change my mind.
At least you change your own oil!
It does save money, every little bit helps
Darev and Mark, I agree, it doesn't need to be that difficult. Design often has little to do with efficiency or maintenance.
Anon, Maybe I am, but I think it's time I pay attention to ads and specials from local lube shops. considering how much a case of oil is going for they may be able to offer an economic edge.
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