# "Topside" oil change works!



## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

Nice! I've wondered about the topside oil extractors, but never have heard an honest opinion on one...I may be considering one now!


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## Cruzzer (Dec 13, 2010)

Does the suction tube reach the bottom of the pan ?


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Cruzzer said:


> Does the suction tube reach the bottom of the pan ?


If it didn't, less than 4 liters of oil would have been extracted. Since 4 liters were extracted, yes, the suction tube does indeed reach the bottom of the pan.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...for those who are _curious_ about that *MityVac 7201*:


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## NBrehm (Jun 27, 2011)

Very cool, but seems like alot of work compared to taking out the drain plug. You also won't know if any or how much metal is on the drain plug magnet. I'll stick with working from the bottom


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

I haven't did any in depth looking yet, but I read a review on another website that the MityVac is not for use with synthetic oils, as they will degrade the seals, causing the unit to leak. This review was a couple years old, and said MityVac's own tech support line issued this information...

I'll see what I can find out and post back here unless anyone else can clarify...


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

NBrehm said:


> Very cool, but seems like alot of work compared to taking out the drain plug. You also won't know if any or how much metal is on the drain plug magnet. I'll stick with working from the bottom


A lot of work? Taking out the dipstick, fishing the hose down to the bottom of the sump, and then giving the MityVac 5-10 pumps every few minutes? Hardly. 

It's much easier than getting the car onto ramps, finding my drain pan, finding my wrench, wrestling with a stuck drain bolt, getting oil everywhere, being at an awful angle to get the filter out thanks to the ramps, and being all achy from laying on the ground changing my own oil. Then having to put all that listed equipment away again. Much simpler my way. 

I've used my MityVac with synthetic ATF for a year or so without issue. I've heard of it in the older models, not the more recent one I have.


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## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

sciphi said:


> I've used my MityVac with synthetic ATF for a year or so without issue. I've heard of it in the older models, not the more recent one I have.


Thanks SciPhi,
The review that mentioned the problems with synthetics was from 2007, so I figured the manufacturer would have addressed the issue by now. This product has my interest peaked...and may be a near future purchase since 2 vehicles will make it pay for itself twice as fast....


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## NBrehm (Jun 27, 2011)

sciphi said:


> A lot of work? Taking out the dipstick, fishing the hose down to the bottom of the sump, and then giving the MityVac 5-10 pumps every few minutes? Hardly.
> 
> It's much easier than getting the car onto ramps, finding my drain pan, finding my wrench, wrestling with a stuck drain bolt, getting oil everywhere, being at an awful angle to get the filter out thanks to the ramps, and being all achy from laying on the ground changing my own oil. Then having to put all that listed equipment away again. Much simpler my way.
> 
> I've used my MityVac with synthetic ATF for a year or so without issue. I've heard of it in the older models, not the more recent one I have.


Gotcha, didn't know you had such a bad experience. I normally just slide the pan under and pull the bolt out. I also still prefer to get a look at that drain plug, I feel that is a pretty important part of the oil change. def like your idea, just not the way I prefer to do it.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

NBrehm said:


> Gotcha, didn't know you had such a bad experience. I normally just slide the pan under and pull the bolt out. I also still prefer to get a look at that drain plug, I feel that is a pretty important part of the oil change. def like your idea, just not the way I prefer to do it.


 +1 To just jack up one side of the car enough to get under and remove the plug (which is not stuck) because I remove and install it myself which insures it is done right, drain the oil and refill in 10 minutes is the way I've been doing it for 40 years. And with the filter on top it just makes it that much easier.


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## dacruze (Jul 15, 2011)

I agree w/ ya Nick & Vet. I like to see my drain plug and seal and i would often wonder did i get all of the old oil out. I know, I may be a little paranoid, but i like wallowing under my ride, lookng at everything, but hey, i'm not bashing you. 
I'll borrow a famous quote: "more power to ya" - Briscoe Darling, per the Andy Griffith show - Dan


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

Sciphi- Thanks for the post on this. I just bought a Cruze and have owned a similar Mityvac for years. Mine uses compressed air to create the vacuum instead of the hand pump. From what I've read both tools work well. 

I agree that you don't get to see the plug, but boy is it convenient, especially when it's 20F outside in winter in the midwest. 

Definately worth it for around $100 from Amazon or ebay. Replacement hoses can be ordered from McMaster-Carr in up to 100 ft rolls. 

Thanks again for being a pioneer on this. I look forward to doing some of the changes myself. Possibly every other oil change done from the top, with a new filter of course!

One note it's a little faster if you remove the oil filter fill cap, and do this with the engine oil warm. Coolant temperature about 125-150F.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...now as low a ~$81.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

carbon02 said:


> Sciphi-
> I agree that you don't get to see the plug, but boy is it convenient, especially when it's 20F outside in winter in the midwest.


I agree that if you do not have a garage to work in this would probably be the best way to go and I'm not knocking it. Fortunately I have a garage and am kinda a touchy feely type of guy and I just like to get down and dirty.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

I got down and dirty rust-proofing and installing an oil pan heater earlier this year. I'm also the guy eyeballing everything when swapping to snow tires, so the undersides get eyeballed at least once a year, and critical brake/suspension items twice a year or more. 

Now that my weekly mileage has shot up thanks to work, spending less downtime and more driving time is critical. And one less bolt removed is one less bolt I forget to re-install. 

No problem on being the guinea pig! I figured it would work, considering this Ecotec's European roots. MB and BMW have specified topside oil changes for years, and those are significantly more complicated engines than the Ecotec 1.4T.


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## superdave (Oct 4, 2011)

agreed, plus pulling the drain plug washes out any metal shavings or what not that may be sitting inside your pan out. plus i like to get every last drop out i can when i change oil.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Listed capacity of the 1.4's sump is 4 liters. Look at how much oil I pulled out. 4 liters. I think I got all the oil out of the engine. 

Follow a reasonable change interval using name-brand dexos1 oil, and one won't have a lubrication-related issue absent a mechanical failure. 

If particles are big enough to settle into the pan, then they're likely to stay there regardless of drain method. And if they're small enough to be circulating, they're either going to be caught on the oil pickup screen or lodged into the oil filter. 

For further reading, go read some MB or BMW forums or search "topside oil change". If it's good enough for an N54 or N55, it's good enough for my LUJ.


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## Sparkles (Jul 3, 2011)

They're a pretty nice piece of equipment to have around the garage. I had to use one while getting my TA tuned switching to E85 to get my gas tank empty. Worked off an air compressor. That being said, really? You can be a "car guy" on the computer or be a "car guy" on your car. I think it explains itself which method this is.


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

Worked well using the air compressor powered Mityvac. Pulled the oil in about 2-3 minutes.

I did notice that the service manual on alldata suggests removal of the filter before draining the oil. I could hear oil draining down when removing the filter.

Nice method to remove 4L of oil. 

Does anyone know if the clamps on the sensor within air intake can be rotated to be less of an obstruction to the filter? It's not crazy difficult to replace the filter element, but would be easier if that air intake sensor was slightly rotated. I may have to try that on the next change.


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## toilet_monkey (Nov 30, 2011)

THANKS for showing me this. I never knew about topside oil changes until I read your post! This seems like a wonderful way to perform oil changes. I always had to jack up my last car for oil and filter changes. MORE SO, whenever I was underneath the car, I worried about a catastrophic jack stand failure. The topside oil change eliminates that worry. The fact that the Cruze oil filter is on the top of the engine seems to make a topside oil change all the more convenient.

Now my only dilemma is what topside vacuum model to buy. I see several for sale, so I'll have to read some user reviews before I make a final decision. I will only ever use fully synthetic oil, so I will have to know for certain whether or not MityVac is compatible before I buy.

Plus, this might be a wonderful xmas present for my Dad. I bet he's even more tired of getting under cars than I am. 

One thing: I usually lift my car twice a year for tire rotations; it was convenient to do this during oil change time because I was lifting my car anyway. My only worry with the topside oil change is that I will get lazy and not rotate my tires as often. =)



carbon02 said:


> I did notice that the service manual on alldata suggests removal of the filter before draining the oil. I could hear oil draining down when removing the filter.


This seems like an excellent idea and I will be doing this.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

I've only used my MityVac 7201 with synthetic oil and ATF. It works just fine with it. The older ones had problems with synthetics, and the newer ones like mine were made synthetic-compatible. I've had mine for a year, and done 8-10 oil and ATF changes with it. Not an issue for mine. 

The 7201 is pumped by hand, so it's usable without a compressor nearby. It takes a little longer, but that's fine with me. The 7201 is about the handiest fluid pump I've ever used. If you want one thing that can do it all, get the 7201 or the 7400 (needs an air compressor to use).


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## Crewz (Jul 12, 2011)

How much dirt are you putting into the engine with that suction tube on the rocky ground.


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## doc03 (May 18, 2011)

Is this some kind of joke? What on earth does that monstrosity cost? What about any residue on the bottom of the oil pan? I run my Cruze up on a pair of ramps and remove the plug, maybe five minutes extra to set up ramps and remove plug and reverse the procedure and all the used oil drains out..


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Crewz said:


> How much dirt are you putting into the engine with that suction tube on the rocky ground.


None. It wasn't the one used. As noted by the lack of oil on/in it.



doc03 said:


> Is this some kind of joke? What on earth does that monstrosity cost? What about any residue on the bottom of the oil pan? I run my Cruze up on a pair of ramps and remove the plug, maybe five minutes extra to set up ramps and remove plug and reverse the procedure and all the used oil drains out..


No joke, just an easier way to do things. It's about $80 on Amazon. Clearly you've never heard of one. You're not touching any residue either by gravity-draining. It's either going to coat the pan and stay, or get into a corner and not harm anything. If it's fine enough to be suspended in the oil, it's fine enough to get caught in the filter. Except when we're down to below 30 microns or so, at which point we all have to trust the oil to keep those particles suspended until changed again. Having a hose scraping the bottom of the pan just might dislodge more residue than a gravity drain.

Can you be sure ALL the oil came out when you drained it by gravity? I can be sure all the oil came out since my device has gradations on the side to measure how much came out. If it's not up to 4 liters, keep sucking! I checked the dipstick yesterday, no visible loss after 4k miles on the current fill.

Also, this way I don't have to set up ramps, slip the clutch getting up on the ramps, chock the wheels, then lay on the ground inches away from a stream of hot oil. Pop the hood, take out the dipstick, thread the tube down, pump the handle a few times, then change the oil filter while it sucks out the old oil. 

You're also knocking something before doing any research on it. Go look on Amazon or any BMW or Mercedes board. There are many mighty satisfied topside oil changers out there. This one included.


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## Sparkles (Jul 3, 2011)

toilet_monkey;60822MORE SO said:


> Maybe you should check out this wonderful invention called a JACK STAND!
> 
> I don't care how many sites have people talking about how great it is. Just proves there's lazy people on those sites as well. The easiest piece of mechanical maintenance to a car is changing the oil. You're not getting all of the deposits out of the pan that way. I don't care what you say. It's simple physics. Heavier materials settle at the bottom with gravity. Are you gonna get them all by pulling the plug? No, but a lot more than your method. Different strokes for different folks, I understand. It's your car, do what you want with it. Just don't go tooting your horn like you've found the next best thing that makes any sense at all except for staying a little cleaner.
> 
> When are you going to inspect the underside of the car? Balljoints, leaks, shocks, swaybar links, bushings, mounts, rust, etc. Having your car in the air and being underneath it give you an opportunity to check things like that. It's the difference between going through an automatic car wash and washing it by hand. The more hands are you are, the more you can inspect your car, keep an eye on issues, and fix problems before they become a bigger problem. I applaud thinking outside the box, but it really makes zero sense. Just take it to the dealer IMO if you're that worried about getting a little dirty.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Sparkles said:


> Maybe you should check out this wonderful invention called a JACK STAND!
> 
> I don't care how many sites have people talking about how great it is. Just proves there's lazy people on those sites as well. The easiest piece of mechanical maintenance to a car is changing the oil. You're not getting all of the deposits out of the pan that way. I don't care what you say. It's simple physics. Heavier materials settle at the bottom with gravity. Are you gonna get them all by pulling the plug? No, but a lot more than your method. Different strokes for different folks, I understand. It's your car, do what you want with it. Just don't go tooting your horn like you've found the next best thing that makes any sense at all except for staying a little cleaner.
> 
> When are you going to inspect the underside of the car? Balljoints, leaks, shocks, swaybar links, bushings, mounts, rust, etc. Having your car in the air and being underneath it give you an opportunity to check things like that. It's the difference between going through an automatic car wash and washing it by hand. The more hands are you are, the more you can inspect your car, keep an eye on issues, and fix problems before they become a bigger problem. I applaud thinking outside the box, but it really makes zero sense. Just take it to the dealer IMO if you're that worried about getting a little dirty.


And don't go attacking for posting about something that works. It's not your cup of tea, fine. Also, you apparently only skimmed the first page, then jumped into attack mode.

Apparently you missed my post on page 2 where I mentioned rust-proofing every nook/cranny I could find on the car's underside, including removing all the wheel well liners and underbody trays. Awful nice of Chevy to route the gas/brake lines down the center of the car, hidden underneath an underbody tray away from the salt. It's also nice to see the wheel well liner clips are two different sizes that are hard to tell apart, and that one cannot force a large clip into a hole meant for a small clip. Or that the drum brakes needed a lot of adjustment, and that adjusting it means the parking brake lever no longer hits the center console lid. It's a T25 screw holding the drums on, BTW. Make sure to hit it with some penetrating oil, as it was quite stuck otherwise on mine. And, did you know that the gray thingy on the fuse panel holds all the electrical connections in on the bottom, and that instead of fighting with a relay/wire, one can just slide it out to easily insert/remove a connection?

You've also apparently missed my posts on getting snow tires, and switching to snow tires. That means getting the car into the air again, and eyeballing everything for issues while the tools are out. 

So, just because I like an easy, mess-free oil change doesn't mean I'm not hands-on with the car? I disproved your assertion above. The only time the car sees the dealer is driving past on the way to work, for warranty work, and when getting an oil filter for my next topside oil change in a few months. 

Your claim about laying down for an oil change making one more of a "hands-on" car owner is spurious. So, quit spreading your opinion as fact.


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## toilet_monkey (Nov 30, 2011)

Sparkles said:


> Maybe you should check out this wonderful invention called a JACK STAND!.


As you probably didn't read in my post, I actually said "jack stand." Perhaps it's worth reminding you that jack stands CAN fail. Additionally, cars can become unbalanced and fall off a perfectly functioning jack stand (the chances are much smaller if you are working in a perfectly flat, indoor garage, but alas I have to go outside to work). 

By the way, could you please let me know how to hold a fork? I bet you'd find something wrong with how I do it. :not_worthy:


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## sp33doe (Sep 6, 2011)

The guy is only telling you his experience doing what he thinks is easier for him and if you guys don't like it then shut up and do what ever you think is better ,, my 5 cents


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## Sparkles (Jul 3, 2011)

toilet_monkey said:


> Additionally, cars can become unbalanced and fall off a *perfectly functioning jack stand* (the chances are much smaller if you are working in a perfectly flat, indoor garage, but alas I have to go outside to work).
> 
> By the way, could you please let me know how to hold a fork? I bet you'd find something wrong with how I do it. :not_worthy:


Key phase. If you have a catastrophic failure, it's not perfectly functioning, is it?

As far as the fork, turn it around. Use the end with the points on it to stab your food :eusa_clap:


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Or use ramps, or don't go under the car at all. Problem solved. 

Racking is always a danger when using jackstands. Minimizing it by chocking the wheels still on the ground and checking for shifting before climbing under the car are always necessary safety precautions.


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## 72buickgs (Mar 20, 2011)

do it the old fashion way - use drain pan and remove the oil pan drain plug. very easy. change the oil & filter is a few minutes...


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

72buickgs said:


> do it the old fashion way - use drain pan and remove the oil pan drain plug. very easy. change the oil & filter is a few minutes...


I got my fill of car undersides on all my previous cars, and on this one when rust-proofing it and swapping to winter wheels. 

You change you oil your way, I'll change it my way. It's 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. The oil's still getting changed.


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## toilet_monkey (Nov 30, 2011)

A couple of weeks ago I changed the oil on my 2012 Eco. It had about 25% "life remaining" according to the computer. Anyway, I used a topside oil extractor--the Pela 6000, and it worked cleanly and perfectly. 

Strike up another one for topside extraction! =)


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

toilet_monkey said:


> A couple of weeks ago I changed the oil on my 2012 Eco. It had about 25% "life remaining" according to the computer. Anyway, I used a topside oil extractor--the Pela 6000, and it worked cleanly and perfectly.
> 
> Strike up another one for topside extraction! =)


:eusa_clap: Excellent! Glad to hear another success!


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## Skraeling (May 30, 2012)

FUMOTO ENGINEERING

I put one of these on my wrx, trying to find out if they have one that will fit the cruze. Plan to put on on any car I ever get (which will be a new cruze in the next umm, two weeks or so).

edit: reply from Fumoto



> Our part number F-107 should fit your vehicle. You may need an adapter, ADP-107 if your oil pan has a recessed drain plug. If your oil pan is flat you won't need an adapter.
> 
> You may purchase the valve through one of our online dealers. Http://www.oildrainvalve.net
> You may also call and place your order at 425-270-3466.
> ...


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## doctorbrake (Aug 8, 2012)

The marine industry has used topside oil changes for years. I tried it at least 10 years ago on an inboard engine, and it works great. The first time I used it, I removed the drain plug to see how much oil was left and the sump was dry. Not a drop of oil ran out, after using the topside oil changer. I now use it on all my automobiles. The ones that have magnetic plugs, I will continue to remove, after the oil has been sucked out, to clean off any metal.


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## izzyizz (Mar 11, 2012)

Well the MityVac 7201 worked fine after I changed a leaking hose connector on the top going into the tank with a Watts 3/8-in diameter 90-Degree Elbow Item #: 30163, Model #: PL-3028 at Lowes. 

Warmed up the oil, open the fill cap, loosened the filtercap, hose down the dipstick tube and ten pumps to get started. 

I pumped it about twelve more times at three pump intervals when I heard it gurgling to get as much of the oil out. When all was done it took out 5L of oil. This car only had its oil changed at the dealer so I don’t know why so much was in it. 

Put in 4L of Mobile 1, new filter O-ring tighten, checked level after I turned car on and dipstick still read top cross hairs.
Checked again when I got home dipstick still at the same level. Honestly I guess it took me 30 minutes with the drive to warm up the oil in all.

My main reason for using this MityVac 7201 is I don’t want my shield to be cut by dealer and I prefer not to wiggle underneath my car to change the oil; I’m still wondering why 5L of oil was extracted. I guess that would be another reason to do your own oil changes this way you know how much oil is going in. Anyway my two cents, thanks


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