Sucker Or A Drainer ?

Orionaut · 21 Apr 2017 at 18:37

Conscript said:
Unless the sump is so badly designed that the drain plug us not at the lowest point, or you're using nutella instead of engine oil, how on earth would you be left with that much in the sump? Residues yes, but half a litres worth?

There are very few cars that have the sump plug at the lowest point.

Normally they are on the side.

There is a reason for this. If the plug is at the lowest point and you ground the car, you will likley rip it out and lose all the oil over a few seconds. The only car I can think of off hand with the plug right at the bottom of the sump was an old Volvo where there was a large cross member immediately in front of the sump which would have protected it in the event of grounding.

(There may have been one or two others, but I cant remember them for now)

Conscript · 21 Apr 2017 at 18:40

Orionaut said:
There are very few cars that have the sump plug at the lowest point.

Normally they are on the side.

There is a reason for this. If the plug is at the lowest point and you ground the car, you will likley rip it out and lose all the oil over a few seconds. The only car I can think of off hand with the plug right at the bottom of the sump was an old Volvo where there was a large cross member immediately in front of the sump which would have protected it in the event of grounding.

(There may have been one or two others, but I cant remember them for now)

It's possible to have the drain hole at the lowest point without it being on the bottom. On all the cars I've changed oil on, the sump plug is at the back of the sump pretty much at its lowest point it can be without actually being on the bottom.

Even when it's not quite at the lowest point, my point is, by the time the front if the car is jacked up, I really can't see how you'd be left with half a litre in there.

Django x2 · 22 Apr 2017 at 12:19

Hi i don't have a dipstick on the M5.....

thecremeegg · 22 Apr 2017 at 12:23

Sucker for me! Gets as much out as the sump plug does. PLenty of people that have dropped their sump after it's fully drained using the normal method and there's still some left.
In fact, you'll find some new cars don't even have sump plugs, you just in through the dipstick

--Mike-- · 22 Apr 2017 at 13:15

My brother's old 2004 Smart didn't have a sump plug.
My R56 Mini has its sump plug right on the bottom.

Dale V · 22 Apr 2017 at 18:08

Conscript said:
Unless the sump is so badly designed that the drain plug us not at the lowest point, or you're using nutella instead of engine oil, how on earth would you be left with that much in the sump? Residues yes, but half a litres worth?

From the amount of drained sumps I've removed (a lot) , there's always been a good amount of residue remaining, like I say upto 0.5l.

Explanation provided above.

Conscript · 22 Apr 2017 at 18:56

Dale V said:
From the amount of drained sumps I've removed (a lot) , there's always been a good amount of residue remaining, like I say upto 0.5l.

Explanation provided above.

If true then I am genuinely amazed. That's about 10% of the total oil capacity of most cars I've owned, that's a lot to leave over after a change.

Dale V · 22 Apr 2017 at 19:01

Conscript said:
If true then I am genuinely amazed. That's about 10% of the total oil capacity of most cars I've owned, that's a lot to leave over after a change.

I did say upto, car dependant. The point being that draining oil vs vacuuming the oil out, will be about the same regarding what you leave behind.

I did my ls460 the other week. That holds 8.6l. There was definitely close to half a litre