Monday, June 21, 2010

Should you change your oil with suction or gravity?

Getting your oil changed, or changing your own oil, seems like a quite basic process. After emptying out the oil, replace the filter and then re-fill the oil. It's becoming a lot more popular to change your oil with a suction or siphon method, though. What are the basic differences between suction oil changes and plug oil changes?

Resource for this article: Suction vs. gravity – What is the best way to change your oil?

A basic oil change

Emptying the oil out of an engine, until just lately, has relied on gravity. The oil is held in, in general, by a removable plug at the bottom of the engine. The engine drains oil when the plug is removed. Take your car to a mechanic, and this is the method they will likely use. In theory, the sludge and gunk that settles in the oil pan is a lot more likely to get drained out with this system.

Changing the oil with a siphon

Recently, new machines are making an appearance; they use a siphoning or suctioning method to change the oil. Originally intended for boats, these machines attach to the dipstick tube and suck the oil out of the engine. These oil changes work just as well as gravity changes, in theory. Some say that these siphon changes leave the engine cleaner, getting more gunk out of the engine. Others, though, worry the suction method of changing the oil might miss some of probably the most essential parts of an oil change.

Should you try the siphoning oil change method?

In the end, a suctioning oil change will probably work about also as gravity oil changes. You need to always make certain that an oil change consists of a filter change. Feel free to ask your quick-lube place or mechanic which method they use. No matter what type of method is used, it is most essential to just make sure to change your oil.



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