I have been reading some generally positive things online about oil extractors. And now that most of my cars have the oil filter easily accessible on top of the engine (except the Miata) there would be no reason to put the cars on ramps and crawl around underneath them and get all dirty. There doesn't seem to be any real negatives. Some new cars don't even have an oil drain plug anymore. Anybody have real life experience with these things?
The only negative would be the price of the extractor if it's more than $40, IMO. I don't have any fancy cars without an oil drain plug. 
I have one because I needed it for adjusting the oil level in the Evo - apparently nobody was ever able to change the oil on that car without overfilling it. The one I have is mostly designed for boat use and works pretty well, but I still prefer the oil school way of just using the drain plug.
I have one for use in boats, it's a harbor freight unit that works fine but as you can imagine doesn't get the very last bit. In a car I would just jack it up and pull the plug, boat is a different story.
Feedyurhed wrote: most of my cars have the oil filter easily accessible on top of the engine (except the Miata)
That's odd. When I had an NA Miata, I always changed the filter from the top. What other way is there to do it?
Feedyurhed wrote: I have been reading some generally positive things online about oil extractors. And now that most of my cars have the oil filter easily accessible on top of the engine (except the Miata) there would be no reason to put the cars on ramps and crawl around underneath them and get all dirty. There doesn't seem to be any real negatives. Some new cars don't even have an oil drain plug anymore. Anybody have real life experience with these things?
the only real neg. is that you won't get the last of the sludge/debris from the bottom of the oil pan ... it'll stay there and the best you can hope for is that it will either stay in the bottom, or it will get picked up (without hurting the oil pump) and make it's way to the filter ... without hurting any internals along the way
EvanR wrote:Feedyurhed wrote: most of my cars have the oil filter easily accessible on top of the engine (except the Miata)That's odd. When I had an NA Miata, I always changed the filter from the top. What other way is there to do it?
I have an NC and on those you need to get it from the bottom. It also really helps if you have a chimpanzee arm.... which by the way I don't.
In reply to EvanR: Most cars I've seen built in the '00s and earlier have the filter accessible only from the bottom.
I have one for PWC / boat use. It works, but it is SLOOOOOW.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: In reply to EvanR: Most cars I've seen built in the '00s and earlier have the filter accessible only from the bottom.
Yes, I have found that to be true also.
We have one, works well. Great for pulling oil out of an overfilled engine/trans too, just line up where the full mark is on the dipstick with the suction tube, put it in that far, then begin Operation Vacu-Suck until it sucks air. Done. (And yes, you do need to chant "Suck! Suck! Suck!" while doing this.)
We also use them for pulling oil out of some final drives that have no drain plug.
I've got one that I only use when it's too cold to crawl under the car. I've never felt it gets all the sludge, but will do until the next oil change. I change every 3-4000 miles, so I tolerate the sludge for a little while. I never use it for two changes in a row.
Mr_Clutch42 wrote: In reply to EvanR: Most cars I've seen built in the '00s and earlier have the filter accessible only from the bottom.
I dunno about "most cars". For a long while, my car of choice was Volvo. Those filters change from the top. MoPar 2.2? From the top. Ford Six? From the top.
Aside from my '90 Acura - which you could change from the top if it wasn't for that stupid huge intake manifold - the last car I had to change the filter from the bottom was a small-block Chevy.
I've got a small one that's great for the lawnmower, diffs, PS reservoir, things like that. It's like a REALLY heavy duty syringe with a hose. Like this, but $8. http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/syringe-extractor/A-p8504664e
Love it for the small things, probably wouldn't work for the car. I'd try it though, if I could get a thin enough hose to go down the tube.
I've never used one on an engine, but they make servicing diffs a whole lot easier.
I use this one at work a lot for gearboxes and hydraulic oil changes, also use it to suck up drain pans so I can wipe the pan clean and put it back in the van with out the stink or worry of slop. Liquidvac
Haha, with a Spitfire/GT6, you get to sit down on the tire while you service the filter ... ;)
Draining the oil from the top while you sit would just be the cherry on top of the sundae.
Maybe I will get one after all.
I'll just leave this here. From Mercedessource.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65MMnubY4DA
I typically use an extractor when changing oil on my gti and brother's civic. When I extracted oil out of the civic, I also opened the drain plug and nothing came out of the oil pan.
However I can't seem to extract more than 2.5 qts out of my integra and my extractor seems to stop sucking oil out requiring me to pump it again every so often, I think air is coming in
In reply to EvanR:
On the whiteblock Volvos I've touched, the filter is at the front corner of the oil pan, facing downward. Same with SWMBO's 2.3 Focus and my new Fit. Seems like everything is going in that direction, at least.
bigev007 wrote: I've got a small one that's great for the lawnmower, diffs, PS reservoir, things like that. It's like a REALLY heavy duty syringe with a hose. Like this, but $8. http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/syringe-extractor/A-p8504664e Love it for the small things, probably wouldn't work for the car. I'd try it though, if I could get a thin enough hose to go down the tube.
the one you linked is $45 ... is there a link to the $8 one ?
for my lawnmower, I use a turkey baster ... the same way I empty the MC when I'm flushing my brake system
Tyler H wrote: I have one for PWC / boat use. It works, but it is SLOOOOOW.
I picked a Griots Garage oil extractor up at one of their Garage Sales a few years back. It was cheap because it was used/returned.
It works very well, but it is super slow. Like come back every 30 minutes to pump it more. Repeat at least three times. 
I use it almost exclusively for vacuum bleeding hydraulic systems now. It is AWESOME at that. I haven't used it to change oil in years.
Mezzanine wrote: It works very well, but it is super slow. Like come back every 30 minutes to pump it more. Repeat at least three times.
Sounds about right. You know when they come in super handy, hypothetically speaking? When someone strips out the drain plug on an engine with a bitch of an oilplan to replace (S54) and it gets permanently plugged.
Bringing this thread back from the dead, although it's not all that old. I just bought a PWC and will need to buy an oil extractor for the oil changes. The engine is dry sumped and I suspect there is no way to get all the oil out of it. The first oil change is supposed to be at 10 hours on the engine. I am at 0 hours now, but I really don't want to put the boat on the trailer and tow it 45 miles back to the dealer to pay them a few hundred bucks for an oil change and then repeat that every spring. What I am looking for are some specific recommendations for a decent extractor. Does have to be the $8 one, doesn't have to be the HF one (but it could be if that works ok) and it doesn't have to be the fanciest/most expensive one ever envisioned either. I just want something that works. I don't see using it on any of my cars, but I do have a boat with a 5.0L Mercruiser that I could use it on besides the jet ski.
In other words, learn me oil extractors.
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