Winterizing MISTAKE!! Be Cautious!!

[01SupraLaunch]

Well, I followed the pretty damn simple instructions and did fine until I got the plastic tube on the extractor stuck in the oil pan somewhere!?:evil: I cannot get it out. It must of wrapped around the pump or something... I did all of the other stuff, filled it back with oil and will have to leave it till spring. Then I will have to lift the motor and pull the pan. Winterizing turning into another big day!

Use caution.

[Rusty Griswold]

I did the same thing, I took it to the dealer. They got it out some how, but I know they didn't pull the motor. Is the plastic tube still in the dip stick? I now go through the hose off the bottom of the oil pan. Good Luck

[docdrs]

Ok , never try this method to remove your oil. The plastic tube is stuck on the edge of the oil tube at the bottom.
You now have to remove the dipstick tube from your motor. Insert something hard into top of tube to keep it from deforming and something that will not fall inside. I used house grounding cable as it fit inside the plastic tube that was stuck. you may not have to do this but I was just being careful.
Now holding tube at top and bottom where it enters the block slowly rotate the tube back n forth as you pull it out of the block. there is a lip on the tube where it seats at the block. there is about 3-4" of tube in the block so keep pulling and rotating but try not to deform the tube. You will have to bend the tube (i believe its brass) a little to get it out from between the motor and exhaust manifold. the plastic tube will come out with the dipstick tube.

Yep I learned the hard way :)... took me about 10 minutes to gently pull the dipstick tube out

[wotan2525]

A friend of mine did this in his transmission a few years ago and had to pay the stealership $1200 to pull the engine and fish it out. Personally, I would have just forgotten about it -- a cheap, plastic tube is going to get chewed up pretty quickly in the transmission -- I'd have run it for a few minutes, flushed with new oil and repeated a couple of times.

I think I'd be more worried if it were in my oil pan -- but, still -- how much damage is a plastic tube really going to cause to a bunch of hardened steel parts??

[01SupraLaunch]

I did go through the oil hose on the bottom of the pan, but this thing was not pulling oil fast at all. I then went to the dip stick thinking that it may (duh). Got it stuck! I finally drained the oil from the hose. Once it got flowing it took about 1.5 hours to drain into the extractor. I did stick a coat hanger into the tube to try to free up the "kink" if that is what I have going on. What is in the pan to hange up on??

[beast 496]

what kind of a pump are you using? A warmed up engine sucking through the drain hose, I can empty a 9 qt pan in less than a minute. Al

[mapleleaf]

off topic, but I'm about to change my oil, what type am I using on 351???

[docdrs]

Shell rotella 15w40 is heavy duty and easy to find oil. any 15w40 oil will do, they are mainly used in diesel trucks and are indicated for high output marine engines

[01SupraLaunch]

I am not sure of the brand pump. It is a nice one I got through Grainger. Anyway, by the time I got the oil out it was cold. Could have been part of the issue.

I will try to get that damn tube out again this weekend, then she's off to storage up the road from my house till spring.

[jaywidhalm]

I just changed my oil yesterday. I started out using the drain hose on the bottom of the pan. The manufacturer decided to make the hose long enough to stick out the drain plug hole about 1/2 inch. Not sure why they didn't put an extra 6 inches of hose, but oh well. Anyway, the oil was draining extremely slow, not even a full stream, just drips. I jacked the tounge of the trailer way up, and finally got a stream, although, still very small. Is there a key to using this. It took me over three hours just to drain the oil. This was extremely frustrating. I kept checking for kinks under the engine, but didnt find any issues. Maybe I didn't warm the oil up enough, as it is pretty thick?? Sounds like others may have had this issue. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[wotan2525]

You need to warm the oil up, and should still use an extractor to coax it out. Otherwise, put it in a catch container (make sure it's large enough) and leave it overnight.

[jaywidhalm]

Do the extractors you guys are using have a threaded end to fit onto the drain tube threads?

[01SupraLaunch]

The extractor has a small tube that fits into the ID of the drain hose. It worked good, but just took a while too. The rest of the winterizing was a piece of cake.

[beast 496]

The pump I use has a 1/2" id flexible hose. The hose will slip over the drain hose on all PCM or Indmar engines. On Mercruiser and Volvo you can suck up through the dipstick. I use an old spark plug boot which will slip into the sucksion hose and the other end will fit over the dip stick tube. Some pumps have a 1/4" od tube which you can push down the dipstick area, but this is very slow and can be caught on windage plates in the oil pan. Just ask the OP. Oh, my sucsion hose is just the right size to fit into the transmission plug, sucks tranny oil extremely fast. Al

[jaywidhalm]

On an Indmar engine, can't you suck through the dipstick as well as use the drain hose?

[docdrs]

don't do it thru the dipstick tube..... the plastic tube will get hung up on the end of the internal tube if you stick it in too far due to bending as it hits the floor of the pan then that bend getting cut and hung up on the end of the dipstick tube....or worse something else inside the engine as 01 supra has. My extractor has rubber ends on it that will push on around the quick drain tube. Oh and you will never get as much out thru the dipstick as you will from the drain tube. The extractor takes 2 minutes to get 5 litres of oil out...worth the $60 and you can do your tranny and v drive now

[jaywidhalm]

Thanks Doc, sounds like the way to go. I'll have to get one for next year. Any particular brand?? I see that overtons carries them. Would the one they carry be ok??

[beast 496]

Indmar and PCM as well as some Mercruisers, offer a drain hose, This is the best place to remove the oil. On some Volvo, and OMC, the dipstick tube is connected to the drain pan plug, which will also get 99% out. Just note the new Vortec chevy blocks have a crankshaft windage tray, this will entangle a sucksion hose if not carefull. Do not stick any type of sucsion hose down the dipstick. Use the drain hose, it is much faster anyway. Al

[01SupraLaunch]

Okay, so I think a 2" piece fell off in the pan. I researched the oi; pump and it has a large screen to keep everything from going in. SHould be okay right??? any techs out there?