Dimitri and 65K maintenance

[hiwasss]

I was using the mitavac over the weekend for an oil change. I pushed the tube down further than it should have and the tube got stuck. After giving it some force I was able to get it out. I've read some good reviews with Fumoto adapter that allows draining of oil with a push and turn, has any have any experience with it?
I'm approaching 65k maintenance and I don't see anything that requires taking the car to the dealership, does everyone concur with this statement or am j missing something?

[Dirt]

I used a Fumoto valve on a F-250 for over 100k miles. Good piece of gear and never had an issue with it.

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[grovlet]

Well that sounds like even more work to install and deal with than just being careful with the mitivac tube.... Why not mark the tube with a sharpie with a stop line so you don't go in to far?

And - My local shop laughed at the 65K - it's basically just an oil change and inspection of all fluids and belts and safety checks....

[SwankP3RF3ct10n]

Guys, I know you don't want to hear this, but just using the stock bolt and a new crush washer isn't really that big a deal. If you're now lowered, you can even do the oil change without having to jack up the car. You just need a drain pan that's not too high, so that it can slide under the car. You can find them at Walmart. Problem with the Fumato valve is that as it screws in, the threads screw upwards and by the time the valve is tight, you've got a few mm (maybe even more) above the lowest level on the oil pan, so what happens now is that when you drain the oil, you'll have about a finger or so amount that won't drain because that part will be below the threads of the valve screw-in body. I hope this makes sense. The only types of pans that that valve works best for is one with a drain plug that comes out the side of a pan, no the bottom of it. So, unless they redesigned the valve to have a very shallow thread engagement neck, it's not a good option really, as you won't get all the oil out and whatever's left will actually be the oil that you do want to drain out the most because it's usually the dirtiest and it's what washes out best with a normal drain.

[Dirt]

Guys, I know you don't want to hear this, but just using the stock bolt and a new crush washer isn't really that big a deal. If you're now lowered, you can even do the oil change without having to jack up the car. You just need a drain pan that's not too high, so that it can slide under the car. You can find them at Walmart. Problem with the Fumato valve is that as it screws in, the threads screw upwards and by the time the valve is tight, you've got a few mm (maybe even more) above the lowest level on the oil pan, so what happens now is that when you drain the oil, you'll have about a finger or so amount that won't drain because that part will be below the threads of the valve screw-in body. I hope this makes sense. The only types of pans that that valve works best for is one with a drain plug that comes out the side of a pan, no the bottom of it. So, unless they redesigned the valve to have a very shallow thread engagement neck, it's not a good option really, as you won't get all the oil out and whatever's left will actually be the oil that you do want to drain out the most because it's usually the dirtiest and it's what washes out best with a normal drain.

I agree to an extent. Yes, the threads on the Fumoto will protrude into the oil pan and you won't be able to get every drop of oil out. However, the amount left over is negligible as there's still at least that much oil left over elsewhere in the system. And the amount is very comparable to what remains when the drain plug is on the side of the pan. From this perspective, I don't think anyone should be concerned about how much oil is drained. Likewise, it's always a good idea to run your engine for a few minutes prior to draining the oil. Not only does it thin the oil making it easier to drain, but it mixes the oil so there aren't any "dirty layers/pockets."

Regardless, use what you're comfortable with and feel works best.

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[SwankP3RF3ct10n]

I agree to an extent. Yes, the threads on the Fumoto will protrude into the oil pan and you won't be able to get every drop of oil out. However, the amount left over is negligible as there's still at least that much oil left over elsewhere in the system. And the amount is very comparable to what remains when the drain plug is on the side of the pan. From this perspective, I don't think anyone should be concerned about how much oil is drained. Likewise, it's always a good idea to run your engine for a few minutes prior to draining the oil. Not only does it thin the oil making it easier to drain, but it mixes the oil so there aren't any "dirty layers/pockets."

Regardless, use what you're comfortable with and feel works best.

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It's not about leaving some old oil in the pan and not draining it out. It's more along the lines of letting the oil all drain out of the lowest possible point in the pan and let it wash out (as you're draining) everything else with it... things that the filter may not have caught. It's kinda like flushing out a sink. If you want to get all the sediment or whatever down that drain with the water, you can't have anything blocking the drain lip. Granted, there shouldn't be much of this going on with your engine oil, but maybe it's just my old way of thinking. Also, with your warmup routine, yes it does thin the oil some to supposedly make draining easier, but it also puts a lot of that oil back into the system and by the time you drain, you're actually draining less because the entire system hasn't had time to gravity feed the oil out overnight or whatever. I used to either drive the car and let it sit for at least an hour or just change the oil in the morning before I started it back up. Doing this on a car with a cartridge based filter is more beneficial because that cartridge has time to drain out and you won't be spilling oil everywhere nearly as much as if you were to change it hot. This is just my opinion though...

[Dirt]

I understand your perspective, but think about the pans where the drain plug is on the side (they also leave some oil unless you tilt the car).

On the 6.0 diesel I had, the high pressure oil pump reservoir held 2-3 quarts of oil that would never drain with a regular oil change, and the reservoir was spotless after 160k miles. No sludge, sediment, or anything out of the ordinary.

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