Oil Extractor
Griot's Garage sells specialty tools for your car through its catalog and web site. I discovered a tool in their catalog that has made my oil changes a lot easier, quicker, and less messy. Essentially it consists of a 2-foot tall, 7-inch diameter translucent cylinder with a pump handle on the top. The cylinder holds 6.5 liters of fluid. The tool comes with two hoses of different diameters that attach to the top of the cylinder. To use the extractor, you simply remove your dipstick from your engine, insert the proper diameter hose into the dipstick tube and pump the handle about ten times. About 10 minutes later, all the oil has been sucked out of your engine and into the cylinder. The process couldn't be easier.At first I was a bit skeptical about this tool. I wondered whether it would be capable of extracting as much oil from the engine as through the drain plug. I turns out my skepticism was unfounded. The extractor sucked out every bit as much oil as through the drain plug. In fact, Griot's Garage claims that in an independent test by a Japanese magazine back in 1997, the oil extractor was able to withdraw an additional 71ml of oil on a late model Toyota. Due to the ultra tight packaging of engine compartments these days, it seems manufacturers are locating the drain plug in areas that compromise complete oil drainage. Click here to see the extractor.
All I can say is that it works. and at $64.95US, it's not a terribly
expensive tool. Griot's Garage also sells a similar extractor to aid in
flushing and bleeding your brake fluid. I have used it to flush my brake
system and it makes the job a lot quicker and easier. Check it out
here.