So I'm just getting to know the oily end of my car and have got myself the big Pela 650 to get the oil out. I see that people also suction out the oil cooler to get a bit extra out. After I've sucked the oil out of the cooler, does it need refilling with fresh oil? If so, how much, and does it count towards the dipstick level - I don't want to overfill, and don't want to run anything dry that shouldn't be.

Thanks!

I did mine with a Pela, make sure the pipe is pushed well down the dip stick pipe (It can get stuck half way down) or you will (like me) be pumping forever and nothing but oil bubbles get sucked out.

Once I realised my mistake the job was easy. I did not bother with the oil cooler as I assumed this would drain out with the rest of the oil. I am happy to stand corrected.

I did empty the filter housing though as this does not normally get cleaned out.

Good luck

Gerry

Thanks, i'm confused now as I thought the route to the oil cooler was through the oil filter housing?!

Yes, it is best to vacuum oil filter housing and dip the tube into oil cooler holes, you can add oil through the filter housing too to have more uniform level, but if you do not add oil there, all that will happen is that after first engine start and running for 15s-30s, the overall level will go slightly lower.You need to recheck oil level anyway after a short run, so it is no bother.

Oil cooler oil does not drain fully, depending on engine there's 250ml - 400ml of oil left there so makes sense to be vacuumed. Vacuuming is best done with a pump that can be operated single handed, so e.g. not the round Pela 6000, but the 650 will work just fine for that. I use Sealey TP69, 10+ oil changes with it so far.

Thanks, that's why I got the 650 as it looks to be easier to manage than the ball pumps, what with the foot stand etc. Was surprised when it arrived, a bit of a huge beast, caused a few chuckles in the office that I needed quite such a large pump...

Well as the Staples big red button says "that was easy". The hardest bit was loosening the oil filter cover (had been done up "gorilla tight". The 14 sided tool I got (Sealey) is ok but not brilliant... seems a tiny bit bigger that it should be so it catches on the corners.

I've never done anything oily on the car (though am an engineer in other senses) and found it really quite simple. Think I'll be staying well away from the belts though!

Got a Pela 6000.

I've always done mine through the dipstick tube. You can feel the extraction tube hit the base of the sump. After it's lifted most of the oil, re-vaccuum the Pela again and just gently move the extraction tube around the sump. You can hear if you're hitting areas of oil. Does a pretty good job for the most part.