Autodata CDE2 quotes 30Nm tightening torque for the sump oil drain plug.

Oops! A bit of ambiguity here. I was advised to torque it to 20Nm by that "well known super mega hero guru person from Northampton/Milton Keynes", but you are saying 30Nm on very good authority, I wonder who is right. Getting it wrong is both inconvenient and incredibly expensive. I must add that I've always torqued it to 20Nm and never had a problem. Can anyone else verify whether it should be 20 or 30Nm? Thanks

My bad I think it is 30nm (will check in a min) but if it is tightened to 20nm I cant see it coming loose and should be fine.

Yep 30nm as stated, sorry if I missled anyone, may have been a typo or a moment of madness.

I would have to disagree that the "vacuum pump down the dipstick tube" method was not good. The Screwfix model is supplied with a substantial suction tube and you could hear and feel when it reached the bottom of the sump. Besides, the volume of oil removed was a bit over four litres so taking into account the oil left in the filter housing versus the total oil capacity I would suggest it was pretty effiective.

One bonus is that if you overfill the engine afterwards it's simplicity itself to remove the excess.

I would have to disagree that the "vacuum pump down the dipstick tube" method was not good. The Screwfix model is supplied with a substantial suction tube and you could hear and feel when it reached the bottom of the sump. Besides, the volume of oil removed was a bit over four litres so taking into account the oil left in the filter housing versus the total oil capacity I would suggest it was pretty effiective.

One bonus is that if you overfill the engine afterwards it's simplicity itself to remove the excess.

There is a shelf in the sump of most engines so when you think you have reached the bottom, you haven't. Either way you don't get all the oil and therefore it's not a good job

Why do you think most garages/professionals drain via the sump?

There is a shelf in the sump of most engines so when you think you have reached the bottom, you haven't. Either way you don't get all the oil and therefore it's not a good job

Why do you think most garages/professionals drain via the sump?

But do they

I have heard that new Mercedes have no oil drain plugs. The old oil is taken out with a vacuum pump straight into a special storage container.

It would be interesting if someone could comfirm this.

By the way I use a vacuum pump for my 2002 1.4 tdi pd polo and according to the "car capacities list" it takes out the full amount .

But do they

I have heard that new Mercedes have no oil drain plugs. The old oil is taken out with a vacuum pump straight into a special storage container.

It would be interesting if someone could comfirm this.

By the way I use a vacuum pump for my 2002 1.4 tdi pd polo and according to the "car capacities list" it takes out the full amount .

I have used my pump on about 30 different cars and the only engine it will take the lot out of is the A-series and B-series lumps, they have a shelf in the sump but you can wiggle the tube past it

My father, grandfather are both fitters as are most of their associates and they won't use them because they don't get it all out. That's a professional opinion for you.

They are great tools for what they are worth and I do use one, but for the scheduled oil change it's best to drop it.

Wings Skoda of Peterborough use a suction pump. Saves time on servicing, and that means cost.

Personally I'd prefer it drained

It depends what you're after, personally I like a job well done, and as such prefer to remove the sump plug. I even have a bit of a rummage around in the container to see what else has been expelled from the sump, such as ball race cages (if any exist in there). Lets face it, using a suction pump is for pooftys who don't like dirty finger nails.

On some of the service sheets now printed off from ELSA it states not to use a suction pump to remove oil. We have such a system at work but it now has to be disabled for this reason.

For most inboard engined boats vacuum pumps are the only way to extract old oil

On some of the service sheets now printed off from ELSA it states not to use a suction pump to remove oil. We have such a system at work but it now has to be disabled for this reason.

There'll be good reasoning behind this instruction, did they disclose why a suction pump should not be used?

I believe its due to the nature of some of the engines and not being able to effectively remove all the oil.