Oil Change Question

[Zephyr's Aura]

I have a Cal-34 with a Universal M4-30 diesel engine. The oil drain plug is very hard to get to and there is little room to get anything under the engine to catch the oil. Does anyone know an easy way to change the oil? The previous owner told me that he just drained it into the bilge. I don't really like that idea.

[never monday]

suck it out the proper way

[Zephyr's Aura]

Originally Posted by never monday

suck it out the proper way

Thanks for the great reply... :-)

Now being that this is my first inboard could you kindly tell me how o texicute this procedure propperly? What equipment will I need? Are these items readily available or will I need to special order them.

Thanks,

Tim

[Maine Sail]

Call your local Universal/Westerbeke dealer and tell them you want to order the oil drain hose kit that attaches to where the drain plug is. You replace the drain plug with this hose and then you connect a pump to the hose and suck it out..

[Vasco]

A cheaper and easier method is to buy one of those oil change vacuum pumps. All you do is warm up the oil and stick a tube down the dipstick hole. Sucks all the oil out pretty quickly.

[Cheechako]

Messy job. The metal can with the hand vacuum pump is a good option without spending too much money. sucks it out the dipstik right into the can. Then take the used oil to Schucks etc. Less money of course is the little pump and you provide the reservoir, but the hoses etc will be messy and messy to store afterwords.

[never monday]

This works well

available here
West Marine: Fluid Extractor Kit Product Display

[Vasco]

Of all the vacuum pumps the one above works the best.

[bottleinamessage]

I use an xchange pump and like it alot. Check out the model 902.

X-change-R® Oil Change Systems Products Pumps

[Cheechako]

The plastic one only holds 4 liters. Depends on how much oil your engine holds I guess. Many marine diesels are over 4 liters.... but the smaller one is easier to store on board.

[Hud3]

I use the one that Never Monday recommended. Cheechako is right, it doesn't hold all the oil that's in the engine, but it isn't really inconvenient to stop after you've extracted almost a gallon, and pour it into an empty gallon oil container. The break gives the dirty oil left in the engine time to drain down into the sump so you can get it all with the second pass. I use it to change my transmission oil, too. Great product!

[Paul Lefebvre]

The model Never Monday mentioned is also available in a 7 litre version, which works well for most boats.

Amazon.com: Mityvac 7400 7.3 Liter Fluid Evacuator: Automotive

[Zephyr's Aura]

Thanks for all the info!

Tim