Sometimes you gotta go OT to make a point. The imports have their shit in one sock on "technician consideration." It's our own domestics that have no consideration for the DIYer. Now why do you suppose that is?
My name is Bill and I once bought a new Mercedes. That was in 2003 and I have been clean for a decade now. I mention it only because the "tri star"garage doesn't drain motor oil or radiators they extract the fluids. No leaks, no drips, no mess, environmentally safe and pretty quick. May not be a practical tool for every garage but it beats making a mess.
On my altered, I put surplus aircraft (fuel) shutoff valves out on the frame rails and plumbed them to fittings in the block with AN lines. You could do the same to your hot rod - they lock open and closed.
You always know what is about to happen but you do it anyway instead of prepping like you should! Must be a guy thing
Had a 79 TransAm with the 6.6 liter 403 Olds motor. Had to remove motor mounts and jack motor up to replace passenger side rear spark plug....only did it once. after that I drilled a hole on the inner fender panel that I could fit a plug socket thru and removed it that way. HAH, them engineers can only fool me for a so long!!!
This gave me an idea. What if you used a wet-vac? Sounds messy? Maybe not. To catch the oil, you could put a coffee can or a pail or an empty 5 quart oil jug in the bottom of the vacuum's holding tank. Then run a small plastic hose from the bottom of the coffee can, up through the vacuum's hose and down the engine's dipstick. I'll bet 1/4" ice maker tube would work. You can get them cheap at Home Depot or off the back of your garage frig. Close your hand over the end of the vacuum's hose to regulate it. I haven't tried this yet. Just thinking out loud because of Bandit Billy's post. Maybe I'll try this and throw it up on the homemade tools thread if it doesn't suck too bad.
Took a spare petcock to Home depot. Found a small plastic tube that with a little help fits inside the petcock. I insert it in the petcock and then place the other end in the pan. It drains a bit slower but it all goes in the pan!!!!
so are tugboats , USCG was always checking things and your paperwork , and if you had oil in the bilge you had some explaining to do .. on the boats we had a little more room on some things to work on , my buddy told me about replacing fuel bladders on planes , no thanks ...
Pontiacs are supposed to have poncho motors. First sentence was all I needed to hear Love Olds motors...in 442's...and jet boats (yes, I had a mullet once too, it was required to pull a day-cruiser with a ranchero in the 80s).
Its not my fault if the earth or the people in it cant handle my spills! And its not just radiator fluid and oil either... Plenty of other planets somewhere to live on I hear... Lol.
Get one of these from harbor freight to suck the oil or antifreeze. For $150 it can save a lot of headaches. I have one for oil and one for antifreeze.
Built a oil sucker use'n a freon tank and a hand full of brass fittings from Lowes. Just remember to run the dipstick tube hose inside the fitting in the top of the tank. Not a quick process. Plenty of time for a few beers.
You obviously have never had to change the trans filter in a Honda Accord - You have to remove the transmission and completely disassemble the trans - to change the Filter!
Trans filter, I can live with. It's when I have to raise "the beast" (OT 96 Tahoe) high on all four corners, disconnect fuel lines, drain the tank, and remove the tank all the while having to lay supine (no lift) and grope around blindly for the fuel lines on top, re-assemble. VS. Remove seat, remove access plate, re-assemble. To do something as simple as changing a fuel pump BECAUSE the manufacturer decided not to put a simple access panel in the floor pan. And we all know why they do it. $$$ (Same's your tranny filter)
Had a chance to try the, "small tube running through a wet-vac hose, into a coffee can sitting inside" thing. It worked really well on antifreeze. I suspect oil would also work well. A piece of stiff wire wrapped around the small tube helped keep it from pulling out. Once I completed the repair, the antifreeze was still clean because it hadn't touched the dusty vacuum innards. It was easily poured back into the car. And, I didn't have to wipe out the wet-vac before or after the job. Edit: A few posts back, someone said they had bought two Harbor Freight fluid suckers for $150 each. One for oil and one for antifreeze. That's a good idea for a pro but I'm a cheep hobbyist and don't want to let go of $300. But it got me to thinking about the, "Bucket Head" vacuum at Home Depot for $22 plus bucket. 5 gallon paint buckets are cheep or free. You could dedicate one bucket for oil, one for antifreeze an one for regular vacuum use. Just swap the vacuum head between them. Then you'd never have to wipe them out or clean them, especially if you had lids. That would simplify things by eliminating the need for the coffee can inside. Edit: Here's a link to a picture of a Bucket Head vacuum, for anyone who doesn't know what one is. View attachment 3298664
It all began when the first automotive engineer found his wife in bed with the first automotive mechanic. Before the shooting, he was heard to exclaim "I'll fix you, you SOB"! We've been paying for that ever since.