D1-30 Oil change

[picardy]

I know this is a silly question but....for years I have been changing the oil using a oil pump from the dipstick but know this does remove it all.

I think there is a sump plug - any reason why the manual doesn't recommend using this or I shouldn't use it once I have pumped out all i can from the dipstick?

Thanks

 

[alancollins]

By all means use the sump drain plug if you can put a pan beneath it. In most installations there is insufficient room for one and the only option is to pump the oil out and accept that some will be left behind.

 

[pvb]

Don't know about a sump plug, but I think there's an oil drain pipe plumbed in to the bottom of the sump. You can connect a pump to this to extract oil. Frankly, I don't think there's ever much old oil left after sucking it out through the dipstick, which is convenient.

 

[VicS]

Don't know about a sump plug, but I think there's an oil drain pipe plumbed in to the bottom of the sump. You can connect a pump to this to extract oil. Frankly, I don't think there's ever much old oil left after sucking it out through the dipstick, which is convenient.

As PVB suggests there should be an oil drain pipe* fixed to the very bottom of the sump below the drain plug to which a pump can be attached. This should remove as much oil as it is possible to remove. It is the method described in the owners manual. An electric pump is available but at nearly £400 it is probably not a popular accessory.
If the suction tube of a Pela or similar oil extractor inserted via the dipstick tube will reach the bottom of the sump it will remove as close or all the oil as is necessary

*Shown as #5 in the diagram below

 

[Plevier]

My D1-30 has the drain tube, with a rubber cap on it. I have one of these cheapo versions of a Pela
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Woodside-...164082?hash=item488dc550f2:g:RhIAAOSwKVNYXSmL
the plastic pipe with it is a tight push fit into the top of the drain tube. That's much quicker than sticking a tiny pipe down it, with the engine a bit warm it's a 5 minute job.

 

[fisherman]

If it bothers you pump out then remove the bung and hold a soft(absorbent)rag under it. Personally I don't think the leftovers will cause a problem

 

[jordanbasset]

As PVB suggests there should be an oil drain pipe* fixed to the very bottom of the sump below the drain plug to which a pump can be attached. This should remove as much oil as it is possible to remove. It is the method described in the owners manual. An electric pump is available but at nearly £400 it is probably not a popular accessory.
If the suction tube of a Pela or similar oil extractor inserted via the dipstick tube will reach the bottom of the sump it will remove as close or all the oil as is necessary

*Shown as #5 in the diagram below

My D1-30 has the drain tube, with a rubber cap on it. I have one of these cheapo versions of a Pela
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Woodside-...164082?hash=item488dc550f2:g:RhIAAOSwKVNYXSmL
the plastic pipe with it is a tight push fit into the top of the drain tube. That's much quicker than sticking a tiny pipe down it, with the engine a bit warm it's a 5 minute job.

I use something similar, very quick and not too messy

 

[prv]

The oil drain pipe is a bit hard to get at in my installation, so I permanently attached some PVC tube to it (just push over the end of the pipe and a small jubilee clip) and led that to a more convenient position. The wide hose of a Pela sucker plugs into the end of the tube and sucks out all the oil in a couple of minutes. Cleaning up just takes a square or two of kitchen roll to wipe any drops off the ends of the two tubes.

Pete

 

[Vegable]

For about 5 years I've been draining the oil from my D1 30 by removing the sump plug. The oil drain pipe mentioned above locates through the sump plug and it moves! This makes it difficult tp locate and replace the plug once you've drained the oil. It goes through the drain pipe easily enough but trying to locate the thread in the sump is very fiddley and it can be quite a pain to refit. Last year I used a Pela but felt that there was still nearly a litre of old oil left in it. It might have been my incompetence in operating the pump, but I'm going to carry on removing the drain plug and then spending half an hour cursing with warm black oily hands.
I'm also beginning to suspect that the copper washer on the drain plug is losing its maleability as I seem to be tightenning it more and more.
BTW I use a cut out milk container lying on its side to catch the oil as it seems to be the thinnest large container I can find. And, I can only get to the forward end and the port side of the engine on my boat.
Mike

 

[VicS]

For about 5 years I've been draining the oil from my D1 30 by removing the sump plug. The oil drain pipe mentioned above locates through the sump plug and it moves! This makes it difficult tp locate and replace the plug once you've drained the oil. It goes through the drain pipe easily enough but trying to locate the thread in the sump is very fiddley and it can be quite a pain to refit. Last year I used a Pela but felt that there was still nearly a litre of old oil left in it. It might have been my incompetence in operating the pump, but I'm going to carry on removing the drain plug and then spending half an hour cursing with warm black oily hands.
I'm also beginning to suspect that the copper washer on the drain plug is losing its maleability as I seem to be tightenning it more and more.
BTW I use a cut out milk container lying on its side to catch the oil as it seems to be the thinnest large container I can find. And, I can only get to the forward end and the port side of the engine on my boat.
Mike

Isn't the plug #3 in the above diagram the sump drain plug.

In any case if you undo a joint with copper sealing washers you should anneal the washers before refitting. If you keep on tightening the screw more and more you risk stripping the thread. If you strip the thread in the sump you will have a problem on your hands.
Just heat the washers to a dull red heat and allow them to cool and they will be nicely softened again.

 

[prv]

Last year I used a Pela but felt that there was still nearly a litre of old oil left in it.

By "used a Pela", do you mean you poked the thin black tube down the dipstick hole, or did you attach the clear plastic hose to the engine's drain pipe? If the latter, I don't understand how it can have left a litre of old oil in the sump, since the take-off point is the same as the one you're used to unbolting.

At worst, it would allow the oil in the short length of pipe to drain back (about 6mm in 20cm, someone can work out how many millilitres that is) - but in practice I can hear the air slurping up through the pipework when the sump's empty, so it's just whatever's sticking to the walls.

If you stuck the tube down the dipstick hole I can see why it might not fully empty - but there's no need to do it that way on this engine.

Pete

 

[Vegable]

Hi VicS, and Hi Pete,
I've been using plug 6 in your diagram, not 3. On my boat I can't get at the starboard side of the engine so have never seen plug 3 or the top of the drain tube. Must admit I never thought of annealing the copper washers though. Thanks for that.
Yes Pete, with using the Pela I just stuck a thin metal rod down the dipstick tube.
Thanks both for your thoughts
Mike

Looking at VicS drawing again, it gives the impression that you are looking at the port side of the engine, but this is not the case, you are viewing it from the starboard side, the side I can't get at.
Mike

 

[prv]

On my boat I can't get at the starboard side of the engine so have never seen plug 3 or the top of the drain tube. [...]
Yes Pete, with using the Pela I just stuck a thin metal rod down the dipstick tube.

Ah, ok, that makes sense.

I too have a bulkhead hard up against the starboard side of the engine; the boat was originally built for a different one. However, I was able to reach down over the injector pump etc to attach the PVC tube to the drain pipe, and now I don't have to go back there again.

If you can't reach that area at all, how on earth do you change the oil filter?



Pete

 

[VicS]

Looking at VicS drawing again, it gives the impression that you are looking at the port side of the engine, but this is not the case, you are viewing it from the starboard side, the side I can't get at.
Mike

Yes thats a view of the starboard side . If you cannot get to it changing the engine oil filter must be difficult! ( edit: as Pete says)

I've no first hand knowledge of the engine but I would have thought that it would be possible to ensure that the suction tube of an oil extractor inserted via the dipstick tube reaches the bottom of the sump. If it does the quantity of oil remaining in the sump will be insignificant compared with the amount trapped in other parts of the engine.

 

[Quandary]

I had one of those engines, I changed the oil about 8 or 9 times, at first using the Pela down the dipstick hole and later using the extraction pipe, in my memory I am convinced that the extraction pipe extended higher than shown in the picture certainly to well above the oil filter, the cap was just a plastic sleeve and it must have been above the level of the oil or it would have leaked when taken off. I no longer have the boat so can not check but I think it is unlikely but not impossible that Finngulf would have fitted a longer extract pipe. I could use the Pela with either, I sealed it to the extract pipe by the simple expedient of winding a few layers of plastic insulation tape round the tube before pushing it in the hole.

Great engine, by the way, completely restored my faith in Volvo Penta.

 

[Vegable]

It's only relatively recently that I found out that the pipe from the bottom of the sump was for draining the pump - from a previous post from someone last spring I think. I've only had a brief look for it using a small mirror and a torch. However I'll investigate this further now.
Removing the filter is a real pig! I end up with the backs of my hands scratched, and black oil everywhere. I now line the engine bay with old newspaper and use "Marigolds".
Can I ask VicS, will a piece of annealled flattened copper plumbing pipe do as a basis for a copper washer, or is the copper too thin for this purpose?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[prv]

Removing the filter is a real pig!

Have you considered using a remote filter kit? You could put it somewhere easier to reach - and facing down, instead of the stupid sideways position that spills oil everywhere!

This is mine - note also the end of the sump drain tube next to it (plugged with a bolt):

You can't really see them in the picture, but there are a couple of holes into which I slot a pair of brass rods, then spear a plastic bag onto the rods to make a catching basket for the old filter and the small amount of oil that drips from the head when it's removed. After screwing on the new filter, I unhook the bag, seal it up, and bin it. Much easier than clearing up a bilge full of oily newspaper

The kit I used is this one, although I will say that the elbows included feel a little cheap, and in retrospect I'm not a huge fan of using jubilee clips here. There are others available with swaged hydraulic-style elbows.

Pete

 

[pvb]

Have you considered using a remote filter kit? You could put it somewhere easier to reach - and facing down, instead of the stupid sideways position that spills oil everywhere!

This is mine - note also the end of the sump drain tube next to it (plugged with a bolt):

Great idea to include a coffee cup holder too!

 

[prv]

Great idea to include a coffee cup holder too!

It's a drip catcher for the sump drain tube. Idea copied from the tap on the drum of soluble oil for the lathes and milling machine at school.

Pete

 

[Quandary]

I
Can I ask VicS, will a piece of annealled flattened copper plumbing pipe do as a basis for a copper washer, or is the copper too thin for this purpose?
Thanks,
Mike

Vic is very busy these days elsewhere, trying to help a backward child.