Oh hell! and sump oil

[pugwash]

Decided to winterize. Got all the spares lined up. Raining stair-rods outside so good moment to get started. Unlatch all the woodwork from around the engine. Down on hands and knees with new sump-oil extractor (forgotten the name but it sounds French and the bowl is ball-shaped). The tube won't fit down the vital last inch of the dipstick hole. Okay. Undo the sump cap on the side of the engine (Lister Petter 3cyl). Push in the plastic tube and operate pump. Zilch. Problem is, the plastic tube has to go through two elbows to reach the sump and it's impossible to tell when it's in the right spot. If you push it too far the end of the tube forms a coil. Useless. Okay. Slowly extract the tube while pumping. Eureka! Oil is coming up the transparent tube and flowing (very slowly) into the bowl. Then it stops, presumably because the end of the tube is now above the oil-level. Now, because the tube is lined with black oil, movement of oil can't be detected. After 30 mintues of cursing the upshot is bleeding knuckles, sump-oil dripping everywhere, container empty, project cancelled.

So what should I have done to make it work?

 

[Bergman]

I think the answer is to have run the engine until oil was hot - and thin.

If your boats out of water it could be a problem.

 

[pugwash]

For the record, the boat's is afloat and the engine was warm, not full operating temp but far from cold. The problem was finding the bottom of the well of the sump with a curly-whirly bit of plastic tube.

 

[mtb]

Best way is to fit either a pump or pipe directely on to one of the sump plugs, as most other engines have . You should be able to buy a pump but as for an exstended sump bolt !! none are listed in the book but they are bsp thread so you will be able to get it sorted.
The pipe will need to be a reasonable size say 3/8"". Once done yearly oil change will be a doddle.
Cheers
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler or tug v, cheap or swap for tug

 

[dickh]

You should be able, as long as it is a BSP thread, to get a Banjo fitting from a Hydraulic Supplier, then a hose with a banjo fitting on the end, with the other end clamped up near the top of the engine with a stop end fitting all ready to ectract the oil.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[LORDNELSON]

I attach a thin aluminium pipe just a little smaller in diameter than the plastic pipe to which it is attached and then push the aluminium pipe down the dipstick hole. The oil does need to be hot though; if you are in the water run the engine in drive so it will hot up. I did mine this year out of the water and it took ages to get up to a reasonable heat because the engine was not having to do any work.

 

[pugwash]

Thanks to you (and other posters) for good advice. But what's a banjo fitting?

 

[philmarks]

If boat's out of water (it's not I know) and you have mains power then run a fan heater pointed towards the sumop for 1/2 hr. That warms and thins the oil. OK no need if you can run the engine, but may be useful to another reader.
Part 2. I had a problem with very narrow dipstick access to the sump. I bought a metre of thin brass tube from B&Q and stuck that down into the sump, with a plastic pipe attached. Worked a treat. Pela vacuum extractors are great for evacuating oil.
phil

 

[dickh]

Re: Oh hell! and sump oil & Banjo Fitting...

Banjo Fitting - difficult to describe in words but here goes. Basically it's a fitting crimped to a hydraulic hose that allows a hose to be fitted at right angles to the sump plug & able to rotate around the plug for orientation - ie the hose will run parallel to the sump base(assuming your sump plug is in a horizontal plane). The banjo bolt is like a longer sump plug with a central hole and two cross holes to allow oil to go down the central hole and then up the hose. Usually a copper washer on each side for sealing purposes.
Remember Seagull outboards? - the fuel pipe from the tank had a banjo fitting it to the carb.
You should be able to get a banjo fitting from a Hydraulics dealer, assuming your sump plug has BSP or a standard metric Thread - take your sump plug to them and check the thread is compatible - otherwise a special could be made up by a local machine shop, but it would still have to fit the standard banjo hose fitting.
Hope that explains it

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...