2.7L Oil Extractor Oil Change DIY (Video)

[ADVNTURR]

There have been plenty of discussions on here about changing oil with the various motors and most have found that the factory oil plug generally results in a mess when removed. While many have chosen to go with a replacement oil plug with a drain valve, I've gone a different direction and am using an oil extractor on my 2.7L truck and avoiding the mess altogether (plus I don't have to go under the truck or deal with any of the skid plates).



I don't think this is a viable option on the 2.3L trucks and I'm unsure about the 3.0L in the Raptor (or any of the diesel engines available elsewhere in the world), but on the 2.7L it's a great option.

Sponsored

 

[isslandboy]

There have been plenty of discussions on here about changing oil with the various motors and most have found that the factory oil plug generally results in a mess when removed. While many have chosen to go with a replacement oil plug with a drain valve, I've gone a different direction and am using an oil extractor on my 2.7L truck and avoiding the mess altogether (plus I don't have to go under the truck or deal with any of the skid plates).



I don't think this is a viable option on the 2.3L trucks and I'm unsure about the 3.0L in the Raptor (or any of the diesel engines available elsewhere in the world), but on the 2.7L it's a great option.

Do you think there would be any advantage to driving the truck up on a couple of 2 X 4's to get the oil to one side to get a bit more out?

 

[ADVNTURR]

Do you think there would be any advantage to driving the truck up on a couple of 2 X 4's to get the oil to one side to get a bit more out?

I doubt it. I've done 2 changes now and both times have pulled out every bit of 6qt with nothing more than some repositioning of the suction hose.

 

[MasterCylinder]

Some autos are by design about the only way to perform a oil change is extraction method. Being an old fart I'll stick to the extra time involved for the gravity drain method as suspended particles settle at the bottom and extraction can very seldom remove or reach such debris. One reason oil changes should be done at operating temperatures. All engines trap a certain amount of oil in cavities/passages anyway. Older engines had a magnet on the drain plug which you don't see anymore on the oil pan. I would question if this could be a way for car makers to dodge warranty as they could claim improper maintenance procedures were used!?!? So the question Is, is it Ford approved, do they do this? Bottom line it is your truck/car, nice one to but at today's cost, ill stick to the time proven means of maintenance until she drips! Lol.

 

[josephp732]

Mr. Sucky! Just like the sound of being at the dentist.

 

[Aemonn]

There have been plenty of discussions on here about changing oil with the various motors and most have found that the factory oil plug generally results in a mess when removed. While many have chosen to go with a replacement oil plug with a drain valve, I've gone a different direction and am using an oil extractor on my 2.7L truck and avoiding the mess altogether (plus I don't have to go under the truck or deal with any of the skid plates).



I don't think this is a viable option on the 2.3L trucks and I'm unsure about the 3.0L in the Raptor (or any of the diesel engines available elsewhere in the world), but on the 2.7L it's a great option.

I did this for many years with a previous vehicle as it was low to the ground and a pain to get a jack under, too low to get on most ramps without blocking leading up to the ramps too...

Only caution with this is that In my experience there was a significant amount of oil left at the bottom of the pan. I tested this by lifting my old car up on all 4 corners, extracted the oil via the extractor, then drained the rest. I can't recall the amount that came out, but it was a significant enough amount that I stopped using the extractor.

As hinted at already, this might have been isolated to that vehicle and might not be the case with a ranger. Just sharing my specific experience. I really like with the ranger that I don't even need to jack it up or use ramps. I just crawl under it. At least I can with the raptor with the additional ground clearance.

 

[MasterCylinder]

I did this for many years with a previous vehicle as it was low to the ground and a pain to get a jack under, too low to get on most ramps without blocking leading up to the ramps too...

Only caution with this is that In my experience there was a significant amount of oil left at the bottom of the pan. I tested this by lifting my old car up on all 4 corners, extracted the oil via the extractor, then drained the rest. I can't recall the amount that came out, but it was a significant enough amount that I stopped using the extractor.

As hinted at already, this might have been isolated to that vehicle and might not be the case with a ranger. Just sharing my specific experience. I really like with the ranger that I don't even need to jack it up or use ramps. I just crawl under it. At least I can with the raptor with the additional ground clearance.

Just a friendly hint. One, I extended my drive up ramps so there low enough for even small cars to crawl up without hitting anything. Works well for lawnmower work to. Second hint, I put my truck in 4 Low and pull up on 4 inch cement blocks. Provides all the clearance needed for my Danger Ranger.

 

[hand-filer]

I'm surprised that an extractor works on the 2.7 Ranger. My previous vehicle, also had the 2.7 and the extractor tube would not reach down to the bottom of the pan due to the oil pan design.

I'll stick to the old fashioned way. It gives me the opportunity to do an inspection of all things you can't see from the top.

 

[ADVNTURR]

I'm surprised that an extractor works on the 2.7 Ranger. My previous vehicle, also had the 2.7 and the extractor tube would not reach down to the bottom of the pan due to the oil pan design.

I'll stick to the old fashioned way. It gives me the opportunity to do an inspection of all things you can't see from the top.

That's very interesting, is that diagram of the 2.7 in the Ranger or from another application?

Admittedly it took me a couple of tries the first time to get the pickup tube in a good sport but it worked a bit better this time around. However, I put 6qt in last time and pulled 6qt out this time so by my math I got most of it out.

 

[ADVNTURR]

I did this for many years with a previous vehicle as it was low to the ground and a pain to get a jack under, too low to get on most ramps without blocking leading up to the ramps too...

Only caution with this is that In my experience there was a significant amount of oil left at the bottom of the pan. I tested this by lifting my old car up on all 4 corners, extracted the oil via the extractor, then drained the rest. I can't recall the amount that came out, but it was a significant enough amount that I stopped using the extractor.

As hinted at already, this might have been isolated to that vehicle and might not be the case with a ranger. Just sharing my specific experience. I really like with the ranger that I don't even need to jack it up or use ramps. I just crawl under it. At least I can with the raptor with the additional ground clearance.

It definitely isn't an option on every vehicle and anything with a bottom mounted filter doesn't really have the main benefit of not having to crawl under the vehicle. Everything I've had so far with a top mounted cartridge filter has worked pretty well with an extractor (except my wife's new Mini which doesn't have a dipstick ).

As far as leaving oil behind, I was originally going to pull the drain plug after extracting, but it pulled so much oil out I just didn't seem it worth my time. As mentioned in another reply, last time I filled with 6qt and this time I pulled 6qt out which seems like most of it.

 

[RonM_TX]

Some autos are by design about the only way to perform a oil change is extraction method. Being an old fart I'll stick to the extra time involved for the gravity drain method as suspended particles settle at the bottom and extraction can very seldom remove or reach such debris. One reason oil changes should be done at operating temperatures. All engines trap a certain amount of oil in cavities/passages anyway. Older engines had a magnet on the drain plug which you don't see anymore on the oil pan. I would question if this could be a way for car makers to dodge warranty as they could claim improper maintenance procedures were used!?!? So the question Is, is it Ford approved, do they do this? Bottom line it is your truck/car, nice one to but at today's cost, ill stick to the time proven means of maintenance until she drips! Lol.

Another old trick was to wrap a sheet magnet around the oil filter to trap fine metal particles. No idea how well it worked, we never cut open the filters back in the day.

 

[MasterCylinder]

Another old trick was to wrap a sheet magnet around the oil filter to trap fine metal particles. No idea how well it worked, we never cut open the filters back in the day.

Yep, remember that, my older brothers favorite was just slapping an old speaker magnet on the bottom! Lol We never cut one open either. I don't remember ever seeing anything on the oil plug magnet. Rear ends yes but its a constant meshing of gears. ah the memories!

 

[ADVNTURR]

Another old trick was to wrap a sheet magnet around the oil filter to trap fine metal particles. No idea how well it worked, we never cut open the filters back in the day.

The endurance race team I am on has some commercially available version of one of these magnets we run. Also don't know how much it helps, but on a spin-on filter I guess it can't really hurt. Haven't seen anything similar for the cartridge filters on the 2.7/3.0.

 

[stemplar]

However, I put 6qt in last time and pulled 6qt out this time so by my math I got most of it out.

I'm really intrigued by this post, because it was my understanding that engines with auto start/stop are designed to keep the oil from draining down to the sump too quickly making it difficult if not impossible to drain all oil through the dipstick, but this isn't the first time I've seen someone say that they've used a vacuum extractor successfully.

Now, with that said, the logic of the quoted statement itself doesn't hold up. Please know that I'm not saying that it's true or not, but putting 6 quarts in then later taking 6 quarts out doesn't mean that all of the oil was evacuated. It doesn't mean it wasn't either. For example, if you drain 6 quarts and leave 1 in the sump, you'll have a total of 7 quarts. Later when you drain 6 you'll still have one left, but you put 6 in and took 6 out. Also, it's rather unlikely that the dipstick will register there only being a quart or two left in the sump because it wasn't designed to reach the bottom of the sump. The only way to really tell what's left in the sump, if anything at all, after using a vacuum extractor is to remove the drain plug and either just gravity-drain or stick the extractor hose into the drain hole and try to suck more out from the pan.

 

[ADVNTURR]

I'm really intrigued by this post, because it was my understanding that engines with auto start/stop are designed to keep the oil from draining down to the sump too quickly making it difficult if not impossible to drain all oil through the dipstick, but this isn't the first time I've seen someone say that they've used a vacuum extractor successfully.

Now, with that said, the logic of the quoted statement itself doesn't hold up. Please know that I'm not saying that it's true or not, but putting 6 quarts in then later taking 6 quarts out doesn't mean that all of the oil was evacuated. It doesn't mean it wasn't either. For example, if you drain 6 quarts and leave 1 in the sump, you'll have a total of 7 quarts. Later when you drain 6 you'll still have one left, but you put 6 in and took 6 out. Also, it's rather unlikely that the dipstick will register there only being a quart or two left in the sump because it wasn't designed to reach the bottom of the sump. The only way to really tell what's left in the sump, if anything at all, after using a vacuum extractor is to remove the drain plug and either just gravity-drain or stick the extractor hose into the drain hole and try to suck more out from the pan.

I guess there's always some possibility I have somehow damaged my drain pan inserting the extraction tube, but having done this on my German cars for almost 20 years, I didn't have any unexpected resistance or anything either time I've changed the oil using the extractor. I've seen the diagram someone posted, and if that truly is the design on the 2.7 in the Ranger than I don't have a good answer for why it's working fine.

The Ford claimed capacity is 6qt for an oil change with filter. This isn't all of the oil in the motor since there's at least 1 oil cooler somewhere in the system that typically doesn't drain when doing an oil change, gravity or extraction. I'm not going to claim I have gotten as much out as a traditional drain would because I haven't pulled the drain plug, but I am getting out as much as Ford says I should.

Sponsored