I used to laugh at fluid extractors, now I own three of them

Last month I was doing an oil change on a 2015 F-150 and the drain plug was so rounded off I couldn't get it loose with anything. Tried heat, tried vice grips, nothing. My coworker Dave handed me his cheap fluid extractor and said just pull it through the dipstick tube. I thought it was a joke, like those suction pumps that never get all the oil out. But I was desperate and tried it. Pulled out damn near 7 quarts in under 10 minutes, no mess, no fighting the plug. Then I looked up how much a decent one costs and felt like an idiot for fighting with drain pans and stripped plugs for 12 years. I went out and bought a Mityvac 7201 the next day, used it on three cars since, including one where the plug was welded on from rust. Has anyone else switched completely off drain plugs, or am I just lazy now?

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blake79225d ago

Picked up a used one at a yard sale for 20 bucks a few years back, figured it was junk. Turned out the guy was a boat mechanic and it was some heavy duty model that still works great. Now I use it on my mower, the generator, even the snowblower. Drain plugs are for people who enjoy lying in the driveway getting oil in their hair. Once you pull sludge out the top a few times you never go back.

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