I am getting ready to change my engine oil. I have used transfer pumps on boat engines in the past. What are you guys using to extract your oil for a change? I was going to look at Northern supply & west marine but would like to no what others are using. I have the M11 engine. I plan on using 3-6 gal tanks I have to contain the old oil.
Who do you use for oil analysis?
What oil brand are you using and why?
I am using MOT - :-)
MOT would be great but I am due and live in Miami Fla. a bit far to go for a oil change!
Phil,
Look around the engine compartment for any stickers that may indicate the oil being used for the engine/hydraulic systems. Foretravel usually noted these in the documentation or the engine bay. I personally use Chevron Delo 400 15W40 for all systems including the genset. That is the oil that has been used since day one. BTW, I have yet to change the oil myself in 9 years :o
Paul,
Not on the Honda. That uses a 5W20 oil. Kendall brand oil at the Honda dealer. I changed the oil on the Honda only once. It was such a pain to get to the filter, I now leave it to the dealer...twice a year.
I use the a Fumo valve (FUMOTO ENGINEERING (http://www.fumotousa.com/)) which is installed in place of the oil plug on the bottom of the oil pan. Very easy to crawl under there and turn the valve and fill up a container and then shut the valve and switch to a new container and start again. Have Fumo valves on every thing I own that requires oil changes. Makes changing oil so much easier. I've tried some of the oil extractors and have never been happy with any of them, but I understand how they would be nice in the engine hole in a boat.
And which oil do I use? I use Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 synthetic oil in the Cummins. Best bang for the buck in a synthetic formulated oil and I can get it at any Walmart. Made the decision on Rotella T6 because of what I read concerning it on the Bob Is The Oil Guy.com forum and the TDI club.com forum. Plus I have used the Rotella T diesel motor oils going way back into the early 1980s. Rotella T has a a very big following in the trucking industry.
I do not use a oil analysis each and every oil change, but have used them in the past. I have used Petroliance DBA AV Lubricants-Your ExxonMobil Oil Distributor! (http://www.avlube.com/), Cat S*O*S services, and Blackstone Labs, in that order. The first two have been around lots longer that Blackstone. I used to use Kendall lab because it was free and I knew the guys who worked in the lab, but they went out of business long ago. I probably use analysis every third oil change.
Pat , I use the same drain plug [valve], which I slip a hose 5 ft long over the valve nipple to a 5 gal bucket which makes it easy to awitch to another bucket . I also put a cheep valve on the bucket end , so have control without crawling back under again . This works good for me . Brad Metzger
I use a Cummins Centinel system and haven't changed oil in 6 years.
Single bucket - best idea was from the forum (I think, Gary B.) - buy a 30 gallon plastic drum and cut it down to fit under the coach (fully raised).
Personally, I use Speedco - Filters lube and oil change while you watch. $240.00
The shop across the GA line on 75 knows their stuff. Haven't heard of a bad one yet.
Speedco (http://www.speedco.com/index.php)
http://www.speedco.com/42c8d51c48_sites/speedco.com/files/LubeSheet-Jan2012.pdf (http://www.speedco.com/42c8d51c48_sites/speedco.com/files/LubeSheet-Jan2012.pdf)
APU = generator...
Brett,
Did you install the Centinel system yourself or must be installed by Cummins? Can you share how much this system cost? Seems like a good option for an RV. No disposal headaches or interval issues.
Thanks
Chris
Cummins Centinel looks very interesting! I read about it online but don't see any pricing. I suspect the for those of us doing 12 to 24 thousand miles a year it may not pay? But it is intriguing as I was just this morning wondering about the possibility of burning the old oil (15 Gal.). Seems there is always something to learn!
That looks very interesting. Do you have to replenish the make up tank often?
Reading between the lines about the Cummins Centinel system, there are some points to consider that defy conventional wisdom. Oil is maintained to a minimum quality level. Engine load monitoring, not oil analysis, determines when a measured amount of oil is pumped out, and new oil pumped in. The old oil is burned as fuel, bringing overall quality up to spec. It is still necessary to pull the dipstick occasionally as Centinel does not account for oil blowby and burn. You could certainly do the same thing, in effect, by partially draining your oil occasionally, putting some fresh in, and dumping the waste oil in your fuel tank. It would be pretty easy to figure the required intervals by doing an initial series of oil analysis. The standard for Centinel is to maintain the oil quality at a level equal to standard (in the trucking industry) 20,000 mile oil change intervals. Not too many RV'rs would consider oil changes at 20K miles, but this is probably due more to gut feelings than hard data. Not too many would be willing to dump the waste oil in the fuel tank either, though there are those who do this as a matter of course. I'm sure the Centinel system has additional filtration that renders the used oil relatively free of contaminants and safe for burning as fuel. What this all tells me:
We change oil too often.
Oil only has to be good enough for the job. If it meets spec it really doesn't matter how long it's been in the crankcase.
Installing a bypass filtration system would give you the manual equivalent of Centinel.
If anyone is interested in exploring these alternative oil management strategies, a buddy is a regional rep for Racor and a major injection pump rebuilder/supplier. I'll be happy to put you in touch, he's a good guy, he's offered to hook me up with the latest tech but, sadly, I don't drive enough miles to make it worthwhile. Please don't take this as criticism of Centinel, it's a fine system that does a good job of managing resources in a green fashion, and saving money to those who put enough miles on to justify it.
I wonder what the break even point for miles. I will put on well over 40K miles this year but that is not a lot vs the trucking industry.
Lots of fancy methods of changing most of your oil, unless you pull the drain plug in oil pan, you are only removing some and replacing some oil. MY ISM holds 10 gal oil, I pull the plug, drain into a 15 gal drain container that I also set the filter on to drain, then drain that into my 450 gal oil barrell.
Using a vaccuum pump, you will get alot of oil but there is still alot that you can not get.
For me, I change oil every six months or so due to concerns about the acids (think Sulfer)
In the end, do what makes you happy.
Dave M
I installed my Centinel system back in 2007. It cost $1386 and has been trouble free. I top up the make up tank about every 1000 miles. It's a 4 gallon tank and I usually add about a gallon. The system is cheaper without the make up tank. I wanted it because my motorcycle lift makes rear access a bit of a hassle. Cummins wants you to do an oil analysis every 37,500mi. to confirm everything's fine. I did it every 20K mi. until I found I was wasting time. They require a specific combined bypass/full flow oil filter, with changes every 75K mi. To me it's like solar panels. If you calculate breakeven, you probably can't justify it. But it's so convenient!
I saw a provost bus with a oil tank and a coolant tank that allowed you to add by turning a petcock. It carried about 4 gallons of each fluid. It was very neat and clean way of adding oil and coolant if you need to.
Blue bird had an oil tank in the engine compartment with a visible level gauge for adding. Handy with 8v92's as they used some oil. Two stroke I guess?
Bob
I just ordered a Jabsco 33745 manual pump. I will extract what I can with the pump and drain the rest in a pan along with the filter. I just don't like the idea of pulling the plug with 10 plus gal. spewing out and not having the means of stopping it. The add on valves sound good but I have bottomed out my coach before and I am afraid that the fittings may get ripped off. I have used the smaller version of this pump and it worked well. I like the simplicity of it and at 7 strokes per Gal. it should not take long to extract most of the oil. I will plan on changing twice a year or so like Dave said. I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks for the responses! Phil
Sounds good. I'm going to try them in Kingman, AZ in 2 weeks.
Should I call and make an appointment?
They don't mention "lube" in their $239 service.
Do you tell them not to lube the brakes?
best, paul
I just pulled in. But you can call and schedule. My place didn't have an air filter, but the 'other' lube place across the interstate did, so I got that done, two.
I told the lube guy twices - Arvin Meritor Disck brakes, lube nothing on the brakes!
Dave,
I'm thinking of using SpeedCo for my next Oil Change. Let us know how well they did on your coach.
Thanks.
Chris
Thanks again for the recommendation, Dave.
SpeedCo was a treat.
best, paul