On 2 Mar 2004 11:30:26 -0800, (Don) wrote:

|I know that it is best to use the drain plug, but there are times I
|hate crawling on the floor or sometimes it rains or in the winter it
|is very cold.
|
|I saw at sears an air operated oil extractor that has a ridgid
|dipstick tube. It can also remove transmission fluid without taking
|off the pan.
|
|Would the life of a vehicle be shortened by using this method? By the
|way the item I looked at was made by Mity-Vac and held 8.8 liters. You
|use it with your air compressor.

that would be simple enough to make yourself.
You'd need a vacuum source - HF, $9.95 on sale
Steel tubing to fit down the dipstick hole, long enough to reach the bottom.
Reservoir at least 6 quarts in size, vacuum-tight and strong enough not to
collapse from the vacuum. You would need to add two tubes through the top. One
would extend almost to the bottom of the container, the other just needs to go
thorugh the lid.
Tubing to connect all the above.

Stick the tube in the dipstick tube, attach flex hose between that and the
longer reservoir tube, then connect the shorter reservoir tube to the vacuum
pump. Apply vacuum until all the oil is out.

Then I'd pull the drain plug and see how much is left.
Rex in Fort Worth