Bongo Fury

Hope the moderator's dont mind me posting this here

I bought a brand new pela 6000 oil extractor from a chandler in Warrington yesterday, (£29.99 )

Its first task was extracting 20 litres of diesel/veg oil mix from a tank i use,which was then tipped into the bongo's fuel tank.

No problems there.

I bought the pump primarily for interim oil changes on the bongo,but thought i'd try out an oil change on my 1999 ford focus turbo diesel estate that i use for work.

Im not entirely certain i'm doing it correctly though.... the capacity for the focus is four something litres, but i can only extract nearly three litres with the pump

This query is for more experienced Pela pump user's really, am i doing something wrong? Why cant i extract the other litre or so?

Don't forget you are leaving a full filter of oil behind and also unless you get the sucker pipe into the lowest corner you will leave a bit in the bottom of the sump as well. This morning I changed the oil & filter in the Bongo after 3500 kms and it took 15 mins. I do have a pela pump which I used for the gearbox but for the sake of the cost of a filter I feel that a oil & filter change for the engine is the way to go. If you were having a blood transfusion/change to get rid of some 'orrible bug you wouldn't put 7 pints of clean blood in & a pint of the old stuff. Good clean oil is the lifeblood of your Bongo.

Of course you are right... it would seem that the tube isnt long enough to extract the last litre or so of oil,or, there is a baffle in the sump that is restricting the passage of the tube.

This was a test really, as i was planning on doing interim oil changes, half way through the correct intervals,then doing a proper drop/filter change when the interval comes around.

I can source 30 litre tubs of 10/40 semi synthetic for not much money,so i was going to treat the mid way oil changes like a top up of washer fluid...see where i'm coming from?

I have to do my "proper" oil and filter changes done at the garage,cos i'm a bit clumsy when it comes to dropping full filters of oil, tripping over drip trays etc.

(hwmbo has "words" when i do em at home )

Thanks Haydn

My Pela extracted ALL of the oil (minus filter .5l or so) so it has a simple to drain sump. Oil filters only need changing every other change so I'll go with Mazda and save the £ and aggro. Even when I do change the filter I will still use the Pela to save hassle with the sump plug, grovelling about underneath and getting oil on the drive etc. and then I'll just use a washing up bowl under the filter when I remove that

Thanks mike, i haven't tried it yet on the bongo, just my focus estate, oh,and a ford fiesta (about 5 minutes ago) I had much more success with the fiesta, as it appeared to remove all the oil

I guess the sump is restricted somehow on a diesel ford focus

I'll do the bongo tomorrow mike,i have a spare oil filter,so i'll use it while i have it... The oil was changed less than 1k ago, but i wasn't convinced it was up to the job, so i'll replace it with lashings of lovely magnatec tomorrow

How do you clean the pump mike? I ran about a litre of white spirit through it,then dried with kitchen roll...not the missus' kitchen roll of course..i borrowed some from...er,. ok, ok, i used the missus' kitchen roll

Oil filters only need changing every other change

I was going to ask about this, thanks for the prompt Mike -I always thought (with any other car) that the oil filter should be changed every time the oil is changed, otherwise your just going to be mixing about 1/2 a litre of "bad" oil with the nice new clean oil your putting in.

Arguments for and against please..........

MattK wrote:

Oil filters only need changing every other change

I was going to ask about this, thanks for the prompt Mike -I always thought (with any other car) that the oil filter should be changed every time the oil is changed, otherwise your just going to be mixing about 1/2 a litre of "bad" oil with the nice new clean oil your putting in.

Arguments for and against please..........

Well, that's how I've been doing it - and the Freda's running just fine. Passed the MOT last week with a nice low emission reading (I use a veg oil mix.... - let's not start all that again ). I have a Pela pump and I've found it's sometimes a bit tricky to find just how far to push the extractor tube down the dip-stick tube. I'm getting better at it though Delicate touch required - first time I just shoved it all the way in without thinking, and it obviously curled back on itself and the end came back out of the oil

I've not cleaned the Pela apart from emptying it - but then, I've only used it (so far) for engine oil.

Dave

Hey Big D ...i used my pela for the first time today to change the atf ...good arnt they i found i had some left in the sump when i removed it , i guess you just have to wiggle it about abit if you want to try and get the whole lot out another job done and ticked off the list although i still have to get the atf level correct ... .regarding the oil change i have read the lubricant factsheet and was going to replace mine with mineral oil on its next change ??? what do you use mineral or synthetic ??

Didnt bother cleaning mine after use BDC. As I see it, its only job is sucking out dirty oil so it doesnt need to be clean

If you listen carefully you can hear a slight noise when the dip tube hits the sump. The resistance changes only very slightly so you have to be careful not to go to far and have the tube walk up the side of the sump. I have found the Pela extracts at least as much oil as a drain on most cars and in some cases more.

With regards to intermedaite changes they can only be a good thing. The oil deteriorates from the first turn of the key and diesels are very demanding due to contamination from combustion by-products (hence black oil). The filter is only there to trap particulates and it will do this for far longer than the oil remains fresh. The filter will remove none of the combustion tars and acids that are in solution and few that are in suspension (too fine a particle). Leaving a bit of old oil in the system really does no harm - you will still have 80 or 90% fresh oil and the oil will blend perfectly giving you 80 or 90% of the duty cyle. The long chain destruction that reduces lubricity isn't really a factor with diesels because the contamination has ruined the oil long before it's relevant.

I still think the 3000 mile change is over the top but it can only be beneficial if you have a cheap source of oil. I am happy with 5000 mile oil and filter changes (although I have just changed it after 2000 miles because I fancied trying some slick 50).