I bet if I searched, I'd find the answer for this, but I am being lazy.

So, I am going to drop the engine soon, come hell or high water. I need to drain the oil out of it. No problem. But I have always had it burned into my skull that you need to let the oil heat up before draining, and my engine has not run in a year, and won't start right now.

Its a dumb question, and I am almost embarrased to ask it, but will bad stuff happen if I just drain it cold? I can't imagine that it would harm anyhting, but better safe then sorry.

Zach

I drained my oil while cold, like a bad boy, had no choice really. Did just fine. But, next time I'll drain it warm to loosen up the gunk and stuff that people claim gets loosened up.

I'm just a little sceptical though...

:SKEPTICAL:

From "Preserving the Porsche" by F.A. Porsche

"...care should be taken to never drain engine oil when cold. If necessary, 60-90 mins of indirect heat from an ordinary hair dryer should suffice... If a hair dryer is unavailable, it is advised that the oil be partially drained, brought to a boil, and then returned before completing the drain."

(The books for sale real cheap)

The real problem with draining cold oil is that it has a higher viscosity when cold. What this means is that it will drain out slower and you won't get as much of it out as you would with a warm engine.


don't worry...your engine won't explode the next time you start it...unless you forget to add oil back in.

get a heat source under the case? warm it up somehow.

if your gonna just take it apart to rebuild it - who cares. its just gonna make your workspace messy
get er done

you could add some gas to the oil to thin it out...this was a common in the old days for aircraft to make it easier to start in cold weather....

I drained mine cold over a period of a week... I all came out.

So the oil is cold, so what? It won't be much thicker than when it comes out of the bottle new during an oil change. You'll leave more sediment behind, but if you're going to disassemble the engine you'll clean out the sump area anyway. Go for it.

It will just take a little longer to drain out. If you are tearing it apart a trick we always used was after reassembly, ran it til warm for ten minutes or so, drained it changed the filter and put in fresh oil. I know it sounds a bit wasteful but we always felt the little tiny not visble to the naked eye stuff etc was now flushed. It always made me feel better, could be all in my head but that is my routine.

ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

QUOTE (Buckeye '73 @ Nov 2 2005, 11:51 AM)

If a hair dryer is unavailable, it is advised that the oil be partially drained, brought to a boil, and then returned before completing the drain."

Be careful here!! Years ago back in Wisconsin, I recall reading a news story about some fool who's truck would not start due to the typical cold winters. He drained his oil and attempted to heat it on his stove. The oil reached its flash point and ignited. Poor guy lost his entire house, wife and daughter because of the fire.

Of course be careful with anything on the stove. We probably have all had closs calls in this area. Last night we were reheating left over roast chicken for dinner and I turned on the burner for the gravy, walked into the living room, sat down and started watching TV. A short time later, hey, what's that smell? The gravy had boiled down to a brown residue, but I caught it before all of the liquid was gone. Luckily. Real smart!

Heating engine oil on the stove is like heating cooking oil for deep frying. It can tolerate 300-400 degrees, but after that you're asking for trouble.

Last year, my sister and her husband decided to try the fried turkey thing, with a burner and deep pot for frying. Good thing this was outdoors on the patio. With the burner on and the pot full of oil, a little distraction with too many things going on, and flash goes the cooking oil. The lid of the pot was nearby and they covered the pot which extinguished the flame. Thankfully, no injuries or damage, but it sure got everyone's attention.

QUOTE (maf914 @ Nov 3 2005, 01:20 PM)

Last year, my sister and her husband decided to try the fried turkey thing, with a burner and deep pot for frying. Good thing this was outdoors on the patio. With the burner on and the pot full of oil, a little distraction with too many things going on, and flash goes the cooking oil. The lid of the pot was nearby and they covered the pot which extinguished the flame. Thankfully, no injuries or damage, but it sure got everyone's attention.

Totally OT (but its my topic, so I don't care).

Those turkey fryers are just fires waiting to happen.

I know 2 people who have started fires with turkey fryers. And when they go up, its pretty spectacular.

Zach

use a paint stripping gun to heat the oil before draining.
wave it back and forth to heat evenly.