DieselBound
Elite Member
I've got such a variety of equipment that there's no way to standardize: probably true for a lot of folks here.
As has been stated, lay out ALL tools and parts in advance. Make sure you have drain containers adequately sized! (nothing like getting most of the way through and finding out you're going to overrun! - I've got a plastic oil drain pan that gets used ad-hoc and I seem to find that it never seems to be big enough!)
For my cars (TDIs) I do top-side oil changes using a manual extractor; oil filter is cartridge and I just allow it to drain most oil from it and then pull it and set it in a small pan. These cars represent the majority of my oil-changing activities, though their change interval is 10k miles. Also do top-side extraction on my Polaris (diesel). It's a bit slow but I busy myself with other maintenance activities while the pump is slowly sucking away.
NOTE: I use a piece of copper tubing to stiffen my extractor pick-up tube. Feed the plastic tubing just past the copper tubing's end and stuff it all down the dipstick tube until I hit bottom: the metal from the cooper tubing enables you to get a good feel for hitting bottom (the plastic can bend and perhaps curl back up, making it hard to tell). I can also push the plastic tubing out some more to kind of fish around.
I don't change hydraulic fluids in the tractors all that often, going by manufacturer's stated intervals. I DO have a large rolling oil drain cart/pan that I had to get in order to handle the 17 gallons of hydraulic fluid in the Kioti: hand crank pump it out and into jugs for recycling. Rather than try to perfect this operation I just go through it: lather around some old rags and go to work. I'd end up spending more time perfecting this than I'd end up saving.
Fussiest fluid to change, for me, is axle fluid in the tractors. For the B7800 Kubota made it impossible to not make a mess. The Kioti is a bit more kind. Draining and filling both represent challenges. Rags. Rags. More rags...
Oil changes in the tractors are easy enough. Plenty of clearance to slide under. And, again, change interval isn't all that demanding.
Have not managed to come to terms with my old Dodge 12V. An air compressor in the engine compartment really makes it impossible to pull the oil filter up and out, and removing from below is always a mess. Being 4wd makes it a little less of a pain in that I can readily get underneath (no jacking). Again, not a frequent enough event that I feel I have to spend a bunch of time perfecting: I'll toss some magic spells (cuss words) at it, but haven't found the right ones yet!
My diesel generator has an oil drain petcock on it: standard/factory. Nice to drain oil but when closed it still will pass a few drops over time: keep a little pan underneath.
I spent years changing fluids (not to mention lots of other more demanding mechanical work) out in the open, on uneven gravel surfaces. Now having a garage with a flat, concrete floor I find that I'm a little less jaded by/with these rather simple maintenance tasks.
Oh! Clean up around all filters and plugs before loosening/removal. Have rags available for preemptive and post work. ALSO, place a cap on your new oil container (if that's what you're dispensing from) after every time you pour from it: I've kicked over enough open containers to have now conditioned myself to automatically put the stupid cap back on, always!
Also as noted, it's one of the big selling points of electric. But, even here, I would suppose, there's still greasing (which is responsible for the majority of entries in my book of "magic spells").
As has been stated, lay out ALL tools and parts in advance. Make sure you have drain containers adequately sized! (nothing like getting most of the way through and finding out you're going to overrun! - I've got a plastic oil drain pan that gets used ad-hoc and I seem to find that it never seems to be big enough!)
For my cars (TDIs) I do top-side oil changes using a manual extractor; oil filter is cartridge and I just allow it to drain most oil from it and then pull it and set it in a small pan. These cars represent the majority of my oil-changing activities, though their change interval is 10k miles. Also do top-side extraction on my Polaris (diesel). It's a bit slow but I busy myself with other maintenance activities while the pump is slowly sucking away.
NOTE: I use a piece of copper tubing to stiffen my extractor pick-up tube. Feed the plastic tubing just past the copper tubing's end and stuff it all down the dipstick tube until I hit bottom: the metal from the cooper tubing enables you to get a good feel for hitting bottom (the plastic can bend and perhaps curl back up, making it hard to tell). I can also push the plastic tubing out some more to kind of fish around.
I don't change hydraulic fluids in the tractors all that often, going by manufacturer's stated intervals. I DO have a large rolling oil drain cart/pan that I had to get in order to handle the 17 gallons of hydraulic fluid in the Kioti: hand crank pump it out and into jugs for recycling. Rather than try to perfect this operation I just go through it: lather around some old rags and go to work. I'd end up spending more time perfecting this than I'd end up saving.
Fussiest fluid to change, for me, is axle fluid in the tractors. For the B7800 Kubota made it impossible to not make a mess. The Kioti is a bit more kind. Draining and filling both represent challenges. Rags. Rags. More rags...
Oil changes in the tractors are easy enough. Plenty of clearance to slide under. And, again, change interval isn't all that demanding.
Have not managed to come to terms with my old Dodge 12V. An air compressor in the engine compartment really makes it impossible to pull the oil filter up and out, and removing from below is always a mess. Being 4wd makes it a little less of a pain in that I can readily get underneath (no jacking). Again, not a frequent enough event that I feel I have to spend a bunch of time perfecting: I'll toss some magic spells (cuss words) at it, but haven't found the right ones yet!
My diesel generator has an oil drain petcock on it: standard/factory. Nice to drain oil but when closed it still will pass a few drops over time: keep a little pan underneath.
I spent years changing fluids (not to mention lots of other more demanding mechanical work) out in the open, on uneven gravel surfaces. Now having a garage with a flat, concrete floor I find that I'm a little less jaded by/with these rather simple maintenance tasks.
Oh! Clean up around all filters and plugs before loosening/removal. Have rags available for preemptive and post work. ALSO, place a cap on your new oil container (if that's what you're dispensing from) after every time you pour from it: I've kicked over enough open containers to have now conditioned myself to automatically put the stupid cap back on, always!
Also as noted, it's one of the big selling points of electric. But, even here, I would suppose, there's still greasing (which is responsible for the majority of entries in my book of "magic spells").
