Oil change hot or cold

[Markcarovilli]

So I need to (want to not really needed) change oil because I didn't get done before cold weather set in.  Most change when oil is hot, so what if it has been sitting and cold?  Hasn't all the oil settled in the pan and would drain out just as well, albeit a little slower if cold? 

Does it make any sense to fire it up and get the oil hot to drain when I can just undo the plug and let it sit for awhile before putting in new.

Just wondering what thoughts are out there, plus its winter.....

Mark

[Sasquatch Jim]

  As hot as you can stand it.  Wear rubber gloves to help prevent burns on your hands and fingers.
  When the oil has just been run, all the microscopic sediment is in suspension and comes out with it
  rather than collecting in the corners and crannies of the crank case.  Also there is less of it clinging to the surfaces and so it is a more thorough change.   Open the crankcase drain and let it run until it no longer drips.
  Remove the filter and wait until that area no longer drips.  Clean the sealing areas of the filter.
 Put on new filter and the correct amount of fresh oil.

[oldbike54]

 Seems most "experts" don't think it necessary to warm an engine up anymore . Of course the next post will dispute this ...

 Dusty

 Edit , actually the first post LOL .

[ChuckH]

Mark,

As I understand, one thing you want to have happen during an oil change is for the impurities in the oil (dirt, sludge, products of combustion, metal particles, etc) to be flushed out through the drain hole at the same time as the old oil.  Those things generally collect at the bottom of the oil pan and, when cold, become too solid and immovable to get caught up into that flushing action.  Getting the oil decently warm will cause many of the undesirables to go into solution and they will disappear down the hole along with the old oil.

Ride safe.

[ken farr]

Start it up, let it warm for 2-3 minutes, then change the oil.

Let it drain overnight.

Doesn't help with the trans. and final drive.

kjf

[cruzziguzzi]

I like to do it hot if only to get ahead of the endless cool oil slow dribble and wait. Watching for ever as it displays the same tendencies as an aged and abused prostate wears me out. I like to think the filters come off easier when hot as well so don't go burstin' my bubble on that one.


Todd.

[canuguzzi]

 

[Wayne Orwig]

I change the oil when it suits me. I usually adjust valves at the same time. So cold suits me.
But that must be why I needed to rollerize my Stelvio. 

[Kai]

 

On Tonti's I prefer to arrive at home with a complete warm engine. Then let the oil settle down
in the pan- a day, a year or longer. When you take the pan off and clean it anyway, I believe this is the best 
way to catch everthing. Without removing the pan (newer Guzzis), drain after ~ 30 minutes, as long the oil is warm.

Next one please 

[Tom]

Depends mostly on where you live.  Most cases,  better to get the engine to operating temp. first then change.  In PHX area and the deep south here, I just change it.  Humidity is a big factor too.

[drums4money]

I like to drop the oil warm so it's flowing fast, but that's only a matter of habit.  The curious side of methinks any particulates that could be in suspension and moving around in hot circulating oil should be picked up by the filter. . . Isn't that what a filter should be doing in the first place?  So at most you'd have one "circuit" of oil that hasn't yet been filtered. 

[ohiorider]

I'll do it the way I've always done it.

[CalVin2007]

 Cold is fine. Hot is fine,too.  Changing it is the important thing.

   Terry

[Kev m]

Seems most "experts" don't think it necessary to warm an engine up anymore . Of course the next post will dispute this ...

 Dusty

 Edit , actually the first post LOL .

Source? Citation?

[George_S]

Warm or hot is better than cold. The contaminants will be suspended in the oil and drain out better than when cold. Like previously said, when cold there will be some contaminants stuck inside the engine and on the oil pan that won't get out.  Owners manuals even say to do it warm or at normal operating temperature. Be careful it will of course, be hot.

[redrider90]

Source? Citation?

I think Dusty was doing what he does best (or worst depending on your POV  ) making a joke or at least trying. 

[oldbike54]

Source? Citation?

 Uh , those two no-nothings Click and Clack on car talk . Oh , wait , weren't they both MIT trained automotive engineers  Listened to them for years on NPR , trust them juuusssst a bit more than some internet expert .

 Dusty

[Kev m]

Uh , those two no-nothings Click and Clack on car talk . Oh , wait , weren't they both MIT trained automotive engineers  Listened to them for years on NPR , trust them juuusssst a bit more than some internet expert .

 Dusty

I have no idea, never heard them and never seen a resume.

Is "automotive engineering" a specifically degreed sub-discipline offered by major engineering schools (and I'm assuming we're talking offered few decades ago)? At Lehigh I recall Mechanical, Chemical, Materials Science, Industrial, but not "automotive'.

Anyway, I'm curious if any manufacturer has stated such in owners of service manuals or training materials?

[oldbike54]

Cold is fine. Hot is fine,too.  Changing it is the important thing.

   Terry

 Words of wisdom from a professional engine rebuilder . Modern high detergent oil keeps the little stuff suspended hot or cold , and anything big enough to do immediate damage is caught by the filter . If an engine is really full of sludge , a simple oil change will not remove it . That requires at a minimum a sump removal and a good cleaning .
 
 Dusty

[rob-mg]

For what it's worth, this is what the V7 II owner's manual says:

HOT OIL IS MORE FLUID AND WILL DRAIN OUT MORE EASILY AND COMPLETELY; IDEAL TEMPERATURE IS REACHED AFTER THE ENGINE HAS RUN FOR ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES.

The manual doesn't say anything about priming the new filter, only that some oil should be spread on the sealing ring.

[Kev m]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_and_Ray_Magliozzi

Both went to MIT

One got a degree in "Humanities" and the other "Economics and Engineering".

Words of wisdom from a professional engine rebuilder . Modern high detergent oil keeps the little stuff suspended hot or cold , and anything big enough to do immediate damage is caught by the filter . If an engine is really full of sludge , a simple oil change will not remove it . That requires at a minimum a sump removal and a good cleaning .
 
 Dusty

I suspect we're simply talking degree.

I.e. that more oil will drain out warm than cold (leaving a thinner film behind) and in doing so will remove more contaminants. Not particulates big enough for filtering, but say the chemical residue that would otherwise turn to acids when combined with moisture that remain in suspension.

It may be an RCH, but until I actually see someone with something to lose at stake recommend draining cold, I'll stick with draining warm/hot.

[Steve Scott]

For the Jackal, I always drain the oil cold, but I drop the pan to clean it out anyway. Cars and bikes with an inconvenient enclosed sump get warmed up.

[rob-mg]

For the Jackal, I always drain the oil cold, but I drop the pan to clean it out anyway.

Very curious about this. What's the rationale for doing this? What do you use to clean the sump?

[oldbike54]

Cold is fine. Hot is fine,too.  Changing it is the important thing.

   Terry

 Once again Kev , words from someone who actually works on engines , and very expensive ones at
that . Really , I don't care whether someone chooses to warm up an engine before changing oil , if it makes them happy , great , we all like being happy .

  Dusty

[cruzziguzzi]

I've seldom seen more mis....

Wait, is this an "oil thread"?

Drat and tarnation! A curse upon the siren song of lubrications communications!


Todd.

[sign216]

Let me throw a log onto this fire;

Opinions on changing the oil prior to winter storage?

[Tobit]

Lukewarm, and I drain the engine oil and gearbox into the same pan.  Having the sump warm helps when wiping it out at filter change time.

On the truck I do it hot.  Not going to wait for 6 quarts of cold oil to drain out. 

My 16 year old daughter learned to change oil on the F150 yesterday.  Learned about steering racks, lower control arms and exhaust manifolds too.  She likes knowing how things work.

Tobit

[George_S]

Let me throw a log onto this fire;

Opinions on changing the oil prior to winter storage?

OK, I'll bite. I've seen an explanation that leaving dirty oil in all winter isn't good because of the acids?

And if you're in the North, each freeze/thaw cycle during the winter makes about a teaspoon of water form in the oil pan. Does it burn off quickly on your first spring ride? I dunno, nor make any opinion as to the two things mentioned, they're not my comments so don't shoot me.

[Kev m]

OK, I'll bite. I've seen an explanation that leaving dirty oil in all winter isn't good because of the acids?

And if you're in the North, each freeze/thaw cycle during the winter makes about a teaspoon of water form in the oil pan. Does it burn off quickly on your first spring ride? I dunno, nor make any opinion as to the two things mentioned, they're not my comments so don't shoot me.

The acids form when the byproducts of combustion combine with moisture.

However, the oil additive package neutralizes them. So in theory, there are no acids unless the oil is "used up".

That freeze and thaw cycle must be for bikes stored outside.

What you decide to do should vary with ambient conditions, amount of miles on the oil when it goes into storage etc.

I BELIEVE most manufactures these days simply direct oil changes to be based on mileage or time, and not "early" if it's going into storage for part of that time.

[Muzz]

Always done it hot because the oil flows better. I guess when I started a lot of my vehicles did not even have a filter, so it was better if the contaminants came out with the oil.