[NASA_CMC2]

Does anyone know where the oil pan dip stick sits in the oil pan? Is it towards the front or back of the car? Pictures would be awesome!

Wondering why I'm asking? My drain plug stripped out to the point it needs to be replaced. That issue aside, I need to change my oil asap, and am going to suck it out the dip stick hole. I just want to angle the car uphill, downhill, or side-to-side based off of where the tube will hit the pan.

Thanks in advance!

 

[schwejo]

One of those endlessly debated practices, but you obviously have an extenuated circumstance. I've been using oil extraction from almost day one. I assume you have a Pella, MityVac or similar? I just park on level ground, not saying that you couldn't improve things...


This engine seems particularly well suited to oil extractions. My Jeep Liberty wont work.

On the Ridge you hit a little turn that you have to push through and then you keep going and can feel the bottom of the pan. The hot oil softens up the tube a little so what I do is use one of the included MityVac tubes to hit the bottom of the pan and extract as much as comes, then go ahead and use the second tube to insert more where it seems to bend and goall the way to the back of the pan where I get a little more oil. Seems anal, but this seems to produce a result where nothing drains if I pull the plug as a test.

I've been doing this for about 5 years on a ridge and ody and have the process dialed in where the longest part is just waiting for the oil extraction, but hot oil filled floppy tubes can sling a pretty big mess if you don't extract the tubes keeping them under control with a rag or something. There are a number of oil extraction threads and opinions on the ROC which I find more easily using Google to search "Ridgeline owners club oil extraction" and refine the search from there. Have fun!

 

[hokiefyd]

If you look at the dip stick orientation, I think it's probably self-evident where it'll intersect the oil pan. It's a pretty straight shot down the tube. It's on the front cylinder head at the front of the engine block, just in front of the #4 cylinder. It's perpendicular to the cylinder head, so it angles down at 30 degrees off vertical. If you pull from here, it'll draw from somewhere near the front of the oil pan. I would park on a flat surface, but if you have to be on an incline, make sure the crankshaft snout (passenger side) is at the lowest point.

 

[roakey]

Before I trusted my Pela I parked on a level surface, sucked all the oil out then removed the drain plug.

I got about a teaspoon out.

That said, when is starts sucking air, I do move the tube around a bit, pulling it out and pushing it in to assure I get as much as I can.

O2

 

[cccbock]

Does anyone know where the oil pan dip stick sits in the oil pan? Is it towards the front or back of the car? Pictures would be awesome!

Wondering why I'm asking? My drain plug stripped out to the point it needs to be replaced. That issue aside, I need to change my oil asap, and am going to suck it out the dip stick hole. I just want to angle the car uphill, downhill, or side-to-side based off of where the tube will hit the pan.

Thanks in advance!

The suggestions sound good for pulling oil from the dipstick tube.

You may have already determined this, but a stripped oil pan/drain plug on this engine may very well require a new oil pan. Hope not, but you may want to get good at pulling out through the tube.

 

[speedlever]

When you get your drain pan fixed, I suggest you get a Fumoto Valve replacement for the drain bolt.

There are threads here at the ROC about using the Fumoto. I have one on both my Pilot and RL. Hmm. I may have to put one on the Civic too, now that I think about it. I'll see how the first oil change goes.

But yeah, the aluminum pans are pretty easy to strip if you try to tighten the drain bolt too tight.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41576
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4544

 

[NASA_CMC2]

Thanks for all of the input. Ill put it all to use, and try and get a picture of the dip stick orientation when I pull the pan off, eventually.

 

[eurban]

Not sure if this will help your drain plug situation but this the story of what I did. Sorry in advance for the long winded telling. . . .

I made the mistake of installing an aftermarket drain plug on my 06 Ridge. The old one had a slightly rounded head so I ordered up a new one that had a slightly larger head. Problem was that the threaded section was noticeably shorter than stock. After a few oil changes the bolt would keep turning and sure enough the the threads in the oil pan had pulled out. My temporary solution was to get a new aftermarket drain plug with longer threads. My local import autoparts store had a few with the correct thread pitch and we found one with a much longer shaft. The drain plug hole in the pan has threads that go deeper than even the stock bolt. I torqued it to spec and it held for fine till the next oil change.

Pulling off the oil pan on the Ridge means removing rusty exhaust components. I wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

I actually ordered up an expensive thread insert kit which is made to install a steel thread of the stock pitch and size in the drain plug hole. The thread inserts are solid full circle pieces so the repair should be "better than new." In practice the install promised to be a challenge. There isn't much room around the plug hole to spin the drill / tap / thread install tools. I chickened out and decided to go a different route . . .

I already owned a Fumoto valve that I was waiting to install. On the Ridge, you need an adapter to space the valve away from interference with the oil pan. Unfortunately the thread length on the adapter was a bit shorter than the stock drain plug. My solution was to use my neighbor's mini machining mill to "turn down" more of the threaded shaft on the brass Fumoto adapter effectively increasing the length of the threaded part. I undersized the turned down section since there weren't any threads in the oil pan for threads to bite into anyway. The modified adapter screwed into the pan nicely (I used a bit of thread locker) and I was able to torque it down sufficiently. Even though the modified adapter extends the drain valve about 3/8" less than an unmodified one, the Fumoto valve still cleared the oil pan's contours just fine. So far this repair has held for 10k miles with no leaks or loosening. My gut tells me that it will hold on indefinitely but if I ever have to remove the exhaust system for some reason, I will probably install a replacement oil pan and reinstall the fumoto with an unmolested adapter ($5)

How does this help the OP?
-He could simply try finding and installing a drain plug with a longer than stock threaded portion. This would probably be an adequate solution if he used the dipstick hole for his future oil changes
-He could look into the thread repair options, including the tool that I bought or an oversized self tapping drain plug (I considered this option, look on Ebay)
-He could modify a Fumoto adapter like I did

Hope this helps!
Good luck!

 

[eurban]

PS:
Schwejo,

How long does it typically take to draw the oil out of the dipstick hole with the vacuum extractor?

Thanks!

 

[schwejo]

PS:
Schwejo,

How long does it typically take to draw the oil out of the dipstick hole with the vacuum extractor?

Thanks!

Perhaps tmi, 15 / 20 minutes. So not that long is the best answer, but I'll pay more attention. All in all I do this much faster than driving to an oil changer and I use the products I want for the same price as What ever off the shelf products some oil service may use. I could be off a bit because in the mean time Im likely doing my best to make a dent in cleaning up the garage, and I'm hooking up my little Romex wire hook to the roll up garage door hanger next to where i work so I can immediately have a place to hang my suction tube. Perhaps others have had better luck, but I've let that tube get away from my grip more than once and had quite a mess to clean up after. I find if I hang it up most all the oil drains into the MityVac. Then I have a section of pvc pipe with a garden hose cap on the end that I slip the extraction tubes into and just stand up somewhere with a baggy over the top to keep dust etc out. Way easier than trying to empty the tubes best as possible and roll them up to store some how. With the storage pipe, I just pull them out through a paper towel and it's pretty much a totally clean hands job, plus if they are still warm they take straight set in the pvc storage pipe. it's surprising that after a while (two cars) there is 5 or 6 inches of oil that collects. My first storage pipe didn't have a drain and I started seeing my extraction tubes still filled with oil in the bottom section so I added the drain.

 

[Carsmak]

Schwejo,

Maybe when you set it up next time you can snap a few pics, the whole process sounds interesting, as I'm getting tired of getting on the floor for an Oil Change

 

[schwejo]

Schwejo,

Maybe when you set it up next time you can snap a few pics, the whole process sounds interesting, as I'm getting tired of getting on the floor for an Oil Change

Will do, some can be easily staged so I'll put up a few pics sooner than later

 

[speedlever]

A while back I stole your idea of storing those long tubes in capped PVC pipe topped with a baggie. Works great. I normally use some denatured alcohol to clean out the gear. It works reasonably well and I've never yet drained the PVC.

But I don't vacuum extract oil and tranny fluid. I have done so to test, but went back to the D&F method. I have to be down there anyway to get to the oil filter and the tranny mag plug.

 

[OwnerCS]

Before I trusted my Pela I parked on a level surface, sucked all the oil out then removed the drain plug.

I got about a teaspoon out.

That said, when is starts sucking air, I do move the ube around a pit, pulling it out and pushing it in to assure I get as much as I can.

O2

+1 - This is my experience as well.

 

[NASA_CMC2]

Well, I received a new oil pan and am getting ready to install it. The exhaust is off and all of the bolts in the pan are removed. Any tricks on getting the pan off? There are not really any spots to get leverage on the pan to pry it off.

 

[Dnick]

Well, I received a new oil pan and am getting ready to install it. The exhaust is off and all of the bolts in the pan are removed. Any tricks on getting the pan off? There are not really any spots to get leverage on the pan to pry it off.

Gentle taps with a rubber mallet is one method. (generic - I've not removed my RL pan)

 

[NASA_CMC2]

Funny story.. I tore apart my car and started to install the OEM oil pan. Upon inspection, the bolts that bolt up to the transmission didn't quite line up. After reading the TSB on the bolts leaking, I thought perhaps they just eliminated them?!? The pan fit overall, but some things needed to modified and I thought that I could make it work. So you guessed it, I reassembled the car.

I went inside and decided to make sure that I ordered the right pan. After looking at my eBay account I did in fact order the right one from a Honda dealer. I decided to look at the box that it came in and would you know it, the part number was off by one letter. SIGH....

I sent an e-mail to the dealer and they said the would be happy to overnight me one on Monday. Unfortunately, this is my daily driver and I need my car on Monday. I couldn't re-install my original pan, as I didn't have a dead blow hammer and cracked it. I decided to just buy new pan this morning. However, the closest one was 135 miles away down in Thousand Oaks (LA). I decided to go down and get it and got it installed five hours later.

Funny story, huh?

As a side note, when I removed the incorrect pan, I used a dead blow hammer. It worked well..

I also attached a picture of where the dipstick goes into the oil pan, as that was the original reason the thread was created.

 

[speedlever]

Not too funny for you, I bet.

I actually had to look up dead blow hammer. Is that something like a rubber mallet?

 

[skelley521]

Not too funny for you, I bet.

I actually had to look up dead blow hammer. Is that something like a rubber mallet?

Pretty much.......same category.
Dead blows mostly contain some type of media internally in the head to prevent bounce back though.

 

[Dnick]

Pretty much.......same category.
Dead blows mostly contain some type of media internally in the head to prevent bounce back though.

I've got an old mangled up lead head mallet... head about the size of a small fist; used to use it in the machine shop way back when, to position castings on turntables, etc. Those are very handy indeed! No bounce with that thing.