Argh! Help! Best way to drain *some* oil?

[mstevens]

I'm planning to go on a group ride tomorrow morning. My buddy asked what I thought was a casual question about how to check the oil level in the bike, so I told him about the sight glass. A few minutes later he said it was a good thing he checked, 'cause it held nearly a quart!

Yes, folks - he poured in nearly a full bottle of Klotz (at least it was the right fluid in the right place) because the sight glass "looked completely empty" with the bike on the sidestand! Of course, with the bike upright the entire sight glass is now a bright, cheery red. My buddy was upset because he thought he'd filled it with automatic transmission fluid. I, of course, am upset because the crankcase is now seriously overfilled. I'm quite certain the oil level was exactly where it was supposed to be since that's where it was yesterday when I got the annual inspection done, but can't absolutely prove it

It not that I'd mind doing an oil change about now. It's that I don't have a filter, a new washer for the drain plug, or any more oil than that now-nearly-empty bottle of Klotz, and it's after 3:00PM on a Saturday in New Hampshire. All the bike places are closed until Monday so I can't get a filter or proper oil. I'd consider using whatever filter fit and oil that's "close enough" then replacing them in a week when I can get to the nearest Duc dealer but the nearest car-parts place is about 24 miles away and I can't tell what they might have until I get there.

The quickest approach would seem to be draining some oil (I'd say about a bottle's worth...) but not everything. It seems as if that could be pretty messy, and I'm curious whether there would likely be any issues with getting a good seal on the drain plug if done this way. I suppose I could just do an "oil change" without removing the filter then refill using the old oil but there's something that irks me about putting old oil in the bike, even if it was just there minutes beforehand (I know, intellectually, that there shouldn't be any problem with this), but I'd still have the issue with the lack of replacement washers. I've even considered using tubing and siphoning or suctioning out the excess.

I think I've read somewhere that the oil screen bolt is a good place to drain excess oil, but I'm curious about the philosophy of doing this given that I would only be loosening it and wouldn't be able to replace the washer. It probably would be easier than risking stripping the drain plug, though.

What advice can people give me before I go out and do something stupid?

[hooligan machinist]

Just crack open the drain plug a bit a let some out into a clean pan. The crush washer will be fine, they are reusable to a certain degree.

[ducpainter]

Some people use a turkey baster with an extension to suck out extra oil...

a quart would take a while though.

I'd pull the plug and drain it into a clean pan....and save it of course.

[DucHockey]

1+ Just draining some into a pan.  You're over-thinking this. 

[Hedgehog]

Drain some in a pan, and throw it away.  No matter how careful you are, there's going to be some grit falling into it off the engine.  Sure, the screen will probably catch it, but it's not worth the risk.  Grit is bad, m'kay?

[Goldeneye]

Drain some in a pan, and throw it away.  No matter how careful you are, there's going to be some grit falling into it off the engine.  Sure, the screen will probably catch it, but it's not worth the risk.  Grit is bad, m'kay?

+1

[mstevens]

You're over-thinking this.

I didn't realize we'd met. That sure sounds like me, though.

[mstevens]

I ended up grabbing an old IV set I had sitting around to siphon out some of the oil from above (thus minimizing the grit risk). I cut the tubing and put the drip chamber in the middle so I could pump it to get a siphon started and drain some oil back into the bottle.

IV tubing is WAAYYY too small in diameter to be of any use with something as viscous as oil, as it happens.

I ended up finding some aquarium air tubing that allowed a less-ridiculous flow rate. It's still pretty slow, but it'll eventually work with no problems with grit, washers, etc..

 I probably should have just made my buddy suck out the excess with a straw.

[clubhousemotorsports]

 I probably should have just made my buddy suck out the excess with a straw.
[/quote]

+10

you would have been fine bleeding a little out the bottom(drain) if need be, re-using the crush washer is no big deal as long as you do not pinch it.

[bigiain]

re-using the crush washer is no big deal as long as you do not pinch it.

+1

My bikes had 2 new crush washers and about 40 oil changes.

big

[printman]

did he fill it up with trans fluid?  or did you say he thought he did?


trans fluid bad


oil good

[mstevens]

did he fill it up with trans fluid?  or did you say he thought he did?

He just thought he did, since Klotz looks like cherry cough syrup. Smells like it, too, for that matter. When I put the bike up on the rear stand, the sight glass looked as if it were filled with transmission fluid.

Turns out, based on organoleptic testing last night, that it does NOT taste like either cherries or cough syrup. Just in case anyone was wondering.