Fixed Ops Journal - August 2019 - F27

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

"It was a win-win for everyone. It helped to reduce our
unapplied labor, reduce our cycle times, reduce mistakes
and help the techs make more money."

OIL

TOM KANE, parts and service director, Universal Nissan and Universal Hyundai,
Orlando, on installing oil extraction devices in express service lanes

continued from previous page

used to extract the oil" from SUVs, Kane recalls.
"Flash forward many years later, and I happened to be at a Hyundai store in South Florida.
I saw them using a fluid evacuator and thought,
'Wow, how did I not remember this?' "
Some of the Dow extractors, Kane notes,
have clear tanks that allow a quick-service
tech to examine used oil for signs of internal
engine problems. Used-fluid extractors also
can be used to change coolant and transmission fluids. The ability to change oil without
removing the drain plug is an especially big
advantage, Kane says.
"Drain plug damage or a broken crush washer
used to make up most of the complaints we had,"
he says. "Now, it's almost a thing of the past."

Complications arise
Chuck Davis, service director of MercedesBenz of Kansas City, in Missouri, says he uses
Dow devices to remove used oil from M-class
vehicles.
"It's clean, there's a time-saving factor to it,

and if the filter is located on the top side of the
engine bay, you can easily perform an oil
change without the need for the lift," he says.
"We had dozens of issues with the drain plugs,
including the cladding underneath. These
used-fluid extractors have allowed us to push
those issues right out the door."
But Davis notes that on Mercedes models
such as newer S-class cars, smart sensors
rather than a dipstick determine the amount
of oil remaining, its condition and the load it
has been subjected to. A move back to using
the drain plug on these vehicles could limit
the usefulness of extractors, he says.
Don Caffell, service manager at Smith Kia in
Bellingham, Wash., says he has experimented
with oil-draining devices but still prefers to
put vehicles on lifts.
"The chance to get underneath really helps
our bottom line," he says. "We can see what the
vehicle needs. It gives us a chance to examine
the vehicle and look for opportunities to upsell

if we find something. Some vehicles have oil
leakage or need a tire repair or replacement."

Market players

Other major providers of oil extractors to
dealerships include Samson Corp. in Swannanoa, N.C., and Lincoln Industrial Corp. in St.
Louis. Determining the number of the vendors' dealership customers is difficult because
sales tend to be made through distributors.
List prices for popular Samson devices range
from $799 to $1,004. An express-service assembly line developed by the Gile family of dealerships near Cleveland and marketed to other
dealerships includes an oil suction system produced by Samson. The Gile operation distributes an extraction device made by Samson
called the Engine Vac, rebranded from its manufacturer's original name, the EvacMaster.
Popular Lincoln Industrial models, which include wands for Mercedes-Benz, BMW and
Volkswagen dipstick tubes, list for $542 to $721. 

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Fixed Ops Journal - August 2019

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