glad things worked out. now you know what NOT to do =]

 

There is nothing wrong with changing oil from the top, I have done it with many, many cars I have owned. You do have to really make sure you get the tube down in there to make sure you suck out any grit, etc out of the pan.

The mistake I think you made was using cheap tools, a tempo oil boy has hard wearing tubes that are flexible enough to bend, but dont snap.

Sadly most new cars have the dipstick blocked so you cannot drop anything down in there and only the dipstick will fit (S2000, GTO are the last two I have been unable to drain via an oil pump.)

If you are really concerned you can always siphon the oil out of the top and then jack up the car and drain what you can out of the pan also. After doing that about a dozen times on a number of different cars, I have discovered that the siphon gets 99% of the stuff out anyways, and I don't have to get a new crush washer if I just do it out of the top.

 

Never used one of these to change the oil out, but have used it twice to correct over-filled engines. I used some vacuum line I had around that was much much less likely to get stuck and break. Just throw it away when you're done because after it sits with oil in it, it's not really pliable anymore!

 

why work twice? If you're going to jack up the car and drain out the rest... just do that in first place?

I personally think you should drain it from the bottom UNLESS the vehicle recommends getting it out from the top. heavy dirty particles could be sitting on the bottom of the oil pan waiting for that drain bolt to open...

Im just saying

 

changing your oil from the top is like using a wet/dry vacuum to flush your toilet.

 

Another way to get something out like that would be to tie a really sticky tape/band aid to a long stick and let it stick to the part needed to be extracted, then pulling it all up.