Re-using engine oil
 

I serviced my SC a week ago and obviously filled with new engine oil. I may have to drop the oil again shortly to fix a leaking cam cover. Is it OK to collect this oil and re-use?

I would... while making sure it doesn't get contaminated along the way.

Yes.

In theory yes, but I would never do it.

Can you be 100% sure there is no grit or dirt at all in your oil collection system?

I know 10 or 11 quarts of oil is expensive but I just can't see taking the risk. But that is just me and my engine.

Be a good excuse to have two of those little valve things instead of drain plugs. Then you could control the discharge and put it in 1 or 4 quart clean containers. $50 to $100 worth of oil savings would buy 2 for sure.

I see nothing wrong with your plan, provided you capture the used oil in a very clean container. No big deal. Folks do it all the time.

According to diagrams I've seen, oil from the tank is pulled directly into the engine. It's filtered only on the way back into the tank after making the circuit.

It's very tempting to re-use all that oil, but I can't shake the image of those tiny orifices in the piston squirters. I'd go to some pretty extreme lengths to insure that the oil I was putting back was perfectly clean.

Good luck,
GK

Filtration.........
 

I would suggest using a ladies nylon stocking to filter the used oil. If the oil has only a hundred miles or less and uncontaminated, there is no reason to dispose it. The oil has several thousand miles recommended usage before any change oil. The decision is all yours, there is no right or wrong.

Tony

How about not drain the oil in the first place? When you say cam cover I'm assuming you're talking about a lower valve cover. Lots of folks here have confirmed completing valve adjustment without draining the oil. Lift car only on one side and what oil is in the sump will flow to other side. You may have lose a little oil but not enough to complain about. Just top up once valve cover resealed. -J

coffee filter

I re-use oil all the time (have for 25-30 years) - I catch it in a clean pan and then transfer it to clean bottles using a paint strainer in a funnel - never had a problem.

I sure would - best $1.99 you will ever save - until the engine blows that is :eek:

We reuse ours...in a waste oil shop furnace.

When you use the lady's nylon stockings is she wearing them?

reusing 1 week old engine oil will hardly "blow the engine"

you do want to make sure no grit is introduced and a coffee filter will filter out smaller particles than stockings or paint filters

I have never done it, but I would as long as the container you are using to catch the oil is absolutely clean and that you don't knock any dirt into it in the process of getting the oil out.

This is the correct answer to the OP's question. No need to drain a drop to pull a lower valve cover - just elevate that side!

Ditto. Been there, done that.

Wow! You better not reuse that oil! Your 35 year old car may not make it to 300,000 miles. Maybe only 250,000!!!! OMG!

I've tried using a coffee filter recently when I was out of paint strainers and I couldn't get the oil to go through it (would have taken all night for one quart to pass) - must have been using the wrong filters? :D