Morning all,
Took my 1999 Brava 1.6 HSX round to a friends to perform a few simple maintenance jobs on it- air filter, spark plugs, oil change etc. After two trips to Halfords to get the right sockets/hex bolts we settled down to drain the oil - fat chance. even with the right tool size we couldnt even shift the sump nut and the sump itself was shifting with each attempt so we gave up and went to the pub instead.
Does anyone have any suggestions of an alternative method to drain the oil out? We tried taking off the oil filter but it's set too high to get more than a dribble out. I've heard Kwik Fit "hoover" the oil out but that sounds inefficient and I doubt they'd do it for free (I already have the oil and a replacement filter).

Any suggestions gratefully entertained!

It's all about fulcrums - get your hex bolt and breaker bar on there, then slip a bit of scaffolding pole or your jack handle over that for some extra length. The sump bolts should hold it in place and if they don't then I'd suggest
a) They needed replacing anyway
b) You've still managed to get the oil out, albeit very messy

Suggest soaking it in some PlusGas first though, just to help loosen it up a smidge.

You could try spraying some WD40 or another like this spray. That could help the blockage.

Try a solid bar on it not a ratchet and give it a sharp clout with a hammer the sudden impact can "break" the seal.
either it has not had an oil change for a very long time or last person to tighten this up was Mr. Universe.
It's that or as Eklipze3k said a longer bar, can not understand why it would be that tight, you will possibly need a new copper washer to seal next time.
you are turning it the right way? stupid question i know but easilly done.....

Had the same problem on my Punto once. Some $#%$@#% mechanic had tightened the sump bolt so much that it wouldn't come undone in any way. Took it to a garage where the mechanic drilled it and hammered it off. It was then replaced with a common bolt that fitted the diameter. Luckily no damage was done on the sump casing.

Thanks guys, I'll have another go. It's been about 18 months since the last oil change.

Get some heat on it, or whack it a few times with a hammer to shake it a bit.

If you still can't jar it free, take the car to Halfords if you bought your stuff from there and try to do a deal with one of their machanics to free it off for you.

bluejohn125 said:

Get some heat on it.

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make sure you heat the sump more than the bolt you need the sump to expand more than the bolt!

Nice one Thrisey, I think we were trying to heat the area around the bolt, duh!

take care with heat around oil .. IT'S BIT DANGEROUS.
my father has an stove that works with old motor oil.

i'd go for hammer + brute force
oil will burn if it touches hot metal

aurick86 said:

take care with heat around oil .. IT'S BIT DANGEROUS.
my father has an stove that works with old motor oil.

i'd go for hammer + brute force
oil will burn if it touches hot metal

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If you use a Hairdrier to be honest - its going to get no hotter compared to the engine been on a long run

If a heat gun was used - i'd be inclinder to get rid of any signs of oil nearby and a Foam fire lance too!

Ziggy

from my experience in getting stuck bolts out you usually heat the metal until glowing red.. a hair drier.... not going to do it!

Combo of a good fulcrum and some good jolts has always worked for me. Get a good wrench on the nut (It should have as little play as possible) and put a piece of pipe on the handle to get some good torque. Put some force on it to take up the slack, then give it a good sharp whack with a hammer (The point here is a sharp blow, not all out brute force) A couple of taps should start it moving. Once it has moved a bit it should come out easier.