Hey scotty i,d like your advice on my situation. I just purchased a used 2014 camry SE with the 4 cylinder engine with 122,000 miles. I've driven it for about 5,000 miles and the car has performed great. Long story short it was time for an oil change and out of convinience I took it to an oil change shop. Instead of doing a standard oil change by draining my oil via drain plug, the shop used a vacume catheter to suck the dirty oil out via my dip stick. I've never seen this methode before but I figured they know what they are doing. Once the oil was sucked out I noticed the technician couldn't pull out the plastic catheter from the dip stick. More staff came to help and began yanking on this catheter very hard until it came out. My question is 1. what damage can arise from there being a piece of that plastic catheter in my oil pan. 2. What damage can arise from the forceful pulling of the catheter? 3. What should I do to prevent any issues. Ive driven 300 miles since then with no problem.
was time for an oil change and out of convinience I took it to an oil change shop.
Big mistake, as has been discussed on this forum quite a few times.
Instead of doing a standard oil change by draining my oil via drain plug, the shop used a vacume catheter to suck the dirty oil out via my dip stick.
It's easier and cheaper for them to do it that way, without risk of their poorly-trained minimum-wage workers stripping out drain plugs. Unfortunately it leaves contaminants in the bottom of the oil pan.
Once the oil was sucked out I noticed the technician couldn't pull out the plastic catheter from the dip stick. More staff came to help and began yanking on this catheter very hard until it came out.
Sounds about right. Might as well have your cars worked on by the 3 Stooges as one of those quick-lube joints.
what damage can arise from there being a piece of that plastic catheter in my oil pan.
The pickup screen on the oil pump should keep it out of the oil system, but I'd feel more comfortable doing a conventional oil drain to try to get it out, assuming any dropped into the pan.
What damage can arise from the forceful pulling of the catheter?
I suppose they could damage the dipstick tube but that should be evident by physical examination if that was the case.
What should I do to prevent any issues.
As mentioned I would do a conventional oil drain to try getting out any debris. And never go to another "Knucklehead Garage" again.
out of convinience I took it to an oil change shop
The convenience comes at a price. You're putting your car on the line when you go in there
What damage can arise from the forceful pulling of the catheter?
The dipstick tube can come out. On some engines it just snaps in.
what damage can arise from there being a piece of that plastic catheter in my oil pan
if you catch it soon enough, nothing. But it shouldn't be in there.
That's why I do almost all of the maintenance by myself. I used to let the Auto shops do our maintenance years ago but after they started to scam us, it motivated us to work on our own cars. We started with simple oil change in 2019 and worked our way up. We have replaced Alternators, Starters, Battery, Sparkplugs, Ignition Coils, Serpentine belts, CV Axles and the list goes on. Right now I am currently learning on rebuilding an engine. Watch Scotty's video and learn how to do it yourself. If you can't do it yourself then I would take it to a Honest and trustworthy mechanics which is hard to find nowadays.
