Tip for Dispensing Oil from Large or Odd-Shaped Bottles

The Problem
Like many others here, I decided to try MT-90 in my six-speed manual Tacoma. Like most, I also found the available quart hand pumps do not fit well in the Redline bottles. Rats. I came up with a solution that I have not seen posted elsewhere. I thought of posting it here to hopefully help other TW members:

The Search
I looked at my local auto parts stores and hardware stores for another solution. I knew what I wanted: either a smaller pump or a new, clean tool to pour the oil into to transfer to the truck.

The stores all had similar parts and tools: the quart hand pump, the two-hose hand transfer pump and various funnels. I did not care for the transfer pumps with the two hoses; these appeared to be two messy and too much hassle for what I needed. I also thought of a funnel and several feet of clear tubing to gravity the oil from either the engine bay or the bed into the transmission. This idea also seemed too open to leaving an oil slick trying to monitor the funnel and the fill port on the transmission. Back to the quart pumps..

The Nifty Solution
As I was visiting various stores, the thought struck me: what about those empty spray bottles in the cleaning section of the hardware store? I purchased a new quart hand pump from a parts store and drove over to a local hardware store. I took the quart pump in and sure enough: the tread diameter and pitch were close enough. The quart hand pump threaded onto the top of the bottle!

The only catch is these spray bottles are typically taller than a gear oil bottle: I needed a longer “straw” on the pump. Continuing through the hardware store, I came across cut-to-length PE tubing. Sure enough, it looks just like the tubing that came with the quart pump.

What’s Needed:
For the tl;dr:

(1) quart-size empty spray bottle
Approximately 12” PE tubing

Total cost: about $5 (not including the quart bottle pump)

In regards to the bottle, make sure it is the narrower-neck one, not the easy-fill available at some stores with the wider neck. I would recommend taking a new quart pump into the store to verify fit before purchasing (please don’t bring one full of oil into a hardware store…) I also checked the material code on the spray bottle. In my case, both the oil bottle and the spray bottle had the “2” in the continuous triangle (recycling symbol).

The PE tube was purchased and trimmed to fit at home. My pump took 5/16” OD x 3/16” ID tube; your mileage may vary. I can’t say an exact length on the trimmed PE tube. I got it to where it would just fit to the bottom of the bottle.

How Does it Work?
Just like pumping from any other quart bottle: it works really well. With a little caution, filling the bottle isn’t too bad. The custom/longer PE “straw” allows the bottle to be almost completely emptied. A side benefit of these spray bottles is they typically have a scale printed on the side with capacities marked. It’s easy to tell exactly how much oil is being pumped.

Hopefully this will help another TW member when using MT-90 or any other oil from an odd-shaped bottle!

 

This is the cheapest and easiest solution I’ve seen.

 

I get Amsoil in the squeeze pouches for my diffs and hang onto the bags for my trans and transfer, easiest fastest cheapest and "green" (reduce reuse recycle right?) solution.



I hate gear oil smell, really sensitive to it and I hate messing with tubes pumps hoses etc.

Squeeze bag, squirt it in there and it's flexible to it goes anywhere it fits and "pumps" with one hand as fast as you can crush it, no fighting tubes that pop out when you're trying to hold one end up a foot on the pump and a hand on the pump lever etc no mess no muss no fuss no extra tools to store that reek like gear sulfur.

 

90 weight is the most repulsive smell on Earth. Worse than dead Zombie bodies coming after me.

 

+1 for gear oil in squeeze bags
I recently changed my rear diff oil and the squeeze bags were so much easier than the rigid plastic bottles

 

By the way, it would be immensely helpful if the OP posted a few pics.

 

6 gearT444E: I must have missed the battery-operated pump in my trip to HF. Does that work with quart bottles?

Key-Rei: I had the Amsoil in the transmission on the last change. Unfortunately, my local supplier doesn’t stock those pouches.

Both of the above are good suggestions. I was trying to provide another option for the Redline quarts with readily-available components.

 

The original post was updated to include a photo of two compatible spray bottles along with the modified quart hand-pump.

 

My microwave door melted last week, that stench is lingering in my brain.

 

put a slim Jim in the microwave. That’ll learn ya.