[Shop-talk] Oil plugs, WHY?

[old dirtbeard]

Yes, that is what NAPA says:

http://knowhow.napaonline.com/understanding-oil-drain-plug/#:~:text=The%20plug%20isn't%20always,a%20speed%20bump%20or%20pothole
.

*The plug isn’t always located on the bottom side of the pan. In fact,
you’ll most often find it attached to the side, where it’s better protected
from damage that could arise from scraping against a speed bump or
pothole.  *


I could conjecture also that having them on the side perhaps makes them
more readily visible if you are sliding under the car on a creeper, easier
to get a socket on, less likely to strip, etc.

best,

doug

On Mon, Jan 4, 2021 at 6:23 AM Brian Kemp <bk13 at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I think they are horizontal for extra protection against ground impact.
> If they stuck out the bottom and you went off road or drove over a concrete
> stop in a parking lot, an oil drain plug could take a direct impact and
> perhaps have greater damage than hitting a frame rail or suspension bit.
>
> I share your frustration with the oil filter location from my Honda
> Odyssey.  Changing the filter caused oil to come down directly on the frame
> rail.  My solution was to take a foot square of alluminum foil and make my
> own deflection device to catch all the oil and direct it to the drain pan.
>
> Brian
>
> On 1/4/2021 5:14 AM, eric at megageek.com wrote:
>
> OK, this is half vent and half "can someone explain why the heck do they
> do this to us?"
>
> I notice that just about EVERY modern's car drain plug drains horizontally
> and not vertically (where the plug come straight down from the bottom of
> the oil pan.)  This make's oil changes SO much harder and messier.
>
> Then, I've even seen (2018 Ford F150) where it has a frame rail right in
> front of the oil hole and it splashes the nearly 2 GALLONS of oil
> everywhere.  Then, the oil filter has a 'slide' under it to redirect the
> oil to the front of the frame, which is nice, EXCEPT that it doesn't go all
> the way back to under the oil filter!  This means that some oil drips under
> the oil filter while more drips in front of the frame rail about 2 feet
> away (meaning no single oil pan can catch both.)  I'm seeing this in more
> and more cars that have stupid oil drains.
>
> Now I get that engines are sometime designed in a vacuum and the frame
> builders don't care what is in the way, but it just seems that for optimal
> oil changes, a plug should be at the bottom of the pan.  With all the
> environmental concerns, I would also imagine that any way to prevent oil
> spills and splashes would be ideal.
>
> Can anyone explain this?  Or is it just a case of designers really HATE
> mechanics?
>
>
> "Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational
> being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory." Ralph
> Waldo Emerson
> -Who is John Galt?
>
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