[Shop-talk] Oil plugs, WHY?

[Brian and Wendy Warrick]

Not a new car problem. My 1977 F150 with a 351M drains oil all over the front crossmember. I went with the oil valve with a nipple for some vinyl tube. Works great and I can do it hot without burning myself.



Brian Warrick
Nampa, ID

________________________________
From: Shop-talk <shop-talk-bounces at autox.team.net> on behalf of Jimmie Mayfield <mayfield+shoptalk at sackheads.org>
Sent: Monday, January 4, 2021 8:50 AM
To: shop-talk at autox.team.net <shop-talk at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Oil plugs, WHY?

FWIW, my 06 4Runner has a vertical drain plug that's recessed and protected by a skid plate.

You might consider installing a Fumoto-style drain plug valve.  I haven't installed one yet but lots of people seem to swear by them.  They'll let you connect a hose to drain the oil directly into your drain pan.


On 1/4/21 08:14, eric at megageek.com<mailto: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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