Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
Good point. I have arthritic hands, but my cousin changes my oil and he does not have arthritic hands. I see your point, but it doesn't affect me since my cousin is the one putting on the new oil filter.
Does anyone replace the oil drain plug if specified?
- Thread starter AZjeff
- Start date
I'm still using the original plug on my 18 F-150, haven't even changed the oring, doesn't leak a drop. The plastic oil pan it's self is a different story. "Fixed" 3 times under warranty, still leaks
I've never seen either, VW or Ford, in the flesh.
It's "quarter turn", no?
It's "quarter turn", no?
On our Golf R and 911, it is a coarse thread, close to if not a whole turn with a locking nub on a sprung strip of plastic on the outer rim of the head. You turn until the marks align and you can just feel the nub engaging. The pic above is of the 911 and if you look closely you can see the blue arrow that aligns with the slot in the plug. While not absolutely necessary, the special tool engages the plug completely and the install is very quick and as idiot proof as you can get. I am sure they would go a change or two, maybe more, but at ~$8 or so for OEM and sometimes less, why chance it?
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Just buy a quick release plug & be done for the life of the car.
It's plastic, so yeah I would on the Jetta.
It depends on the car and engine oil we used. I had changed on Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Generally, the metal washer needs replacement after 2 or 3 oil changes or it starts to leak.
I tried Dorman metal rubber coated washer, but it torned a part when I used Ravenol VSE PAO oil. Decades ago, I found copper rubber coated from Dorman for Nissan, it works well for many-many years, but I only used group III oil at that time.
It is either the PAO is hard on rubber, or Dorman quality are bad now.
Now I stick with blue washer from Toyota, it is good for 2-3 oil changes with a proper torque. The black washer always leaks if it is overtorque or undertorque, and only can be used once.
I tried Dorman metal rubber coated washer, but it torned a part when I used Ravenol VSE PAO oil. Decades ago, I found copper rubber coated from Dorman for Nissan, it works well for many-many years, but I only used group III oil at that time.
It is either the PAO is hard on rubber, or Dorman quality are bad now.
Now I stick with blue washer from Toyota, it is good for 2-3 oil changes with a proper torque. The black washer always leaks if it is overtorque or undertorque, and only can be used once.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
MB, BMW, and VW all specified a new plug at each change. I never have. I just change the washer. The MB gets suctioned out anyway. The 5 cylinder Jetta had a canister filter on the underside, so I had to go under it with a pan anyway so drained by plug. The BMWs have never gotten new plugs.
Ive been changing my own oil on 3 cars on aversge for about 35 years. I have never installed a new washer. And i have never had a leak.
The true crush washers (that actually crush like a pinion crush sleeve) can start to leak in time, esp on Subarus.
I've seen a couple do it and so I just replace every time. This is an item that's inexplicably difficult to source at a FLAPS, but they're incredibly cheap and easy to get on Amazon in bags of 10 or 20.
edit: and yeah, I toss them in my scrap jug to be melted down and recycled. By weight they're probably worth .001 of a penny (bailing tin is presently 4 cents/lb here, which is actually quite good!)
I replace copper seal on my Nissans at every oil change.
My 03 Suburban has an integrated seal on the bolt. I haven't had any leaks with all my oil changes, but on my last oil change, I replaced with a new OE bolt, just for peace of mind and the price on E-bay was reasonable. I can't imagine these seals last forever, but mine was good for over 200k miles and still working well.
My 03 Suburban has an integrated seal on the bolt. I haven't had any leaks with all my oil changes, but on my last oil change, I replaced with a new OE bolt, just for peace of mind and the price on E-bay was reasonable. I can't imagine these seals last forever, but mine was good for over 200k miles and still working well.
A friend of mine designed a system he branded as drain a valve. It was a cable actuated valve that would bolt into the pan to replace the factory bolt and seal.
The handle pull would be located in an accessible place so the theory is it would be easy to drain oil for interval changes when not changing the filter.
This was about 30-40 years ago. He made it to production, but not sure the concept lasted over time. Maybe they still have versions of these?
The handle pull would be located in an accessible place so the theory is it would be easy to drain oil for interval changes when not changing the filter.
This was about 30-40 years ago. He made it to production, but not sure the concept lasted over time. Maybe they still have versions of these?
The 2013 Fiat 500 in my fleet has a plug that needs to be replaced each oil change. It has a non replaceable rubber ring and the pan has a very pronounced lip that is sharp. I am just amazed this was designed to be that way. The plug is metal, could have been a crush washer instead. And if you use it more than twice it will never seal the pan. With only 4 quarts in the sump that is dangerous for the multi-air system.
It’s done on purpose to pad the service bill for the dealers. That $0.25 cent plug is another $10 added to the final bill. People with heavy OCD are happy cause they’ve done the job “per the book”, and the dealers are especially happy for pretty much free money.
Sounds like a Fumoto valve is a good option for this application assuming there is adequate ground clearance.
But what if I cherish my OCD?
So now we are risking an engine or transmission to use discount plastic drain plugs? Instead of OEM plugs designed to be as cheap as possible for single use?
Wow, I would like to see the numbers on how many nickels this saves the manufacturer per vehicle? I'm not even against plastic plugs, they work fine on chainsaws for decades with an O-ring, but why a throw away one? Maybe its just a way to make the manufacturer more profit for oil changes at a dealership?
^if you're an indy and in a pinch all you're going to get is a Dorman anyway, and they're stupid expensive for what they are. I also bought a bag of cheapies on Amazon and as they seem to fit and "click" in, I doubt they're gonna just spontaneously fail.
My nearest VW dealer is 3 hours. In rural areas VW has probably the least coverage of any of the major automakers. Heck, I've even got a Mitsubishi dealer an hour away (but maybe they're closing given recent news)
According to AI, there are 626 VW dealers in the US but 800 Kia dealerships.
My nearest VW dealer is 3 hours. In rural areas VW has probably the least coverage of any of the major automakers. Heck, I've even got a Mitsubishi dealer an hour away (but maybe they're closing given recent news)
According to AI, there are 626 VW dealers in the US but 800 Kia dealerships.