Ford plastic oil drain plug

[fisher83]

I suspect that this may be a rather unpopular opinion, but I actually don't mind the plastic drain plug at all!

The dealer did the first two oil changes on my F-150 and I did my first one on it today at 15,000 miles. I fully expected all the gloom and doom I'd read about regarding it splashing oil all over the place.

I unscrewed it until I could feel it break contact and just held it still for probably about a minute to control the flow then once I could feel the pressure decrease I pulled it out the rest if the way. No oil on the driveway and no huge mess and it didn't get all over the sway bar. Put the plug back in, changed the filter, and refilled with 6 quarts of RGT 5w30. Easy peasy.

Anyone else actually not mind the plastic drain plug?

 

[Shel_B]

I suspect that this may be a rather unpopular opinion, but I actually don't mind the plastic drain plug at all!

The dealer did the first two oil changes on my F-150 and I did my first one on it today at 15,000 miles. I fully expected all the gloom and doom I'd read about regarding it splashing oil all over the place.

I unscrewed it until I could feel it break contact and just held it still for probably about a minute to control the flow then once I could feel the pressure decrease I pulled it out the rest if the way. No oil on the driveway and no huge mess and it didn't get all over the sway bar. Put the plug back in, changed the filter, and refilled with 6 quarts of RGT 5w30. Easy peasy.

Anyone else actually not mind the plastic drain plug?

All the steel drain plugs I've used behave the same way. Is there some benefit to plastic drain plugs?

 

[fisher83]

All the steel drain plugs I've used behave the same way. Is there some benefit to plastic drain plugs?

I don't really think it is necessarily better than the metal plugs. Just that it's not some really terrible thing to deal with like it's made out to be. I didn't find it to be an inconvenience at all.

 

[KJSmith]

All the steel drain plugs I've used behave the same way. Is there some benefit to plastic drain plugs?

It goes with the plastic pan.
Other than that, it drains quick due to its size.

 

[xgmad]

The only benefit I see is that the oil pan's threads wont get stripped, making plastic drain plugs a good plus, but the reliability of metal plugs are nice.

 

[MParr]

I do the drain on mine the same way. I don’t have a big mess. I actually like the cartridge filter being on top of the engine. Dealing with the under body cover is the biggest headache.

 

[fisher83]

I too like the top filter. It's not quite as convenient as the top mounted filter on our Subaru but it's pretty manageable. I suspect that as I rack up some miles on this truck I'll find stuff to complain about but the plastic drain plug really isn't one of them.

 

[R1jake]

The only benefit I see is that the oil pan's threads wont get stripped, making plastic drain plugs a good plus, but the reliability of metal plugs are nice.

Well ya never know being the oil pan is plastic to. According to the above post. Is this true? A plastic oil pan??

 

[2EHA]

Well ya never know being the oil pan is plastic to. According to the above post. Is this true? A plastic oil pan??

plastic transmission pans have been around for like 20 years and prove to be very unproblematic

about time plastic oil pans arrived

 

[tyman]

Well ya never know being the oil pan is plastic to. According to the above post. Is this true? A plastic oil pan??

Yes, Ford switched to a plastic oil pan on some of their trucks.

 

[farrarfan1]

Here’s another recent discussion.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/plastic-oil-drain-plug-on-newer-fords.339577/

 

[mazdamonky]

All the steel drain plugs I've used behave the same way. Is there some benefit to plastic drain plugs?

I would assume it is a lower cost for the dealer and it may help reduce the chance of cross threading and messing up the pan?

 

[MParr]

Well ya never know being the oil pan is plastic to. According to the above post. Is this true? A plastic oil pan??

Yep, a plastic oil pan on the 2.7 Ecoboost. There were problems with leaking with the Gen I 2.7. That has been solved in the Gen II. Many newer vehicles have plastic oil and transmission pans.
https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/autocomposites-update-engine-oil-pans

 

[CatCam2]

I have it on my F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost. I like it. No problems, easy to remove and install. Made of a very heavy duty material. Good design, no tools required to remove/install. The oil hole is bigger than I was used to, like the OP said, just watch the initial gush of oil! Once you make a little mess the 1st time you will learn this!

 

[wbwanzer]

I kinda liked the plastic plug on the GTI that I had. I use the Mityvac on my S3, so the plastic plug stays in.

 

[MNgopher]

No issues in 5 years and 75k miles with the plastic plug on my '16 F150 with the 2.7. Agree with the comment above that taking the underbody cover is more of an issue...

 

[Warstud]

No issues until you take it to Jiffy Lube.

 

[Nyati]

I suspect that this may be a rather unpopular opinion, but I actually don't mind the plastic drain plug at all!

The dealer did the first two oil changes on my F-150 and I did my first one on it today at 15,000 miles. I fully expected all the gloom and doom I'd read about regarding it splashing oil all over the place.

I unscrewed it until I could feel it break contact and just held it still for probably about a minute to control the flow then once I could feel the pressure decrease I pulled it out the rest if the way. No oil on the driveway and no huge mess and it didn't get all over the sway bar. Put the plug back in, changed the filter, and refilled with 6 quarts of RGT 5w30. Easy peasy.

Anyone else actually not mind the plastic drain plug?

My 911 has a plastic oil pan and a plastic plug. You use a little tool to turn it 90 degrees and it’s loose. They recommend changing the plug every time you change the oil.

 

[meep]

I bought an aftermarket metal plug and later pulled it out. The plastic one works better, which I hate to say… but it does.

 

[Hall]

It's not like someone at Ford secretly switched their metal oil pans to plastic one day and didn't tell anyone...