Fumoto valve and road debris incident

[DirectRejection]

I delivered rush special order electronic parts to the IT department at Network Appliances, in Silicon Valley. When I got back to my vehicle, I saw this near my car.

 

[DirectRejection]

It took a while to figure out what had happened. I moved my PriusC in electric mode. I climbed under my car and looked carefully. I had changed my oil the day before. Was it a double gasket @ the oil filter ? Not visible is oil sprayed over my wheel and bottom of the car door.

 

[DirectRejection]

On the third try of inspecting under my car, I finally looked over and said to myself, "is this Fumoto drain valve in the open position ?"

 

[DirectRejection]

Then I saw this.

 

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And this.

 

[DirectRejection]

I had run over a box, about 10"x10"x10", wrapped in shrink wrap. The box became lodged against the Fumoto drain valve, and the shrink wrap wrapped around a wheel. This was all enough to yank the valve open.

 

[DirectRejection]

My dipstick was dry, of course. I closed the valve, Ubered to Pep Boys and back, and poured in some fresh oil. Then I drove off, good to go, and avoiding a need to post in the catastrophic engine failure thread.

Billion to one.

 

[Krieg]

ouch

 

[AZjeff]

Did you not notice the box or feel it under the car?

It's great you didn't lose an engine to an unbelievably random unpredictable event.

 

[wwillson]

I had run over a box, about 10"x10"x10", wrapped in shrink wrap. The box became lodged against the Fumoto drain valve, and the shrink wrap wrapped around a wheel. This was all enough to yank the valve open.

Like I said that the HPL open house when you told me the story. It's a one in a million chance the valve got pulled open, then another million to one that you just happened to shut the engine off almost immediately, then another million to one that you pay attention to what is going on around you, most don't. You beat a staggering probability that this would have ruined the engine.

 

[DirectRejection]

Did you not notice the box or feel it under the car?

Clueless.

 

[dnewton3]

I don't see this as a Fumoto failure; it did what it was supposed to do. Somthing manipulated the lever and so the fluid released; that's not a product "fail". It's a freak accident. I've had two F-valves over many years and never had one issue. Just ordered another for my Taurus today as a matter of fact.

Curious, did the Fumoto have the safety clip installed? Or the upgraded lock spring? How is the valve oriented?

 

[DirectRejection]

Like I said that the HPL open house when you told me the story. It's a one in a million chance the valve got pulled open, then another million to one that you just happened to shut it off almost immediately, then another million to one that you pay attention to what is going on around you, most don't. You beat a staggering probability that this would have ruined the engine.

Thank you for examining these incriminating pictures of unbelievable events, w.willson. I had been holding them since 2017. You are the first soul on the face of this Earth I shared them with.

 

[DirectRejection]

I don't see this as a Fumoto failure. It's a freak accident. I've had two valves over many years and never had one issue. Just ordered another for my Taurus today as a matter of fact.

Curious, did the Fumoto have the safety clip installed? Or the upgraded lock spring?

How is the valve oriented?

Agreed. Improper thread title. And I like Fumoto.

Dang it dnewton3, you are exactly who I would have wanted to share this with additionally. I did not even think of it until late Saturday night, after the bbq & beers.

I called Fumoto headquarters in NYC back in 2017. They make a great product. I do believe the black safety clip came out not too long after my phone call !!!!

In this case, the valve gets positioned straight up and down, with spring.

 

[fsdork]

This is why I am a fan of the threaded dust cap on the E-Z Oil Drain valve. It seems like it would provide some redundancy in case the valve were opened unintentionally.

Of course, any number of other things could go wrong. The cap won't do any good if the valve gets hit by debris and snaps off.

 

[DirectRejection]

This is why I am a fan of the threaded dust cap on the E-Z Oil Drain valve. It seems like it would provide some redundancy in case the valve were opened unintentionally.

Of course, any number of other things could go wrong. The cap won't do any good if the valve gets hit by debris and snaps off.

It takes a serious effort plus two distinct motions to open a Fumoto drain valve. It sits on a spring. First, the lever is rotated, then pushed into a notch, to open the valve. Again, significant intentional force is required.

wwillson and I agree.
Billion to one chronology of events occurred.

With the built in nipple, plastic tube, and a used oil container bottle, a clean, no fuss oil change is possible.

 

[atikovi]

No tree hugger called the fire department or EPA to report an oil spill? I'd be angry if someone did that on my parking lot.

 

[StarCaller]

I put a small zip tie on so the lever can't go up /
On my wife's forester the fumoto valve is pretty much totally exposed & asking for a case like that /

 

[DirectRejection]

No tree hugger called the fire department or EPA to report an oil spill? I'd be angry if someone did that on my parking lot.

They didn't have any cat litter at Pep Boys.

 

[Shel_B]

So sorry to learn of your travails, and, of course, happy to know all worked out alright.

Years ago I put a Fumoto valve on a 1972 Mercedes 4.5 that I had. When my mechanic saw it he strongly urged me to remove it and replace it with the standard plug. He told me he had seen two situations where the plug was compromised, and I followed his advice. I never looked back.

If you look under enough vehicles, you'll find any number that show signs of undercarriage mishaps ... scrapes, dents, bangs, and bruises of various sorts.

"On my wife's forester the fumoto valve is pretty much totally exposed & asking for a case like that "

As I said, I'm happy about your result. I understand that it was a freak situation. For me, I just don't see any potential saving of time, energy, resources, or money that would make me willing to chance another Fumoto (or other) accessory valve.