Fumoto valve and road debris incident

[IveBeenRued]

Stahlbus makes really nice oil drain valves. They are made in Germany and they have a valve covered with a gasketed cap for double the protection.

https://www.stahlbus.com/products/en/oil-drain-valve/

 

[DirectRejection]

Will you leave the Fumoto on your car after this event?

I now have a Corolla Cross with adequate ground clearance to be able to reach under and change the oil and filter normally.

I would not hesitate to use Fumoto again, with the black clip.

 

[DirectRejection]

Glad you caught that in time, OP.

It's crazy. That was Ravenol EFE 0W16, of course, that leaked. Again it was fresh and clean. Oh, the humanity.

 

[DirectRejection]

I am not a fan of the Fumoto valve, but then again I have never used one. So there's that...
For ease of oil change services, I flat out love the MityVac.

That failure is certainly a one-in-a-bazillion occurance. Also great there was no engine damage!
Buy a lotto ticket, you are hot!

I had a Harbor Freight branded MityVac...loved it.

TY for the great idea. I just purchased Super Lotto, MegaMillions, and PowerBall tickets.

 

[Freischneider]

This is why I prefer a standard oil pan bolt.

 

[nthach]

If it was me, I’d consider myself lucky and buy a lotto ticket after that.

I like the idea of Fumoto valves but one innocent bump not of your cause - ****. The local buses all use Fumoto valves on their engines and transmissions - and those don’t live an easy life.

 

[dlundblad]

No thanks.

I don’t trust these and can’t understand why they’re so popular.

 

[billt460]

I don’t trust these and can’t understand why they’re so popular.

Several reasons. First and foremost they make oil changes a breeze to do without getting a drop of hot oil on your hands....... Or anywhere else for that matter. More importantly, on a lot of the newer cars, they have plastic, or polymer oil pans, with a threaded metal insert molded into them that contains the drain plug.

On my 5.7 HEMI the plug itself can become very difficult to remove for some reason. Yes, even using recommended torque. I've even used anti seize on the drain plug to no avail. Removing it can take a lot of torque. This is a widespread issue, that appears on a lot of the Jeep forums with these crappy plastic oil pans.

It's only a matter of time before it gets stuck to the point of turning the insert in the pan itself, causing a leak. The fix is a new $1,500.00 oil pan installation with labor. Only to have the same issue repeat itself in time, because you're going to have the exact same condition.

With a drain valve system once you install it, you never touch a wrench again to change oil. It makes the whole process much easier and safer with these wonderful new, "improved" plastic oil pans..... (The picture shows the molded in insert with the drain valve system installed).

 

[PWMDMD]

I use Fumoto valves on three vehicles and was worried about this until I saw where the drain plugs are located on each. On the Tundra it is high up and protected by the skid plate, on the RX 350 it is on the rear of the oil pan and so protected by the oil pan and on the Soul, it is protected by a plastic cover. I also place it so the release lever on the valve is at 12 O'Clock in the open position allowing the Fumoto valve itself to also shield the lever, and I always use the plastic clip.

I'd be more concerned if it hung down with the lever in an exposed position.

 

[billt460]

I used Fumoto on three vehicles and was worried about this until I saw where the drain plugs are located. On the Tundra it is high up and protected by the skid plate, on the RX 350 it is on the rear of the oil pan and so protected by the oil pan and on the Soul, it is protected by a plastic cover.

It's the same on both my Jeep Grand Cherokee, and my Toyota Camry. On the Jeep it's up and inside, well away from anything that could possibly come into contact with it. On my Toyota it is protected by a cover that is held in place by 4 screws.

There is more than enough clearance in between the valve itself, and the cover that protects it.

 

[Trav]

Stahlbus makes really nice oil drain valves. They are made in Germany and they have a valve covered with a gasketed cap for double the protection.

https://www.stahlbus.com/products/en/oil-drain-valve/

They are real nice but they are not stainless steel like the Valvo Max In some places this is of no concern but in the salt belt they do get rusty.
I use these types of drain plugs on vehicles that have had the original threads repaired, usually aluminum pans.

 

[dlundblad]

Several reasons. First and foremost they make oil changes a breeze to do without getting a drop of hot oil on your hands....... Or anywhere else for that matter. More importantly, on a lot of the newer cars, they have plastic, or polymer oil pans, with a threaded metal insert molded into them that contains the drain plug.

On my 5.7 HEMI the plug itself can become very difficult to remove for some reason. Yes, even using recommended torque. I've even used anti seize on the drain plug to no avail. Removing it can take a lot of torque. This is a widespread issue, that appears on a lot of the Jeep forums with these crappy plastic oil pans.

It's only a matter of time before it gets stuck to the point of turning the insert in the pan itself, causing a leak. The fix is a new $1,500.00 oil pan installation with labor. Only to have the same issue repeat itself in time, because you're going to have the exact same condition.

With a drain valve system once you install it, you never touch a wrench again to change oil. It makes the whole process much easier and safer with these wonderful new, "improved" plastic oil pans..... (The picture shows the molded in insert with the drain valve system installed).

I don’t own anything with a plastic oil pan so I guess I can’t comment.

They make those oil plug magnets on a cable for preventing the hot oil on your fingers.

I’m good with a wrench for now.

 

[billt460]

I don’t own anything with a plastic oil pan so I guess I can’t comment.

I would have them regardless. But the plastic pan issue makes it a no brainer.

 

[ARB1977]

I stopped using them since they served no purpose for my needs.

 

[zzyzzx]

Already on my list of reasons to not buy one of these drain valves.

 

[Dadillac]

I use the EZ oil drain valve

https://ezoildrainvalve.com/index.html

Same as the Fumoto but the outlet is threaded. They sell a threaded cap for the outlet so if the valve should open there will be no spillage. I have one waiting on the work bench for the next oil change for my Outback. I use these valves so that I can drain the oil directly into my disposal container. No more transferring oil from a drain pan into the container. And mo ,ore messy clean up or oily hands

Don

 

[JeffKeryk]

It don't get much easier...

 

[NormanBuntz]

Good job catching this. But being in California, it's just a matter of time until some tree hugger busts your hump for dumping four quarts of oil on the ground.

 

[doublebase]

It absolutely is a failure. It failed to remain closed. If a normal drain plug was in, this would’ve been a non issue.

Even though the odds are very, very low, this valve simply adds another failure mode. OP is super lucky it failed just before parking the vehicle.

I have one installed in my minivan and I’m not really impressed with it. It drains very slowly with hot oil, there are limited number of positions it can be installed safely and if your thread count happen to be just off by half a turn or so, the lever may be exposed.

This product is definitely hyped up on the internet, but since I paid for it already, may as well use it. But I highly doubt I will buy another. And it has nothing to do with this incident, I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with it a long time ago.

Yeah I feel the same way, it has to be considered a failure because if the valve wasn't there it wouldn't have happened. As unfair as that sounds.

I owned a Fumoto valve for two years, never had an issue with it (on a truck), but the thing was so slow to drain that I began to hate oil changes and wondered why I bought that thing in the first place. Just wasn’t for me I guess.

Having said all that, if there’s a drain valve that drains as quick as a regular drain plug, I’d be interested in trying it because I think the odds of failure are very slim.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I have 3 fumoto valves that I bought thinking the were the Cat's Azz but every one of them needed some sort of extension because they wouldn't just bolt on. I still have all three of them. I ended up buying the MityVac and it works great for my Civic and the Jeep. I might try to get the other two to work on my F-150 and the Corvette. Most of the time when oil is lost through the oil pan it somehow gets blown on the exhaust or a hot part of the engine and the burning oil smell should be enough to avoid a catastrophic failure if you shut er down right away.