Have you used/do you use an oil drain valve?

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Been using the Fumoto valve for three years. Has worked just fine, and I've never had a leak with it. I highly approve of it.
 
Fumotos or the likes are great given the right application. I've owned many cars where such a valve would hang down too far into what I would consider "harm's way".

For vehicles where they are a GREAT fit, I've had two. One on a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo LS 4x4 and currently have a Fumoto on a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek.

The only downfall of them is, they do cause the oil to drain a bit slower, and as simple and straight forward as they are, I wouldn't trust a shop to know what they are, or how to work them. I'd basically plan on doing every oil change yourself as long as a Fumoto is in place.
 
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I have a Fumoto on my current vehicle, but had a Fram "SureDrain" on my previous one. Definitely makes the OC process easier. The Fumoto comes with a good fiber washer. The Fram came with a garbage copper washer that leaked. I replaced it with a nylon washer that didn't. Definitely worth the money for DIYers.
 
Nope, the drain plug works just fine on all my vehicles, and it gets more oil out. After the Fumoto demo my brother showed me, I'll pass. As always opinions and experiences vary.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I have a Fumoto on my current vehicle, but had a Fram "SureDrain" on my previous one. Definitely makes the OC process easier. The Fumoto comes with a good fiber washer. The Fram came with a garbage copper washer that leaked. I replaced it with a nylon washer that didn't. Definitely worth the money for DIYers.

I have Fram SureDrain installed on my S2000 using the original OEM washer without problem. I paid about $3-4 for it long time ago, so I didn't expect much from its performance.

I use oil extractor to siphon most of the oil from crankcase, then reach down from top of the engine to hookup the drain tube to SureDrain, this way I can get another 3-5 oz that the Mityvac 7201 could not get. I then jack up the driver side 8-10" to get another 2-3 oz.
 
Originally Posted By: Curtis Newton
EZ-oil-drain = made in China

Fumoto = made in Japan

For me, a very easy decision.
Sad that the majority will have difficulty making the decision.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Nope, the drain plug works just fine on all my vehicles, and it gets more oil out. After the Fumoto demo my brother showed me, I'll pass. As always opinions and experiences vary.


How does you drain plug get more oil out? Here is my Fumoto from the inside:

Same as a drain plug

 
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I had a Fram Sure Drain for a while on my old Ranger. Never any problems with leaks or anything, but it did drain slower than the original plug.

I put it in because someone before I owned it cranked the drain plug down hard into the aluminum oil pan. Though the threads in the pan seemed okay after chasing, I figured the valve would prevent any further wear. I switched back to a normal drain plug when I went off to college and didn't always have the ability to change the oil myself.

I haven't used one since though. The plug is just too easy to justify a valve on my 3.0. 12 years, coming up on 160K miles, and it still has the plug it left the factory with.

The main selling point of a valve to me is on vehicles with more "sensitive" oil pans and plugs, where the fewer times the plug is removed the better. Of course, you should be careful of any clearance issues if it is a vertical plug.
 
I have been using Fumoto drain valves for over a decade, on everything from commercial semi trucks, my personal pickups, autos, and Jeeps, right on down to my ag tractors. It is now the thing I put in at the first oil change. I have never had one break or be a problem in over a million miles of semi truck use or off roading with pickups and Jeeps. For the later, a version without a nipple extension is a better choice. Only sticks down 1 inch below the pan and low risk of it ever catching on anything. For those with side drain, like on my 2013 Chevy pickup, even having a nipple on the valve seems to be a non issue.

I love how it makes things easier and neater to drain the oil. Makes it great for taking oil samples. I can let it drain for while, then close the valve a little to slow the stream, and take a sample. This is more of an issue with the big on on my heavy diesel engines. Ain't no slow trickle out of those large valves.
 
I have used EZ Drain for years on several different vehicles. All have worked great, no problems. Didn't know they were made in China.
 
Not all pans are the same. The valve sticks up a good bit on this one and keeps over half a qt in the pan over the plug.
SAM_1109-1.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Guitarmageddon
Have you used/do you use an oil drain valve?


Never have, and most likely never will. I don't mind spending the extra 15 seconds each oil change removing and replacing the drain plug.

As I understand it, the oil drain valves are somewhat/significantly slower to drain that the drain plug, so there is no time savings over the drain plug.
 
I've always considered these things to be an answer to a question nobody asked as well as just something else to break.
There are those who have them and love them, though.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Not all pans are the same. The valve sticks up a good bit on this one and keeps over half a qt in the pan over the plug.
SAM_1109-1.jpg



Not sure what that is, looked like an abstract art paining at first. In any case you can just cut the Fumoto down if it sticks in too far, and you absolutely must get every drop of used oil out, cause we all know hat happened to engines if any used oil is left in...
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: Guitarmageddon
Have you used/do you use an oil drain valve?


Never have, and most likely never will. I don't mind spending the extra 15 seconds each oil change removing and replacing the drain plug.

As I understand it, the oil drain valves are somewhat/significantly slower to drain that the drain plug, so there is no time savings over the drain plug.


Well that is fine when all you have is a gallon of oil running thru a tiny plug hole. See if you feel that a Fumoto is not worth it on a sump that holds 10 gallons of oil and a commercial truck comes in off the road for shop service after running all day and that oil is still over 180F. Pull the plug on that one and let us know if you have the same perspective, especially when it comes to filling a oil sample bottle from that flow.

It isn't so much about time savings, as hassle savings. My 2013 Chevy Silverado, the warm oil will shoot out clear over to the passenger side steer tire if I was only using the stock plug. I can control the flow better and create less problems by using a valve. And even if the drain is slower using a valve, one can be doing a number of things while the oil is draining. On a typical commercial truck, there are at least 28-30, minimum, grease fittings that need to be hit, and the drive diffs and trans lube levels need checked. On my pickup, I have a number of things to check while I am under it to catch any mechanical issues that might be cropping up.

I realize that some rarely even check the oil, let alone actually take the time to check out the entire vehicle, but a slower drain from a valve is non issue for those of us that do. That a trace of used oil may remain in the sump due to the valve doesn't concern me either. After hundreds of oil samples on both commercial and personal vehicles, I have yet to see that it makes any difference.
 
It's a convenience. Use one or don't use one. Topics like this always seem to devolve into some sort of contest to see who can convince others that they are wrong. It would probably be better not to start such topics in the first place. I have only been on this site for about two years and I think the oil drain valve topic has been originated at least fifteen times.
 
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