I recently purchased a 1985 Ford LTD Country Squire. It has two oil drain plugs. Both were aftermarket when I got it. Both the correct size.
One of the plugs showed lots of resistance when unscrewing. When I screw it back in, it did the same, didn't want to screw in easily. Snugged it down, and it was dripping oil. I went to tighten more and it just started spinning. Great.
It also didn't want to come off, would just spin, but not move out. I was finally able to get it off by using a flat-head screwdriver to push it hard to one side, and at the same time use the socket to back it out. It essence what it seemed to do was 'bit' into the metal again and dig its way out.
There were lots of metal shards, some pretty good size. I used a telescopic magnet to try and get metal out from inside the pan. I got a decent amount, but, I probably missed some. I also flushed about a quart of oil through. But, this drain plug isn't vertical to the ground, it's horizontal up a half inch or so. So, flushing effect was limited.
I then screwed in a nice plug with a better, more crushable gasket (green Dorman one, they deform well). The new plug went in with lots of resistance. So, I imagine it may have created new metal shards (no way to avoid that). So far, no leaks.
Should I worry about any potential metal flakes inside the pan? Some might be stripped screw/bolt type pieces and can be pretty decent size (1/3 inch crescents).
Or, am I ok?
Thanks
One of the plugs showed lots of resistance when unscrewing. When I screw it back in, it did the same, didn't want to screw in easily. Snugged it down, and it was dripping oil. I went to tighten more and it just started spinning. Great.
It also didn't want to come off, would just spin, but not move out. I was finally able to get it off by using a flat-head screwdriver to push it hard to one side, and at the same time use the socket to back it out. It essence what it seemed to do was 'bit' into the metal again and dig its way out.
There were lots of metal shards, some pretty good size. I used a telescopic magnet to try and get metal out from inside the pan. I got a decent amount, but, I probably missed some. I also flushed about a quart of oil through. But, this drain plug isn't vertical to the ground, it's horizontal up a half inch or so. So, flushing effect was limited.
I then screwed in a nice plug with a better, more crushable gasket (green Dorman one, they deform well). The new plug went in with lots of resistance. So, I imagine it may have created new metal shards (no way to avoid that). So far, no leaks.
Should I worry about any potential metal flakes inside the pan? Some might be stripped screw/bolt type pieces and can be pretty decent size (1/3 inch crescents).
Or, am I ok?
Thanks
Last edited:
