Which Oil Drain Valve do you use? Fumuto? Valvomax?

[Hohn]

I used to have a Fumuto that I used for years and never had problems. It worked exactly as intended and was perfectly reliable. I had the luxury of high ground clearance.

But in searching for a valve option for my new Accord, I wanted to cast a broader net.

The other prominent player is the Valvomax. I like the idea of this setup, but I was always bothered a bit by the somewhat large flange of their drain hose adapter.

On some oil pans, the plug doesn't have much clearance to adjacent pan bulge, so I thought the Valvomax approproach could be improved.

Look at how tight a pan like this hugs the drain plug:

Enter the Stahlbus:

http://www.stahlbus.com/products/en/oil-drain-valve/index.php

I do on-engine plumbing professionally and I thought the Stahlbus was the better design. I installed it on my Honda and it really is superb. I will be ordering a couple more. What really sold me on the Stahlbus was the o-ring seals everywhere, the use of premium stainless instead of brass (no copper touching oil and leaching into it) and the super compact bayonet design.

I made a short video about the Stahlbus:

 

[JeffKeryk]

Pretty cool, but the MityVac is such a great solution. I've changed oil (no filter) on Christmas Day in my good clothes.

 

[Donald]

I have a Fumoto on my Subaru. It works fine except I need to figure out how to open the valve without getting oil all over my hand.

I have a Valvomax ready to install in my 2015 PSD.

 

[Bud]

I had a Valvomax on my 2016 Pilot and loved it. I put a Fumoto on my Subaru last oil change to try it out. I really don't think you can go wrong with either one. I will be hitting 80 in a couple of years so may go the MityVac route at that time. I am getting really slow getting up off the garage floor.

 

[Trav]

The Valvomax is SS, only some models of the Stahlbus are SS. In this particular application I can see where the Stahlbus allows more clearance.

Stahlbus..

• Valve body manufactured out of high-strength steel with copper sealing

• Safety cap manufactured out of anodized aluminum

Valvomax..

• Made from Rugged 304 Stainless Steel that’s built to last
• Wave-spring technology allowing for oil draining in 10 minutes or less
• Prevents oil leaks with 3 backup mechanism design
• Premium VITON O-rings

 

[CarbonToast]

Fumoto on the subaru, no 2nd piece to lose. Can reach under and drain without raising the vehicle. Easy to open and close blind, and the positive locking is nice. 10 years, 130k miles, probably 20 oil changes with the valve.

 

[Jakebrake]

Stahlbus on my 2022 F350.

 

[jetman]

Fumoto on my Detroit Diesel 12.7L for 10 yrs.
Works great
No issues

 

[oldcodger]

Fumoto on my 2012 Frontier. No problems. Can drain without raising the truck.

 

[sparky123]

About to install a Fumoto on the new Wrangler. I've had one on my wife's car for 6 yrs and all is well. The other valves are excellent as well, just don't lose the attachment piece. I do like the threaded cap as an additional safety measure though.

 

[4WD]

About to install a Fumoto on the new Wrangler. I've had one on my wife's car for 6 yrs and all is well. The other valves are excellent as well, just don't lose the attachment piece. I do like the threaded cap as an additional safety measure though.

I have Fumoto on both of the Tahoe’s - but hesitant to put on my Wrangler bcs of driving over stuff off-road …

 

[JimPghPA]

Fumoto with 90 angle and hose connection. It was a difficult instal on my 2016 CRV 2.4 L. I had to grind off a corner of an exhaust flange so I could rotate the valve as it threaded in. And the direction the drain lever ends up pointing is tied to how the threads happen to cause the final tightening of the valve into the drain hole to end up when it's fully tightened down. I had to overnighter mine quite a bit to get the open / close lever to end up in a good orientation. Fumoto should supply a variety of washer thicknesses so the installer can get that lever to end up in a good spot when tightened down.

Other than that it works well.

If I had to do it again I would go with ValvoMax or the above mentioned Stahlbus, they both would not have the lever alignment problem.

 

[Sierra048]

Valvomax on the Frontier. I used Fumoto valves on all our past vehicles.

 

[daniel327]

I use an EZ Oil Drain valve, which appears to be a stainless copy of a Fumoto. It's on an off-road vehicle, so I secure the lever with a genuine Fumoto retention/lock clip.

 

[_Will_]

Fumoto on both the 23’ Titan and 18’ Mazda 3, mainly went with them due to the long positive history.

 

[Kira]

Fumoto on two vehicles.
Why?
1) The oil pan threads were damaged. I wanted to install something and never touch the threads again.
2) The stories (or lore) of leaks from the '70's are no more. Were they even called 'Fumoto' back then?

 

[Hohn]

Pretty cool, but the MityVac is such a great solution. I've changed oil (no filter) on Christmas Day in my good clothes.

I don't consider that to be a sufficient oil change, but I am a huge fan of the Mityvac and use my Silverline Pro kit for a million other uses. I prefer to get as much old oil out as I can, so I change it hot and I dump a quart of new oil in to flush out and dilute the residue.

I admit that my desire to clean out as much old oil as possible amounts to basically nothing for engine life, but it satisfies me, so I do it.

 

[Hohn]

I have Fumoto on both of the Tahoe’s - but hesitant to put on my Wrangler bcs of driving over stuff off-road …

I might do Fumoto on my GX460 since it has skid plates there and the oil drain passes through a "racetrack" panel on the plate.

But since I already have the Stahlbus drainhose, I might as well buy more of those plugs, I suppose.

I had the Fumoto on my old ram Diesel for a decade and it worked perfectly. Thing is, these Fumotos are nearly as expensive now as the stainless Stahlbus. It's worth the extra $10-$20 or so to me.

 

[Hohn]

I have a Fumoto on my Subaru. It works fine except I need to figure out how to open the valve without getting oil all over my hand.

I have a Valvomax ready to install in my 2015 PSD.

that's one of those niggling little things the Stahlbus solves because the hose is sealed with o-rings BEFORE the valve opens.

I think the valvomax also has this advantage relative to the Fumoto.

 

[Skippy722]

Fumoto on the Ram, gotta vacuum the oil out of the van on account of a 200lb gorilla going ape on the drain plug and rounding it off.