Plastic Oil Pan

[Ed Fulton]

My grandson works at a local Jiffy Lube shop. He pulled the drain plug, and the threaded insert came out of the oil pan with the plug. Plastic oil pan. Nissan. I suppose many of you have seen plastic oil pans before, but it was a new one to me!

 

[Texasmark]

No I haven't but I can't imagine a company pulling a stunt like that....plastic oil pan. On the oil changing facility folks, they had a real mess on their hands....That had to be a king sized nightmare for them!

 

[peteL]

I heard of Jiffy Lube stripping the oil plugs and substituting rubber replacements.

 

[37chief]

That's what happens when you have someone designing something that doesn't have a clue on how things work. I feel sorry for your grand son. The previous oil change shop probably over tightened the plug. Over size drain plugs are made for stripped threads in metal pans, I doubt for plastic. Stan

 

[Steve in IL]

Hmmm. The Detroit Series 60 had some sort of non-metallic oil pan. And that was 30 years ago! They seemed to hold up pretty well.

 

[olddavid]

The new Chevy Trailblazer and Trax 3 cylinders have plastic oil pans. I believe they have a bayonet twist in plug with "O" ring seals. We just got one (Trailblazer) but I haven't looked at the drain plug, yet.

 

[Duner Wi]

 

[Adam from WI]

Volvo/Mack trucks as well. They don't rust. If you hit something big enough to crack one you've got bigger problems than just a pan.

 

[NDIHC]

There is a local dealership replacing a bunch of oil pans because their lube techs were using small impact drivers to tighten oil drain plugs. They were stripping the threads on some and others couldn't get the drain plugs loose at the next oil change.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Hmmm. The Detroit Series 60 had some sort of non-metallic oil pan. And that was 30 years ago! They seemed to hold up pretty well.

Yep 2 of them here. They have a torque spec

It’s a good thing they don’t rust because wouldn’t be able to solder pennies to them either! I wonder if steel oil pans and pennies will disappear at the same time

 

[37chief]

Hmmm. The Detroit Series 60 had some sort of non-metallic oil pan. And that was 30 years ago! They seemed to hold up pretty well.

I guess I learned a thing or two. Never too old to learn, Stan

 

[moresmoke]

The new Chevy Trailblazer and Trax 3 cylinders have plastic oil pans. I believe they have a bayonet twist in plug with "O" ring seals. We just got one (Trailblazer) but I haven't looked at the drain plug, yet.

As do many of the current Fords. I keep a spare plug for the wife’s car. Haven’t needed it yet.

 

[Dingo3]

“Most modern vehicles manufactured from the late 2000s onwards, particularly those with plastic oil pans, require the replacement of single-use plastic drain plugs at every oil change. This includes brands like Audi, Porsche, BMW, Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, and many others.”

 

[Texasmark]

I heard of Jiffy Lube stripping the oil plugs and substituting rubber replacements.

My MIL (before I married her daughter for 49 years and she perished) had a 1955 Chevy 4 door and sent it to the local Chevy dealer to have the oil changed....the stupid !@@##$$%%^^&**...... nerd that changed the oil stripped the oil pan drain hole threads requiring her oil pan to be replaced.....which required the engine drive train to be lifted to the point that the pan could be slid out over the lower chassis components.......Never forgot that and NEVER had anybody change the oil on any of my equipment as a result.....and to my dieing day no one will.

 

[dbNga]

My grandson works at a local Jiffy Lube shop. He pulled the drain plug, and the threaded insert came out of the oil pan with the plug. Plastic oil pan. Nissan. I suppose many of you have seen plastic oil pans before, but it was a new one to me!

Wife's '23 GMC Aadia w/2.0 4 cyl HAD a plastic oil pan w/a 1/2 turn plug w/oring about 3/4 " d. It was exposed more than I was comfortable with so I bought a metal oil pan ($~40) with traditional plug. The help yourself rack at O'reillys was incorrect per the book for replacement orings. The v6 metal oil pan is all over the net but the 4 cyl was a search till the cows come home endeavor. Thank you GM "engineering".

 

[showcrop]

This sounds like a similar situation with the fifties Ford tractors. Guys change the oil without a new gasket. It drips. Put pipe on wrench. All is good................until next oil change when they twist the square center of the plug off.

 

[Brownie450]

I'm with Texasmark on doing it yourself. We have a 2017 escape
& by the time you get the fuzzy board off, & on again you have
an hour invested in an oil change. At least I know the oil & filter
have been changed & the drain plug will come loose at the next
service schedule. I just don't trust the oil change jockeys.
Jim

 

[NDIHC]

Depends where you go. Where I used to work, the lube techs were required to replace drain plugs if they were supposed to be replaced and replace drain plug gaskets. Parts replaced were original equipment, not those crappy plastic gaskets that some oil change places use. They were also required to hand torque drain plugs with a torque wrench and write the torque spec on the RO. Same for wheels. They were hand torqued with a torque wrench and torque spec written on RO. I had some tires mounted and balanced and had an oil change done at a shop a couple months ago. They also used a torque wrench on the drain plug and the wheels. There are places that can do the job right. Unfortunately there are probably more that do it wrong.

 

[the tractior vet]

My grandson works at a local Jiffy Lube shop. He pulled the drain plug, and the threaded insert came out of the oil pan with the plug. Plastic oil pan. Nissan. I suppose many of you have seen plastic oil pans before, but it was a new one to me!

Years back while building a pulling tractor and to put it on a DIET we used a fiberglass oil pan rather then that INGOT cast iron one and also the top transmission cover . I have seen plastic valve cover's plastic intakes , plastic this and that on cars today . And the metal ones are like tissue paper . I had to replace the one on our 2013 Dodge Avenger due to destroying it while trying to get the drain plug out that a Dodge dealer had installed during a oil change when the weather was bad weather . And when i went to change it i could not break it loose with a long 14 MM box wrench and moved to a 1/2 drive breaker bar then a four foot cheater and it folded up like a accordion . So now nothing ya find on new cars and trucks surprises me . Some where i heard about plastic connecting rods