Plastic Oil Pan

[flying belgian]

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.

I never thought I would have anyone change oil in my vehicles either but now at 73 and overweight with broken shoulder and arthritis I just can't do it anymore. Was it George Burns who said "if i'd have known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care myself"
Wife and I always buy new Fords and take them to Ford dealer for service.

 

[Mule Meat]

A lot of cars and trucks now days have composite oil pans. The drain plug inserts on Nissan products are known to stripe rather easily. Hate to say it but it's a good bet Jiffy Lube will be hit with the bill to replace the oil pan.

Some Ford 3.0 Explorer and pickup trucks have a plastic oil pan. But at least they have a plug that threads into the plastic itself with about 3/4 turn.
The plugs are yellow on these model Fords and should be replaced about every third or fourth oil change. For they will start leaking if refused to many times.

It used to be that people would really crank down on oil plugs. Can't do that now days. Best to torque them to about 25-28 ft lb with a dab of Anti Seize on the threads.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Anti Seize on a oil drain plug... Don't go there pretend you did not read that.

The mistake I see the most is when a drain plug wares folks keep using it. When you break a plug loose it should thread out by hand you should not need a tool to get it to tread out. If you do the drain plug threads are worn/damaged replace the plug.

 

[Johnnypopper]

Anti Seize on a oil drain plug... Don't go there pretend you did not read that.

The mistake I see the most is when a drain plug wares folks keep using it. When you break a plug loose it should thread out by hand you should not need a tool to get it to tread out. If you do the drain plug threads are worn/damaged replace the plug.

I have replaced several for that very reason.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

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

Maybe not so much as the designer but some accountant deciding it would be a cost savings.

 

[the tractior vet]

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

I had a Chrysler dealership do and oil change ONCE during bad weather . When the weather broke it was time again , so i crawled under with the six point 3/8th drive socket and my 3/8ths breaker bar and filter wrench . I go to remove the drain plug and yea NO i can not budge it . Get 1/2 drive long ratchet and it still does not move , Next comes my long breaker bar and still no joy . Added the cheater to the breaker bar and had to use my foot while holding on to the frame watching the pan flex , then came the oil filter NO filter wrench needed it was finger tight . When i came from under the car the cell phone came out and Bill the service manger and i had a CHAT i was not happy . Like i told Bill GOOD HELP IS HARD TO FIND and just think about how ticked off i would have been if that filter let go out on the road and you were installing a new 5.9 on the house. Bill and i went back many years and competing against each other along with going to the same training courses while we both worked at different Ford dealers . He stopped twisten wrenches and became service manager and i went back to Chrysler as a parts manager .

 

[Hobo,NC]

Maybe not so much as the designer but some accountant deciding it would be a cost savings.

My guess

Modifying components to achieve a lighter vehicle yields a practical rule of thumb where a 10% weight reduction improves fuel economy by roughly 7%. A lighter vehicle burns less fuel per mile, naturally lowering the manufacturer's fleet-wide carbon footprint and helping avoid shortfalls against the target. [1, 2]

 

[Mule Meat]

Anti Seize on a oil drain plug... Don't go there pretend you did not read that.

If you think it is a bad idea. Give me a good explanation as to why.

Been putting a dab of Anti Seize on oil drain plugs of over 40 years and I have yet to crack, pull the threads or damage a metal insert on a composite oil pan.

Most of the damage done to oil pans is stupidity. People think the tighter the better. Overnighting can and will distort the threads in the pan long before the threads on the drain plug gets damaged.

 

[olddavid]

I guess it's ok to use anti-seize on an oil pan drain bolt but it will already likely be lubricated with oil. Spark plugs in aluminum heads are a different matter. Unless the manufacturer specs torque for anti-seize it can cause the threads to be lubricated which is a recipe for over tightening and stripping the threads. You might lower the torque spec but then you risk the plug coming loose which is just as bad. Catch 22. Where I used to work anti-seize was the prevailing answer for threads exposed to water, but I don't think it helped as much as was thought. I started lubing the threads with grease or oil and got good results. In my opinion anti-seize benefits are more realized where high temperatures are involved.

 

[ss55]

Maybe not so much as the designer but some accountant deciding it would be a cost savings.

Weight reduction, cost reduction, and acoustics benefits too. Plastic oil sumps, valve covers, intake runners, etc. will absorb some engine noise rather than transmit or amplify it. A lot of 1990s cars used plastic engine parts already, that was 30 years ago now.

There will always be some ham fisted people ( myself included ) working on cars without reading the manual that can ruin any and everything: over tighten/under tighten/leave out drain plugs, twist off wheel studs, mix up fluids, wrong fuel, forget to refill drained fluids, reverse battery cables, etc. The list of what can be done wrong is endless.

As Red Green said, when you really screw up bad, just step back put your hands on your hips in disgust, point at it and declare: That's a bad design!

 

[NDIHC]

AMC had a plastic valve cover on the 258 engine starting in 1981. That didn't work well for them. Constant leaks and cracked valve covers. The cars I worked on for over 20 years have plastic valve covers and very few problems with them. In the past 10 or more years they have been using plastic oil filter housings. They don't like the 20 and 30 below temperatures we get. They tend to shrink up and leak in the cold. Plastic oil pans should be no problem since they usually, with a few exceptions, don't have pressurized oil passages. The drain plug issue is most likely caused by someone using improper practices when installing the plug. If the gasket and/or plug is replaced as required by manufacturer and the plug is properly torqued there should be no problem. We were told by the manufacturer not to use anti-seize on the drain plug. Their reason was that it would modify the friction of the threads causing the plug to be over tightened and pulling the threads. The anti-seize would make the plug turn easier even with more pulling force on the threads. While the torque value would be in spec, the pulling force on the threads would be greater. How much difference it would really make is something I wouldn't know. We just followed their procedure so we would be in compliance and not subject to a charge back on a warranty claim if we ever had to make one.

 

[Hemmjo]

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.

I drilled and tapped the large draiin plug on my Ford 860 drain plug for a brass 1/2 NPT drain plug.

 

[Hobo,NC]

If you think it is a bad idea. Give me a good explanation as to why.

Been putting a dab of Anti Seize on oil drain plugs of over 40 years and I have yet to crack, pull the threads or damage a metal insert on a composite oil pan.

Most of the damage done to oil pans is stupidity. People think the tighter the better. Overnighting can and will distort the threads in the pan long before the threads on the drain plug gets damaged.

What! no teflon tape...

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Weight reduction, cost reduction, and acoustics benefits too. Plastic oil sumps, valve covers, intake runners, etc. will absorb some engine noise rather than transmit or amplify it. A lot of 1990s cars used plastic engine parts already, that was 30 years ago now.

There will always be some ham fisted people ( myself included ) working on cars without reading the manual that can ruin any and everything: over tighten/under tighten/leave out drain plugs, twist off wheel studs, mix up fluids, wrong fuel, forget to refill drained fluids, reverse battery cables, etc. The list of what can be done wrong is endless.

As Red Green said, when you really screw up bad, just step back put your hands on your hips in disgust, point at it and declare: That's a bad design!

Love the last line. I've been watching Red on the Roku channel, streaming the whole series.

 

[Russ from MN]

At least it won't rust through like our sons 2012 F150! our new F150 has a plastic bayonet 1/4 turn plug, looks a little scary to an old guy like me, but it might be more idiot proof! The oil pan is probably plastic too, I don't remember.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

At least it won't rust through like our sons 2012 F150! our new F150 has a plastic bayonet 1/4 turn plug, looks a little scary to an old guy like me, but it might be more idiot proof! The oil pan is probably plastic too, I don't remember.

I had an '89 Crown Vic that rusted the pan right above the big crossmember. Went to put on a used pan, working on a dirt floor unheated building. Got to where lifting the engine wasn't quite enough and I'd have to disconnect the exhaust. That's when I gave up and patched it with Sealall. It held till I got rid of it.