Several months back I decided that I was tired of paying other people to do oil changes on my truck and Jeep. The dealership that I was taking my truck to while is was under warranty takes hours to finish the job, and quit throwing in the free car wash that was an incentive. I have taken the Wrangler to a local place that lets you stay in the vehicle and watch the action in the pit on a tv screen, but I have serious trust issues with mechanics, especially after the last visit when the gal in the pit had to stop about three times to ask her lead questions (how hard is it to remove a drain plug and filter?).
In support of easy and mess free driveway oil changes I ordered a pair of Fumoto valves. As of a couple of weeks ago I have only managed to install one, and I think that I wasted $68.90 by making the purchase.
The
Fumoto valve and similar
EZ Oil Drain valve are clever little bits of engineering that replace the drain plug of a vehicle with a valve assembly. The valve body accommodates a hose, so when it is time to drain the oil you can direct the waste oil into a container; my vision was to use the oil jugs from the previous service as receptacles. On the surface it all seemed like a great way to neatly transport and dispose of the waste oil.
The first oil change to come due was on my F-250, which has the 6.7 liter diesel engine. Knowing that the 13 quarts of oil in that sump was going to be too much for my little oil change pan to handle I found an orange Home Depot 5 gallon bucket with lid in the garage and shoved that under the truck. I was pleased to find that it fit with room to spare, allowing me to fill it with dirty oil and then drag it back out upright. As I carefully loosened the drain plug over the bucket I was successful in directing every drop of oil into the bucket while simultaneously managing not to drop the plug into the rapidly filling vessel. Once the oil was completely drained and the filter was replaced I was ready to install the shiny brass
F106N drain valve. I consulted the included
installation instructions, which directed me to hand tighten the valve and then add 1/8 to 1/4 turn by using a crescent wrench. Easy. I threaded the valve into the oil pan until the fiber washer contacted the pan, and then added torque until the valve stopped rotating. I then picked up my Crescent brand adjustable wrench and started applying that 1/8 to 1/4 turn to crush the gasket and complete the seal. As the valve spun in, quite easily I might add, I eyed where I wanted the lever to end up. It seemed that 1/4 turn would get it into a vertical orientation with the lever at 12 o'clock. Just as I was coming to the end of the rotation I saw a split suddenly appear in the fiber washer!
I removed my now useless valve and reinstalled the factory plug, grateful that I noticed the damage prior to pouring gallons of new oil into the engine only to see it dripping to the driveway through the broken seal.
I contacted Fumoto to request a replacement gasket. The response was prompt and helpful, and contained different instructions for tightening the valve
:
Sarah (Fumoto)
Jan 2, 4:47 PM EST
Hello Mike,
Thank you for contacting us
We are more than happy to send you a replacement gasket washer.
We will ship it out today in a standard envelope.
Please note that the most common reason for a gasket washer to break it over torquing .
How much should I torque my Fumoto valve?
If you have nay questions, please feel free to contact us.
We will be happy to help.
Thank you for choosing Fumoto!
Help center: https://help.fumotooildrainvalve.com/hc/en-us
Warm Regards,
Sarah Rubin
Fumoto Online Store
www.fumotooildrainvalve.com
A few months elapsed until the weather here in Seattle dried out again and my motivation lined up with an oil change interval on the Wrangler's straight-6. after driving the car up onto ramps I found that, once again, I was able to slide my Homer bucket under the oil pan with room left over to turn a wrench. I drained the old oil and swapped filters, then read the
installation instructions for the
F101SX that I had selected for this application. I picked the SX-series valve because the configuration seemed more flexible, and I wanted to be able to adjust the angle of the valve body to maximize ground clearance. I was comforted by the o-ring seals, which are more forgiving than the flat fiber washer that I had destroyed on the other valve. I wiped the area around the drain hole clean, and then threaded in the valve assembly. As the threads engaged I found that the valve would not seat fully in my chosen orientation, the contour of the oil pan contacted the body of the valve prematurely. I moved the assembly around until I found an angle that caused no interference and then continued torquing it down. Fortunately nothing else unexpected happened and a good seal was formed. I completed the oil change, cleared away the detritus of plastic and cardboard containers, and started up the Jeep. Once running, I peered below to check for leaks. As I processed what lay before me it dawned on me that the valve I had installed was now the lowest point on the vehicle, jutting down from the oil pan at a 45 degree angle for almost two inches. The unforeseen interference had caused me to rotate the assembly down into harms way. No leaks were present, so I left the Fumoto valve installed where it was.
So far I have not actually used the Fumoto valves to drain oil from a vehicle. I have no doubt that when I do the next oil change on the Jeep the valve will function as designed, and the hose (purchased as an accessory) will direct oil into empty oil containers. Is this convenience worth the investment?
From my experience thus far I am convinced that I have wasted $70. I found that I can use a 5 gallon bucket to collect and transport the used oil with nary a drop spilled. The factory oil plugs are robust and low profile, whereas the Fumoto valve places a weak spot in a location vulnerable to impact by road debris and offroad obstacles. I will probably not install the valve on my truck, and I plan to remove the valve from the Jeep next time I change the oil. I can see how it might be useful on a low clearance car, or a vehicle with skid pans that obstructed access to the drain plug. For my applications I just don't like the system enough to keep it.
Has anyone else had any experience with this type of oil change valve?
