Monday, May 12, 2014 at 10:15
These and similar drain taps have been arround for a very long time, I can see that some people think they are a great idea, BUT I question the assertion that there is a problem with the normal drain plug.
On most vehicles if you handle the drian plug properly you should be able to get away with little or no oil on your fingers.....even if you do..is that a real biggie....you will cretainly spill more oil getting the filter off.
Crack the drain plug with your spanner of choice, then unscrew while keeping pressure on the plug...when the last thread is released remove the plug to one side...simple.
then there are the downsides.
I have seen several bashed sumps and sump pllugs with scrapes and gouges on them from scraping on the ground or being hit by objects.
When the sump plug is steel and flush as it can be to the sump, the likelihood of problematic dammage is low.
If a drain tap ( any drain tap) is fitted it has to prorrude further and provide a softer target.
As far as the tap being immune from accidental opening....um yeh
well......some may consider it unlucky or a freak incident, But I can see it is possible for any drain tap no matter how
well designed to be opend by accident...or perhaps on purpose by someone with bad intent.
Most people would consider a normal sump plug a fairly reliable thing and having a low risk of comming undone...but it does happen.....easily enough for it to be mandatory in many forms of motor racing and on some work sites to have sump plugs wired.
The whole point is taps open easily...hmmm....think on that.
Then there is the obstruction that the drain tap presents.
The literature says that it allows you to drain the oil while it is hotter.
It is a general belief that oil should be drained as fast and as hot as possible to take any suspended solids in the bottom of the sump with it.
This drain tap must slow down the drain speed and reduce the drain apiture.
The other related matter is that in many sumps it will raise the drain level, leaving more residue oil in the sump.
Call me pedantic if you like, but I always throw about 1/4 to 1/2 litre of clean oil thru the motor with the sump plug out, to get the last black dregs out of the motor.
It is surprising how much extra dirty oil this brings out of the sump.
Raising the drain level even a few milimeters will increase the amount of residual oil considerably....I can see some sumps one of these drain plugs raising the drain level a good 5 or 6 mm....that could increase the residual oil held back by 100 to 200mL or more in some sumps.
Sorry but I will be sticking with the
well proven bolt type sump plug.
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 16:27
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 16:27
Some good points.
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Follow Up By: howesy - Monday, May 12, 2014 at 17:41
Monday, May 12, 2014 at 17:41
Don't think the residual oil is such a big issue.
There are so many little nooks and crannies where oil can lay there is always going to be some. I had a high performance vehicle with a factory oil cooler that never ever drained so retained about half a litre and the engine was flogged before I sold it at 360,000km with no ill effects. I changed the oil with a filter every 7500km (high volume sump),,,,,on a five litre capacity I change every 5000km,,,I really think the frequency of change is the key because you are never going to stop residual contaminants
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