Oil change - Question about oil plug

[Abilor]

So I changed my oil today at 1200 miles (had to wait til weekend to be off work), and used Pennzoil Platinum 5w30.

One big issue is that the oil pan I used had a smaller aperture than I thought, and when I removed the plug, it "peed" like a, ahem, boy, rather than a girl as I planned. So a nice jet of oil hit my driveway. In fact, the whole affair was a little messier than I planned on, but having done it once, I have a much better idea of what I'm up against.

The only other issue I'm wary of is a I set my ratchet to "unscrew/lefty loosey" (can't believe I remember that s***), or so I thought. The plug was REALLY tight, and I'm worried I was actually tightening at one point rather than loosening. It came loose eventually, but I'm worried it was while I was tightening. Is that even possible? It hand unscrewed fine after I "cracked" it, and screwed back in fine, and I gave it a nice tug into place with the ratchet. Good 'n' tight, but not overtorqued. When I filled it up, there were no leaks, and after a nice 20 minute drive (including interstate), I still don't detect a leak. I'll check under the car in the morning to make sure nothing's leaking (plug or filter).

Should I be okay? And if the worst case scenario is I stripped the plug, won't it just drip until I can replace it? Would they have a new plug at a local mazda shop? Finally, there's no way I could have damaged the threads on the oil pan itself, is there?

I don't know why I'm freaking out so much, other than I couldn't possibly afford to replace/rebore my oil pan. I'm normally more at easy with tools and s*** too.

Thanks for any help/snickering at noobs.

Abilor

 

[Abilor]

and P.S., my crush washer didn't come off/fall off the plug. Do I have to remove it manually? And where I can get another, aside from the stealership?

 

[DaleNixon]

Looks like it was a weekend of fail for us Baton Rouge boys. I had a bit of a fiasco with my transmission fluid change. Everything's good now though AFAIK.

If you don't have any leaks, I wouldn't sweat it. If you are worried about it, just do a spin-on conversion at your next oil change (band2)

 

[AWDthis]

I think you should be fine, worst case scenario you stripped the nut/oil pan pan and you will need to replace that, no biggie i messed up the oil pan on my jetta easy fix and shouldnt be too expensive. Either ways be on the lookout for oil drips for 1 week.

 

[bombermanx]

Sometimes the washer gets squished too much and wedges into the drain plug threads or get stuck on the oil pan, and the plug will feel tight until the washer breaks free. The washer "crushes" as you tighten the drain plug, the washer gets squashed instead of the threads or the pan (aluminum pan strips easy), always replace the drain plug.

 

[ZooMIN3]

what do you mean, replace the drain plug?

every oil change, get a new drain plug?? lol

 

[Abilor]

Well, I checked again after four hours of sitting there, and no drips. So it's not epic fail. I have a feeling it's fine, and I was hallucinating due to the fear and excitement of being under my car (any car, really) for the first time. I have 8,000 Rhinos and chocks, and I still thought it was going to fall and crush me.

 

[bombermanx]

what do you mean, replace the drain plug?

every oil change, get a new drain plug?? lol

oops, drain plug gasket

 

[slo03.5msp]

Yes you have to manually take it off. If you need some send me your address I understand 70 cents is a lot of money. If you owned a vw you would have to change the drain plug every oil change.

 

[Kain]

Next time you change your oil, replace the drain plug with one of these: www.quickoildrainvalve.com

Will cure both the peeing-like-a-boy and worrying about torquing the drain plug.

 

[DaleNixon]

Damn that thing looks wicked useful. I think I'm going to order one.

http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=307

Kain, I am inundated with choices here. Which valve and which adapter did you buy?

 

[Kain]

We use the F-106: www.qwikvalve.com/item/f106.html

You can get the F-106N if you want (the N is for the nipple so you can add a hose). You also need the adapter ADP-106.

 

[DaleNixon]

Thanks broham. I can't imagine what I'd need the nipple for.

 

[Kindred]

We use the F-106: www.qwikvalve.com/item/f106.html

You can get the F-106N if you want (the N is for the nipple so you can add a hose). You also need the adapter ADP-106.

Hmmm, me thinks I'm going to pick one of these up. Kain, do you need the adapter for just the F-106N or do both of them utilize it?

edit
Never mind, I just read further down the page.

 

[Kain]

I got nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?

 

[Abilor]

Next time you change your oil, replace the drain plug with one of these: www.quickoildrainvalve.com

Will cure both the peeing-like-a-boy and worrying about torquing the drain plug.

SWEET. This is as high as my dog bone mount on the "must get" list. I like that it has a safety lock too.

 

[MikeHTally]

One big issue is that the oil pan I used had a smaller aperture than I thought, and when I removed the plug, it "peed" like a, ahem, boy, rather than a girl as I planned. So a nice jet of oil hit my driveway. In fact, the whole affair was a little messier than I planned on, but having done it once, I have a much better idea of what I'm up against. Put one of these in -- no more splatter or over shoot: http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/

The only other issue I'm wary of is a I set my ratchet to "unscrew/lefty loosey" (can't believe I remember that s***), or so I thought. The plug was REALLY tight, and I'm worried I was actually tightening at one point rather than loosening. It came loose eventually, but I'm worried it was while I was tightening. Is that even possible? It hand unscrewed fine after I "cracked" it, and screwed back in fine, and I gave it a nice tug into place with the ratchet. Good 'n' tight, but not overtorqued. When I filled it up, there were no leaks, and after a nice 20 minute drive (including interstate), I still don't detect a leak. I'll check under the car in the morning to make sure nothing's leaking (plug or filter). Mine was pretty snug, too. Personally, I prefer to use a box-end wrench for this. Since it's an aluminum pan, I just snugged it up.

Should I be okay? And if the worst case scenario is I stripped the plug, won't it just drip until I can replace it? Would they have a new plug at a local mazda shop? Finally, there's no way I could have damaged the threads on the oil pan itself, is there?

I don't know why I'm freaking out so much, other than I couldn't possibly afford to replace/rebore my oil pan. I'm normally more at easy with tools and s*** too.

Thanks for any help/snickering at noobs.

Abilor

I bought a few crush washers, but since I switched to the quick oil drain valve, I shouldn't need them. A spin-on filter conversion finishes it off nicely.

 

[skubidoobie]

Can you just buy a filter that threads on or do you need a kit? Only had one oil change and that was by the dealer for free so I'm not sure how things are under there.

 

[Kain]

You need a conversion kit. From the factory our cars use a cartridge filter that sits in a housing. It's a little tedious to change out the filter compared to a spin-on.

 

[skubidoobie]

Not half as bad as my '71 VW Bus I bet lol. Thanks for the info!