Self Loosening Sump Plug?
Discussion
Today on the M3. Pootling along minding my own business when all of a sudden the mirors fill with billowing blue smoke.
Pulled onto the hard shoulder, surrounded by smoke and smell of burning oil. P!ssing rain, gale force winds, low car (Chimaera) so no chance of getting underneath but I was able to watch about three litres of finest Mobil 1 pour onto the tarmac and down the drain. The quantity was good news, it meant that at least I hadn't run it dry.
The RAC spent the next two hours mucking me about and I eventually got the car to a local garage. As it came off the low loader the driver remarked "Your sump plug's hanging out". Sure enough he was right.
Car was bought just under three months ago and was serviced by the (independent) dealer about 1000 miles ago. They remarked that this was "unusual".
I recalled that the day before I had felt the underside touch on a fold down pole when pulling into a parking space and wondered if by some gazillion to one chance this had undone the plug but there were no witness marks on the plug itself and at the time when I looked underneath the pole was nowhere near that side of the sump so that seemed unlikely.
Am I going to have to make tightening the sump plug a part of my pre-drive routine? Maybe fit lock-wire?
Are they known to work loose?
Pulled onto the hard shoulder, surrounded by smoke and smell of burning oil. P!ssing rain, gale force winds, low car (Chimaera) so no chance of getting underneath but I was able to watch about three litres of finest Mobil 1 pour onto the tarmac and down the drain. The quantity was good news, it meant that at least I hadn't run it dry.
The RAC spent the next two hours mucking me about and I eventually got the car to a local garage. As it came off the low loader the driver remarked "Your sump plug's hanging out". Sure enough he was right.
Car was bought just under three months ago and was serviced by the (independent) dealer about 1000 miles ago. They remarked that this was "unusual".
I recalled that the day before I had felt the underside touch on a fold down pole when pulling into a parking space and wondered if by some gazillion to one chance this had undone the plug but there were no witness marks on the plug itself and at the time when I looked underneath the pole was nowhere near that side of the sump so that seemed unlikely.
Am I going to have to make tightening the sump plug a part of my pre-drive routine? Maybe fit lock-wire?
Are they known to work loose?
Edited by Flintstone on Thursday 11th January 19:18
www.chimaerapages.com/resources_sumpplug.php is what you need.
Flintstone said:
Car was bought just under three months ago and was serviced by the (independent) dealer about 1000 miles ago. They remarked that this was "unusual".
Flintstone said:
Am I going to have to make tightening the sump plug a part of my pre-drive routine? Maybe fit lock-wire?
Are they known to work loose?
Are they known to work loose?
I thought the independant would have lock wired it as a matter of course!
Looking at mine, it's always been lock wired through the sump plug and the small hole a couple of inches away on the bell housing.
I guess this is not done on a service by all dealers / indis then?
Like I said, I DIDN'T catch the sump plug on anything.
Just had email. Seems I'm not the only one to have suffered this after a service there though the writer was luckier than me and spotted his in time.
I'm all for believing in bad luck but this is my third bout of it. Might be time to move on.
PS Steve. Thanks for your email. I'll place the order again next week.
Just had email. Seems I'm not the only one to have suffered this after a service there though the writer was luckier than me and spotted his in time.
I'm all for believing in bad luck but this is my third bout of it. Might be time to move on.
PS Steve. Thanks for your email. I'll place the order again next week.
KirstM said:
shpub said:
I have never seen that as standard on a TVR.
We never used to in service at the factory - we used to do a seam of silicone around the plug but thats it. Isn't lock wiring a racing thing?
I think so, appears to be a little overboard for road use. I use a small amount of PTFE tape around the threads of the sump plug, takes the slack out of the thread and to date have never had a problem. (7 years of forest rallying and 10 years of sprinting, always change the oil 3-4 times a season)
The magnetic sump plug is a great idea, stop swarf and other metallic foreign bodies getting into the pick up pipe, but historically, if you have a problem with the sump plug coming loose, I wouldn`t think a magnetic one is going to stop this from happening again, OMO though!
if the plug is done up correctly there is no way that thing is gonna come loose(vibration whatever),more to do with the poor choice of sump washer compressing over time,solid copper washer should be used.....but if you grind the sump out it will be the first thing to hit the deck and come loose,the corners protrude below the floor of the sump.
that daddy said:
if the plug is done up correctly there is no way that thing is gonna come loose(vibration whatever),more to do with the poor choice of sump washer compressing over time,solid copper washer should be used.....but if you grind the sump out it will be the first thing to hit the deck and come loose,the corners protrude below the floor of the sump.
I've just suffered this - the plug was only hanging on by 2 threads
no damage to plug either.that daddy said:
.but if you grind the sump out it will be the first thing to hit the deck and come loose,the corners protrude below the floor of the sump.
That's why my magnetic sump plug is round with an Allen key fitting. No corners to catch and come undone. Uses a special seal that is reuseable as well so that the copper washer doesn't need replacing every oil change.
shpub said:
that daddy said:
.but if you grind the sump out it will be the first thing to hit the deck and come loose,the corners protrude below the floor of the sump.
That's why my magnetic sump plug is round with an Allen key fitting. No corners to catch and come undone. Uses a special seal that is reuseable as well so that the copper washer doesn't need replacing every oil change.
Shpub,i should have mentioned your plug, i have known about yours for a while great idea,could save so many tears and an empty wallet.
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff