The curious case of the missing sump plug
Discussion
Hi all
I woke up this morning, looked out of the windows and saw the nice bright weather and thought to myself it was high time I got that wheel bearing sorted on the landy, and whilst I am at it, I will drop the oil and sort the filter i've had in the boot for ages.
So, brew in hand I settled to getting the wheel off, t
t the fk out of the two caliper bolts until they are rounded off and will no longer move. 
As I gave up with that, thinking I will leave it to my friendly local mechanic I made the silly mistake of thinking, well, that's all my bad luck out of the way....
So, I dropped the oil, and sure as eggs is eggs, as ever, I dropped the bloody sump plug into approx 6 litres of oil in my drain pan.
Never, mind, I shal retrieve it later.
Only I fking can't can i? It's fking vanished... Where the hell it has gone I have no idea. After 20 mins fishing around I searched all the stones under the car, shook all the blankets out and then drained the oil through a sieve into the container....
Why is it that every god dam fking job has to have something so stupid stop it from finishing? And how can a sump plug just vanish? Is this part of the joys of DIY mechanics?
So, new plug on order from flea bay, and I have a nice decorative land rover on the front drive at the MiL now...
I woke up this morning, looked out of the windows and saw the nice bright weather and thought to myself it was high time I got that wheel bearing sorted on the landy, and whilst I am at it, I will drop the oil and sort the filter i've had in the boot for ages.
So, brew in hand I settled to getting the wheel off, t
t the fk out of the two caliper bolts until they are rounded off and will no longer move. As I gave up with that, thinking I will leave it to my friendly local mechanic I made the silly mistake of thinking, well, that's all my bad luck out of the way....So, I dropped the oil, and sure as eggs is eggs, as ever, I dropped the bloody sump plug into approx 6 litres of oil in my drain pan.
Never, mind, I shal retrieve it later.Only I f
king can't can i? It's fking vanished... Where the hell it has gone I have no idea. After 20 mins fishing around I searched all the stones under the car, shook all the blankets out and then drained the oil through a sieve into the container....Why is it that every god dam f
king job has to have something so stupid stop it from finishing? And how can a sump plug just vanish? Is this part of the joys of DIY mechanics?So, new plug on order from flea bay, and I have a nice decorative land rover on the front drive at the MiL now...
Tip 1: Caliper bolts - tap/hit the face of them with a technical adjuster to break the stiction/rust apart before trying to undo them. Next time don't wind them in so tight 
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
Dunk76 said:
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
I hope this is a joke.John D. said:
Dunk76 said:
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
I hope this is a joke.
mybrainhurts said:
John D. said:
Dunk76 said:
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
I hope this is a joke.
If you happen to live near some sort of ecomentalist, don't forget to pour a couple of cups of washing detergent down the drain afterwards to help break it up.
Dunk76 said:
mybrainhurts said:
John D. said:
Dunk76 said:
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
I hope this is a joke.If you happen to live near some sort of ecomentalist, don't forget to pour a couple of cups of washing detergent down the drain afterwards to help break it up.
Didn't OP know they dissolve when in contact with oil?
John D. said:
Dunk76 said:
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
I hope this is a joke.Dunk76 said:
mybrainhurts said:
John D. said:
Dunk76 said:
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
I hope this is a joke.If you happen to live near some sort of ecomentalist, don't forget to pour a couple of cups of washing detergent down the drain afterwards to help break it up.
Cost Captain said:
John D. said:
Dunk76 said:
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
I hope this is a joke.I used to have a lockup garage in a group of 15 , the drain cover was always sticky with oil.
Dunk76 said:
Tip 1: Caliper bolts - tap/hit the face of them with a technical adjuster to break the stiction/rust apart before trying to undo them. Next time don't wind them in so tight
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
Tip 2: Always buy a new sump plug and washer before commencing oil change. Simply drive car until conveniently warm, find a large storm drain and straddle kerb over drain (saves jacking up), empty sump into drain, fling old filter in hedge/random garden. Push car back slightly (to avoid any oil which missed the drain) and refit/refill.
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