Dealership crossed threaded oil drain plug

[fourfa]

Nice - did you have NVM make those? Make it yourself? I don’t think I’ve seen the UHMW on any others

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[WILDHOBO]

I agree. I also see it as another possible failure point.

When you drain your oil directly into an empty 5qt, never even needing a pan, it’s pretty amazing. Not a drop on anything. Easiest parts store dump ever. No splashing. No plug to clean. Nothing. And it doesn’t go into the pan any further than the threads are deep. I’ve had mine on the Jeep for 70k miles. Not a single issue or drop out of the valve. Double safety on a 90 degree ball valve. But yes. Skid plates to protect it. But I’d have skids to protect the pan anyway.

 

[NC_Overland]

When you drain your oil directly into an empty 5qt, never even needing a pan, it’s pretty amazing. Not a drop on anything. Easiest parts store dump ever. No splashing. No plug to clean. Nothing. And it doesn’t go into the pan any further than the threads are deep. I’ve had mine on the Jeep for 70k miles. Not a single issue or drop out of the valve. Double safety on a 90 degree ball valve. But yes. Skid plates to protect it. But I’d have skids to protect the pan anyway.

I thought about putting one on my Colorado because it’s that stupid design where it shoots oil like three feet out to the side when you first pull it, but I’m being stubborn and old school. The gladiator is literally the easiest vehicle I’ve ever done an oil change on. I don’t even need to jack it up, I don’t have to remove any panels or skids, and the oil filter couldn’t be easier to get to.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Nice - did you have NVM make those? Make it yourself? I don’t think I’ve seen the UHMW on any others

Yes, it’s nvm. Had it since 2022, but I bought a steel reinforcement kit for it after a bunch of abuse. I chose to make my own replacement UHMW layer in one piece. They use two pieces. I wanted it stronger at the bend, and wanted to eliminate the large oval under the pan for oil changes. Las picture shows the original UHMW. Still in perfectly fine shape after bashing them for years.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I have a full set of belly skids (Next Venture Motorsport) on my truck. It has an oval drain slot for oil, but unfortunately the oil does not drain straight thru the slot - sometime it gurgles and glugs and occasionally a little hot air apparently gets trapped and blows a nasty bubble through the oil. This is thicker diesel oil; I dunno maybe this never happens on the pentastar with 0W20. Hot bubble of air ends up doing this with burning hot oil while you’re under there pulling that bolt:

If this were more common I’m sure we would all be complaining, so maybe this was a one-off. Oh well. But more seriously, the oil dribbles all over the inside of the skid plates and runs EVERYWHERE. It drips out for days out of the most unpredictable places all over my clean driveway, and eventually forms sticky sludge when I take it off-road. Pulling the oil pan skid plate and getting all the interlocking bits to line up again is not something I want to be doing all the time if I can avoid it

I put a Valvomax on. Low profile (about the same as the stock plug), has a cap with a seal that lives on it, and there’s a one-way valve inside that’s opened by a screw-on hose fitting. Hose goes all the way down into the drain pan. No more dribble and sludge.

YMMV but for me there was a problem, this was the solution, and along the way it‘s now a faster cleaner and easier oil change than any vehicle I’ve ever owned, so I’m happy

I’ve heard quite good things about those as well.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I thought about putting one on my Colorado because it’s that stupid design where it shoots oil like three feet out to the side when you first pull it, but I’m being stubborn and old school. The gladiator is literally the easiest vehicle I’ve ever done an oil change on. I don’t even need to jack it up, I don’t have to remove any panels or skids, and the oil filter couldn’t be easier to get to.

I even put one on my wife’s Volvo. Same issue. It comes out like a water cannon. I changed its oil exactly one time b fire installing the valve on. It came out so fast the drain on my pan couldn’t keep up and it overflowed on the driveway. I was somewhat frustrated. Now it’s easy as hell. Ramps for the Volvo, but then an empty 5qt fits under.

 

[NC_Overland]

I even put one on my wife’s Volvo. Same issue. It comes out like a water cannon. I changed its oil exactly one time b fire installing the valve on. It came out so fast the drain on my pan couldn’t keep up and it overflowed on the driveway. I was somewhat frustrated. Now it’s easy as hell. Ramps for the Volvo, but then an empty 5qt fits under.

Nice. I just got ramps for the girlfriend’s new car, 2025 Mazda CX-5 Turbo, and it’s actually a pretty easy oil change. I was pleasantly surprised and the ramps make it a lot easier

 

[WILDHOBO]

Nice. I just got ramps for the girlfriend’s new car, 2025 Mazda CX-5 Turbo, and it’s actually a pretty easy oil change. I was pleasantly surprised and the ramps make it a lot easier

That’s when I bought them. For the wife’s car.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have a full set of belly skids (Next Venture Motorsport) on my truck. It has an oval drain slot for oil, but unfortunately the oil does not drain straight thru the slot - sometime it gurgles and glugs and occasionally a little hot air apparently gets trapped and blows a nasty bubble through the oil. This is thicker diesel oil; I dunno maybe this never happens on the pentastar with 0W20. Hot bubble of air ends up doing this with burning hot oil while you’re under there pulling that bolt:

If this were more common I’m sure we would all be complaining, so maybe this was a one-off. Oh well. But more seriously, the oil dribbles all over the inside of the skid plates and runs EVERYWHERE. It drips out for days out of the most unpredictable places all over my clean driveway, and eventually forms sticky sludge when I take it off-road. Pulling the oil pan skid plate and getting all the interlocking bits to line up again is not something I want to be doing all the time if I can avoid it

I put a Valvomax on. Low profile (about the same as the stock plug), has a cap with a seal that lives on it, and there’s a one-way valve inside that’s opened by a screw-on hose fitting. Hose goes all the way down into the drain pan. No more dribble and sludge.

YMMV but for me there was a problem, this was the solution, and along the way it‘s now a faster cleaner and easier oil change than any vehicle I’ve ever owned, so I’m happy

Uh, you need that solution -

Yep. I just remade my engine skid to not even have the big oval for oil changes. This is all I need with the valve.

You were one I was thinking of when I said "with a skid" (something that obscures or blocks access.)........... me, no, you - yes.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I wonder sometimes how I survived hundreds, maybe more, oil changes over more than 5 decades on almost every type of vehicle made. I feel SO OLD!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I thought about putting one on my Colorado because it’s that stupid design where it shoots oil like three feet out to the side when you first pull it, but I’m being stubborn and old school. The gladiator is literally the easiest vehicle I’ve ever done an oil change on. I don’t even need to jack it up, I don’t have to remove any panels or skids, and the oil filter couldn’t be easier to get to.

The Jeeps and my SX4 are the easiest ever to change oil on.
The complication with the SX4 is that the filter sits horizontally on the side of the engine above a lot of "stuff" including cross member, skid plate, steering and suspension parts. So, when you loosen the filter - that's where the mess is.
For the pan - reach under and take the plug out with a 3/4" wrench. And that pan and plug have over 190,000 miles on them! Still no leaks, threads still just fine.
It's the original oil pan and drain plug from the 1982 258 (had to use it because the 4.0 Jeep pan wouldn't clear my cross member and front diff)

The Javelin - I DREAD that one. the car sits so low you can't even look under it to see the pan. The oil filter sits on the right front corner of the engine, horizontally, right next to the alternator. One slip of a filter wrench and you short things out big time.

But the JT and Eagle - no jacks needed. Just reach under. I don't even get clear under that car, can reach it from the side.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I wonder sometimes how I survived hundreds, maybe more, oil changes over more than 5 decades on almost every type of vehicle made. I feel SO OLD!

So do I.

 

[WILDHOBO]

The Jeeps and my SX4 are the easiest ever to change oil on.
The complication with the SX4 is that the filter sits horizontally on the side of the engine above a lot of "stuff" including cross member, skid plate, steering and suspension parts. So, when you loosen the filter - that's where the mess is.
For the pan - reach under and take the plug out with a 3/4" wrench. And that pan and plug have over 190,000 miles on them! Still no leaks, threads still just fine.
It's the original oil pan and drain plug from the 1982 258 (had to use it because the 4.0 Jeep pan wouldn't clear my cross member and front diff)

The Javelin - I DREAD that one. the car sits so low you can't even look under it to see the pan. The oil filter sits on the right front corner of the engine, horizontally, right next to the alternator. One slip of a filter wrench and you short things out big time.

But the JT and Eagle - no jacks needed. Just reach under. I don't even get clear under that car, can reach it from the side.

Horizontal filters are the dumbest thing ever. I hate them so much.

 

[Hootbro]

Horizontal filters are the dumb st thing ever. I hate them so much.

I generally agree. They were not so bad on older vehicles in some applications that the oil would just drain off the side of the block straight down. Nowadays, everything is so crammed in there it is a mess.

 

[Fishpilot]

I plan to replace the oil pan at next oil change, did a deep dive on RTV sealant vs gasket. I leaning towards using a Fel-Pro gasket. Any thoughts?

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