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Have any of you had experience with the EZ Oil Drain Valve or a Fumoto Oil Drain Valve?
Link to EZ Oil Drain Valve: http://www.ezoilchangevalve.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
I have a friend that just showed me this. We both have Subarus and he is planning on using this on his Subaru. I post an update once he has installed his and he is using his, but I was wondering if anyone out their has tried it yet.
Post your experiences or opinions on the concept.
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I don’t have any experience with these, but I have a few concerns.
These things thread into your existing “drain plug” hole, so their orientation when snugged up could have them facing any which way. (There’s no guarantee that the valve lever is going to be at 12 o’clock, like those pretty sales photos show.) Say you end up with the lever pointing straight down. On some applications, it might expose the valve to potential damage from road hazards. Besides that, if the threads in your drain pan aren’t perfect, (as so many of them aren’t), the new valve will not stop an existing oil weep/leak, nor will it prevent a developing one.
Also, when using something like this in your existing oil pan hole, the bottom of the oil passage is going to be a bit higher than the bottom of the pan hole, theoretically leaving more old oil in the pan when draining. And, if there’s any wear metal in the drained oil, there’s no guarantee that the ball valve is going to seal tightly.
Some years back when i was an Admin on another automotive site we did some testing with those very valves and the results were not good.
Thread sizes were off quite allot and the valve turned to easily and the depth of the valve going into the pan was too deep not allowing all the oil to drain out.
Trust me keep the factory drain plug.
Your responses seem to confirm my concerns. To me it seems like another point of failure for something you only do once or twice a year. Also, the whole thing seems to scream cheapo mod that will fail. You have to wonder why no manufacturers have any kind of factory valve installed. Yea, the gasket and bolt is easy enough and cheap, but you would think 1 manufacturer would try it if they could make a reliable valve.
I also worry about how temperature changes from the ambient temperature to standard operating temperature of the engine might affect the valve and its seals.
I’d have to disagree.
I’ve put Fumoto valves on all my cars and not once have they leaked.
With concern to how they’re oriented, Fumoto USA has put out the SX series valves that allow you to orient it however you see fit.
It makes life a lot easier, and I’ve never had one fail nor had one leak.
http://www.fumotousa.com/ if interested.
PS: No, I don’t work for them. I just like their products.
-Hinoki
Ordered the compact one for the Jeep so hopefully it wont get hit while off roading. Ordered it a bit over a week ago and still havent gotten a shipping confirmation so maybe they are that slow or bad at emailing. lol
Personally, it wouldn’t work very well for me, the sump is one of the lowest, if not lowest part of my car, and the sump plug is on the bottom, so it’d get sheared off right away. (We have a lot of speed bumps and such, some of my sumps have battle scars. :whistle: )
The sump plug as-is works fine for me, I don’t really feel the need to replace it with a little tap.
On sumps with a sideways plug I guess it could be nice to have?
I use Fumoto valves on two cars (one is a subaru) and IMO they are great convenience. The fumoto valve is very high quality if that’s any question, I have no experience with the other brand drain valves.
For example why I find them convenient, I installed one on my mom’s car so that I can change her oil without needing any tools. It really is just more convenient not having to drag my wrenches and sockets out to her house, Just drain oil in the pan and back into the oil jug and done. You can change your oil often, anywhere with this.
Other advantage is that you don’t risk stripping the oil drain plug every oil change. And another is that you don’t have to buy drain crush washers.
And another advantage is that you can do oil changes without getting dirty oil on your hands, If you want spill-free changes, get the one with the short nipple and the pvc hose to drain directly into oil jugs.
Disadvantages are that if you are on a lowered car at all then its a bad idea, especially the long-fitting version. I’ve seen bad results on a lowered Subaru who drove over a pile of rocks. However the short-nipple fitting version is adequate clearance for most stock-equipped vehicles as long as you don’t drive over large rocks. Other disadvantage is that the oil draining is a bit slower because it reduces the drain hole size, but it really means it takes a minute longer to drain on most cars. As long as your engine is hot when you do it its no big deal. And another disadvantage is that it leaves a small bit of oil in the bottom of your drain pan because the drain valve plug intrudes slightly into the oil pan. This isn’t really a big deal if you change oil often and if it is well circulated before draining.
I have a ( I believe ) Prestone quick drain installed on my 2002 since I purchased it new.
After 16 years it still function flawlessly.
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